If you managed to find yourself at Sorority Row this year after crawling out from under a rock and walked in with no pre-existing knowledge of the event or even Redline Sorority themselves, you’d probably imagine that this was merely the latest in a long-running series of events hosted by one of the OG groups in town. And honestly, even knowing otherwise it was easy to forget the actual timeline. Not only have Redline not even hit their second anniversary yet, but this was their second ever show.
Second.
Less than a month after Redline only further made themselves known by taking home a collection of trophies from Driven Calgary (their first ever Driven as well), we all found ourselves down at Hyatt Infiniti for the 2021 edition of their Sorority Row Show and Shine. Exactly one year prior (August 15th, 2020) they had hosted the first iteration at Lordco and it seemed to go amazingly well. Sadly I wasn’t able to participate due to pre-existing plans that day but did get to visit both during setup as well as the awards ceremony and grab a few photos to share on the site. This time around however I was able to attend so I detailed the S15 and made the drive over.
One thing I want to quickly touch on as it’s something you’ll see in the photos, is the weather that day. It was actually very nice in terms of temperature and wind, but this was when the wildfires were raging and so the air was filled with ash and other particulate – not only did it make for some odd lighting at times, but in some photos you may notice little specs on the vehicles. These are not the result of a dirty camera lens or incomplete detailing on the owners’ parts, but rather from the crud in the air actively falling on the vehicles all throughout the day. Was it the best idea to spend a full day out in it? Probably not, but no one wanted to miss this.
And I’m sure you all want to see the photos, so without further delay here’s our full Sorority Row 2021 coverage! I was originally planning to do a more traditional two-part entry but my computer decided to not computer when I went to publish Part 1, so everything has been grouped together into today’s post instead: starting off with Erin’s GTI, and the only photo I have of it for today because the front 3/4 shot I took later didn’t turn out. Sorry Erin!
With the size of the crowd registered, everyone was split into different roll-in slots to ease congestion during setup that day. Despite having to show up separately, the S15 and S13 did at least manage to wind up near each other!
Roel’s Varis FK8, looking incredible as always.
Another of the girls’ lineup; I like that they had the pop-up squad together at the other end.
Liam rolling in with his widebody FK7. Catching him smiling in the mirror was a pure fluke but it makes the shot so much better.
Harrison’s ’93 MX-6 was its usual spotless self, complete with the dealer brochure and other accessories that are typically displayed with it.
Given Hyatt was sponsoring the event and providing their dealership lot for it, they’d arranged for some of the Infinitis to be parked in and around the service drive-through. Aldrich may have snuck in but he was a VIP, being the DJ for the event. Haha
Ken’s twin intakes peeking through his bumper.
You would’ve just seen the lineup in our Driven Coverage but here’s a proper look at the girls’ cars again, starting off with Justine’s FR-S.
Next up was Alexa’s 240SX on RPF1s…
…and the ’79 RX-7 next to it.
Jynelle’s Miata, looking happy to be there as Miatas usually do.
Sat in the center was Brooke’s Q, with the doors open to show off her wrapped jambs.
Alyssa’s RS5, with its wheels being one of the brightest parts of that hazy day.
Maggie’s R; both this and Mel’s Jellybean are raced fairly frequently and put in very respectable drag times to say the least.
Speaking of the Jellybean, it had its usual display accessories (drag tires and dyno sheet) but was also sporting some new window vents for the show. And remember I’d mentioned the “specs” (ash) in some photos? You’re looking at those here.
Last up for the row was Yolanda’s ST, with the livery-wearing side facing out. You can see here Mel showing my mother the Fiesta’s new vents, which then prompted a set to be ordered for Dijon almost immediately.
Danny made the trek back from Edmonton after winning an award at Driven the previous day, to have the RS3 present with the rest of the Still Plays With Cars crew.
Unfortunately the only proper photo I ended up taking of the S13 during the event was this one, with the trunk open; but you’ve all seen it with the trunk closed. Haha
The timing of Sorority Row meant that it actually landed on my mother’s birthday (again), so she was quite happy to get to spend the day at an event with all of our friends and even managed to win a few raffle prizes as well.
Stealthy Mazdaspeed 3.
Aldrich’s…”Infiniti”… IS again.
Gian’s V12 750iL has certainly been turning heads this year, and has brought home some (well-deserved) hardware for it; this thing has insane presence wherever it goes and details for days. Also, thanks for noticing the camera guys (first photo).
Boosted, RHD 350Z. I still think of these as the new thing on the block and then remember they’re almost 20 years old already; I still want one some day.
Without a doubt, if there were an award for Best Hood Prop it should have gone to this Miata’s hairdryer. We all had a good laugh over this.
