Detroit Autorama 2026: Steel Dreams, the Ridler Award & Motor City Legacy

Last updated: February 2026 | Event details and ticket information verified.

 

There is no city on earth that feels a car the way Detroit does. Not just sees it, not just drives it — feels it. The rumble in your chest at a stoplight, the smell of fresh lacquer on a freshly cut body panel, the pride that comes from knowing your city didn't just build the automobile industry — it built the culture around it. That culture has a cathedral, and every winter it opens its doors at the riverfront.

 

The Detroit Autorama is America's Greatest Hot Rod Show. That's not a marketing line. It's a verdict delivered by seven decades of builders, fabricators, dreamers, and die-hard fans who have made the pilgrimage to the show floor and left believing it.

 

Detroit Autorama 2026 is happening now at Huntington Place as the show enters its 73rd year — and it has never been more alive.

 

 

 

The History of the Detroit Autorama

 

The story starts in 1953, when a group of passionate Detroit gearheads under the Michigan Hot Rod Association gathered 40 cars inside the University of Detroit Memorial Building and dared to call it a show. It was small, rough around the edges, and entirely Detroit — which meant it was also unstoppable.

 

By the time the show moved to the Michigan State Fairgrounds Colosseum in 1954, momentum was building.

 

Two years later, the MHRA brought in a local promoter named Don Ridler — a former Michigan State football player and Lawrence Tech coach — to help the event reach a broader audience. He did exactly that, pouring his energy into the show until his death in 1963.

 

The following year, the MHRA honored him with something lasting: a new award for the most outstanding car making its world debut at Autorama. They named it the Don Ridler Memorial Award. It would become the most coveted trophy in custom car building.

 

By 1961, the show had outgrown every venue it had touched. It moved into the brand-new Cobo Hall on Detroit's riverfront, where 230 cars competed and a crowd of 35,000 showed up on the final day alone.

 

The legend was no longer local — it was national.

 

What Is the Ridler Award?

 

Ask any serious builder in the custom car world what they're chasing and most of them will give you the same answer.

 

The Ridler.

 

Called the "Nobel Prize of Hot Rodding," the Don Ridler Memorial Award is presented each year to the best car making its first public appearance at Autorama. But winning isn't just about showing up with something beautiful.

 

Contenders must declare themselves, pass inspection from a team of ISCA judges, and be selected as one of eight finalists — the legendary "Great 8." From that group, after a full weekend of scrutiny, one car and one owner walk away with the trophy, an embroidered jacket, and a $10,000 check.

 

The full-scale Ridler trophy lives permanently at GM Performance headquarters in Auburn Hills — a few miles from downtown Detroit, where it belongs.

 

The names carved into that trophy read like a Hall of Fame of American craftsmanship: Chip Foose, Troy Trepanier, Boyd Coddington, Dave Kindig. Foose alone has claimed it four times, a record that may never be broken.

 

But what makes the Ridler transcendent isn't just the elite winners — it's the standard they set. Every builder who has ever put a car on that floor has done so knowing they were competing on the most demanding stage in their world.

 

Together with the Grand National Roadster Show's America's Most Beautiful Roadster award, the Ridler stands as one of the two "Crown Jewels" of professional show car competition in North America.

 

Builders travel from as far as Western Australia to make their debut in Detroit.

 

That's not coincidence. That's gravity.

 

Why the Detroit Autorama Matters to Detroit

 

Other cities have car shows. Detroit has Autorama.

 

The difference isn't square footage or celebrity appearances, though the show delivers plenty of both. The difference is that in Detroit, cars are not a hobby — they are heritage.

 

This city assembled generations of families around the auto industry. Grandfathers who worked the line. Fathers who built their first hot rod in a driveway off 8 Mile. Kids who grew up knowing the difference between a 350 and a 427 before they could ride a bike.

 

Autorama is where that culture gets consecrated. It's where the kid who grew up in a Michigan Hot Rod Association club garage looks up at a Great 8 contender and sees something aspirational. It's where a Detroit builder who's spent two years crafting every inch of a custom body understands, for one weekend, what that work is worth.

 

The show also carries something rarer than trophies — a living timeline. Autorama EXTREME, a beloved section of the floor, celebrates traditional rat rods, rust-kissed customs, and patina-draped survivors that wear their age proudly.

 

It's a reminder that this culture doesn't demand perfection. It demands passion.

