Cars & speed / Downtown
Detroit Autorama
America's Greatest Hot Rod Show: hundreds of customs, hot rods and the coveted Ridler Award fill Huntington Place every late February or early March.
01 / The story of this place
Make time for these
The Autorama started in 1953 with just 40 cars at the University of Detroit's Memorial Building, put on by the brand-new Michigan Hot Rod Association to raise money for a safe dragstrip. It moved into the shiny new Cobo Hall in 1961 and has filled the same riverfront hall, now Huntington Place, ever since. Since 1964 the show has crowned one never-before-seen car with the Don Ridler Memorial Award, the top honor in the custom car world, with eight finalists, the Great 8, fighting for it. The 73rd show in 2026 brought around 680 vehicles downtown, and Championship Auto Shows has set the 74th for March 5-7, 2027.
- The Ridler Award and the Great 8 finalists
- Hundreds of hot rods, customs and classics in one place
- Autorama Extreme, with rat rods and raw patina builds
- Famous builders and celebrity guests on the floor
- Kids 5 and under get in free
A closer look
Photos were taken at different times; images are resized and cropped on cards.
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Sources & fact check · Checked: 2026-10-01
An independently written bilingual guide. This collection is not an attendance-based ranking.
03 / Events
Events at this place
Published events automatically linked from our event guide. Times are local to the venue.
We have no published upcoming events linked to this place yet. That does not mean the venue has no events; check its official calendar too.
Official website & visitor information ↗Keep exploring
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Cars & speed
Detroit Auto Show
Every January the Motor City's own auto show fills Huntington Place with new cars, trucks and EVs, kicked off by a black-tie Charity Preview.
Cars & speed
Detroit Grand Prix
IndyCar and IMSA cars tear around a downtown street circuit on the riverfront every late May or early June, and more than half the venue is free to watch.