Ruzz had Pepper out for the event and was ecstatic to take home the Best Domestic award at the end of the day. Congratulations Ruzz!
Mike’s R32 – matching the underhood components to the faces of the wheels was a wicked touch.
I’m seeing a few more crazy swaps in Genesis Coupes these days, such as this LS-powered example; another V8-swapped Coupe had shown up to a recent meet just outside of town as well. The larger engines look quite at home in those bays I must say.
Liam’s FK7 again, drawing more attention despite its very subtle colour scheme and aero package.
The only update for the S15, following Driven, was the switch back to the OEM tail lights for a more accurate-for-the-era look. Anybody want the D-Maxs?
Across from the S15 sat Danielle’s Celsior, which ended up taking home Best JDM! Worth a shoutout here is the fact that her tail lights’ rose patterns – which I’d highlighted in the Tuner Tailgate post last month – are actually painted on! I’d always thought they were vinyl overlays until I had the chance to take another close look at this show.
Tracy’s R32 went back to a clean, livery-free look this year but retained the various teal accents dotted around such as the inlays on the wheels. A little more subtle overall but it still grabs your attention.
Becca and her Veloster N ended the day with the Sorority Favourite award; the custom skate deck done to match the car is always an awesome detail to have on display.
Tiegan’s FK8 is probably the wildest in town, and that’s before you take into account the combination 24k gold/forged carbon trim inside. Yes, you read that correctly.
Along with Yolanda’s and Ruzz’s, Chelsea’s Mk3.5 was part of the small number of Foci at Sorority Row, showing off its new two-tone look with the driver’s side now being wrapped.
Xenia’s FD is always hard to miss with that gorgeous wrap colour.
It’s always nice to see a ’96-00 coupe out these days; dare I say I prefer them to the iconic EKs?
The fully-polished Works on this RX-8 were a nice, unique touch. Sorry Jason, I cannot confirm if they’d have passed a BI but from the outside they certainly looked quite clean!
The grouping of Infinitis did make for some cool photo opportunities but I ended up not shooting much inside because of how tight it was.
I made sure to grab one of Jon’s G though, showing off the new wrap colour in the light outside. It ended up taking the Best Boy Tuner award when all was said and done!
A little later in the day this Mk3 rolled in – always one of the best-built cars wherever it goes. Note the inclusion of Recaro fabric not just on the door cards, but the hatch panel as well!
Heading back to the other end of the lot now, the Chaser could be found parked at the end of the N/A lineup.
It seems like Eclipses of any generation are all but gone from events these days (and we won’t talk about Mitsu’s newest iteration of the nameplate, how dare they) so Ryan’s always stands out, even before you take into account the colour.
Mani’s WRX continues to be everywhere. He might be the definition of a car event “regular”.
Dodge Stealth, sporting some Infamous aero and Motegis.
Now we get to the rest of the Still Plays With Cars lineup, starting off with Jonathan’s S3 and Carley’s Tiguan on one side of the tent.
Like Danny, Jay had also come straight from winning at Driven Edmonton with his immaculate Mk4. I don’t think there’s anything on this car that hasn’t been done to perfection, and you’ll notice the trunk is usually open in the photos of it because that too has been fully done up.
Last in their main row was Patryk’s V8 E30, also no longer wearing an Adidas livery this year (it and Tracy’s R32 both had them). I always forget these have reverse-hinged hoods.
The lot was a decent size but even so a few more cars ended up having to be parked around the corner, a little out of sight.
For my fellow Pontiac enthusiasts, there was even a Solstice in attendance. I’ve seen this one out at some of the classic meets here and there as well, over the summer.
The Minidiots made themselves quite a comfy little camp for the day – complete with awning and snow cone maker – at the end of their row. This was taking “being prepared” to another level!
We’re just about at the end now, and even though it wasn’t part of the show there was no way I could pass over including this dually in the coverage. As soon as it rolled in and parked a bunch of us made our way over to start checking it out. All old trucks are awesome, but there’s something about seeing those massive flares tucking enormous wheels that makes a dumped dually infinitely cooler.
And with that, the Sorority Row coverage comes to an end! After the awards ceremony wrapped we all said our farewells as well as congratulations to the winning individuals, and from there roll-out went extremely smoothly. To go back to what I said at the start, with how much anticipation there was for this event, how smoothly and professionally it was carried out, and the size of the field itself, you really would think this show and Redline had been around much longer than they actually have been. Sorority Row is already making itself known as one of the events of the calendar year and looking at the progression just from year one to year two, I really can’t wait to see what will be in store for 2022.
Good job girls! <3
-Bill