 

More than 140,000 people walk through those doors every year. They come from across the country. And almost to a person, they leave talking about coming back.

 

Detroit Autorama 2026: Dates, Location & What to Expect

 

Detroit Autorama 2026 is underway at Huntington Place — formerly Cobo Hall — on the Detroit riverfront.

 

And the 73rd edition of America's Greatest Hot Rod Show is delivering everything that has made it legendary.

 

It remains one of the largest indoor custom car shows in the United States, drawing more than 140,000 attendees each year.

 

More than 800 custom cars, trucks, and motorcycles will fill the show floor, with entries drawn from across the country and beyond.

 

The Great 8 Ridler contenders will anchor the weekend, with Sunday's award ceremony delivering the kind of drama that makes grown adults hold their breath.

 

The Cavalcade of Customs, a curated display of the most striking custom builds in attendance, will offer wall-to-wall eye candy for anyone who loves the art of the build.

 

The MHRA Preservation Award this year goes to Len and Tony Palmeri's "Andare" — a hand-built 1929 Mercedes constructed on a 1956 Chevrolet frame, a piece that speaks directly to the craftsmanship Autorama has always celebrated.

 

Show hours run Friday, February 27 from noon to 10 PM, Saturday, February 28 from 9 AM to 10 PM, and Sunday, March 1 from 10 AM to 7 PM.

 

Admission is $30 at the gate, with discounted tickets available at O'Reilly Auto Parts.

 

The entertainment stage keeps the energy high all weekend, with live acts including Atomic Bombcatz, the Twistin Tarantulas, and a Blues Brothers Tribute on Sunday.

 

Celebrity appearances include WWE Hall of Famers Trish Stratus and Kevin Nash — a Detroit native coming home — along with Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain.

 

The Miss Autorama Pin-Up Girl Contest returns Saturday evening.

 

Live pinstripers will be working the floor all weekend, turning the show into a live studio as much as an exhibition.

 

Student Career Day on Friday brings the next generation onto the floor, connecting young Detroiters with the builders, fabricators, and automotive professionals who keep this culture alive and moving forward.

 

Why You Should Attend Detroit Autorama 2026

 

Seventy-three years. More than 140,000 visitors a year. The most prestigious custom car award on the planet.

 

And it's all happening right here, in the city that invented what it means to love a car.

 

The Detroit Autorama isn't a show you put on the calendar someday. It's the kind of thing you remember for years — the car that stopped you cold, the builder you talked to for twenty minutes who turned out to be a legend, the moment on Sunday night when a name gets announced and the whole room reacts.

 

This is Detroit. This is our show. And this year, it's going to be unforgettable.

 

Get your tickets at autorama.com, then tag a car person in your life who needs to be there. Better yet, bring them yourself. Some things you experience together.

 

The 73rd Detroit Autorama runs February 27 – March 1, 2026 at Huntington Place, 1 Washington Boulevard, Detroit, MI 48226.

 

Tickets and information available at autorama.com.

 

And if you love everything Detroit — the culture, the cars, the pride — follow us on our Facebook page and join our Made in the D community group for more stories like this one.

 

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Frequently Asked Questions About Detroit Autorama 2026

 

What are the dates for Detroit Autorama 2026?

 

The 73rd Annual Detroit Autorama runs Friday, February 27 through Sunday, March 1, 2026. Show hours are Friday noon to 10 PM, Saturday 9 AM to 10 PM, and Sunday 10 AM to 7 PM.

 

Where is Detroit Autorama held?

 

The show takes place at Huntington Place (formerly Cobo Hall), located at 1 Washington Boulevard, Detroit, MI 48226 — right on the downtown riverfront.

 

How much are tickets to Detroit Autorama?

 

General admission is $30 at the gate. Children ages 6–12 are $10, and children 5 and under get in free. Discounted tickets ($28 general admission, $9 for kids 6–12) are available at O'Reilly Auto Parts locations in the weeks leading up to the show.

 

What is the Ridler Award?

 

The Don Ridler Memorial Award is the most prestigious prize in custom car building — often called the "Nobel Prize of Hot Rodding." Presented annually at Detroit Autorama since 1964, it goes to the best car making its world debut at the show. Judges select eight finalists — known as the Great 8 — and the winner is announced on Sunday evening. Past recipients include legendary builders like Chip Foose, Troy Trepanier, and Dave Kindig.