The three supercars were on display on Bunda Street on 19 December. Photo: James Coleman.
Forget the noise of light rail construction in Civic – the roaring exhaust of a Lamborghini Gallardo became the loudest thing on Bunda Street earlier this month.
And it was but a taste of what’s coming when the Canberra Festival of Speed returns in late January.
The pre-Christmas Civic display – which also included a gleaming black Porsche 911 and highlighter-yellow Ferrari – was designed to show the festival is far more than a static car show.
When the event returns to Thoroughbred Park in Lyneham, the cars won’t just be parked – they’ll be moving, and at speed.
The Canberra Festival of Speed is moving back to late January. Photo: James Coleman.
“They’re going around a circuit at speed,” Canberra Festival of Speed co-organiser Martin Tanti said.
“You’re gonna be able to hear the cars move, see them move, and feel them move.”
2026 marks the third year running for the festival, centred around a 750-metre tarmac circuit built expressly for the festival at Thoroughbred Park two years ago.
Cars are released two at a time to give spectators a close-up motorsport experience, while European-themed food trucks and stalls on the grounds are designed to pad it out as the ideal family day out.
“It’s exciting, but it’s a very safe event,” Mr Tanti said.
“It’s a very placid event, and it’s an event that families can enjoy.”
What began as a small show-and-shine event outside Fyshwick car dealership more than five years ago has grown into a major national motorsport festival, attracting more than 16,000 visitors and more than 200 cars at the last event in January 2025.
“We’re seeing families with kids in trolleys going around looking at the cars,” Mr Tanti said.
“There’s also lots of activations for kids to come and enjoy. These cars are one of the most important things about the event. Everyone loves seeing them.”
The Porsche 911 GT3RS will be a star of the show. Photo: James Coleman.
The lineup for 2026 is shaping up as the most ambitious yet, with a stronger emphasis on rare supercars and hypercars.
A Lamborghini Gallardo R-EX GT3 car – raced in Europe – will take to the track, while some of the world’s rarest road cars will feature in the ‘Hall of Heroes’.
“We’re talking about the Ferrari SF90,” Mr Tanti said.
Porsche fans are also set to be catered for, with the GT3 RS playing a key role in this year’s displays.
“The GT3 RS is a very important part of our event this year because we’ll have every GT3 RS vehicle on display in chronological order, in the Hall of Heroes,” he added.
Mr Tanti said they’re aiming for quality over quantity. Photo: James Coleman.
Among the motorsport-themed highlights will be MotoGP machinery making its first appearance at the festival – including a piece of racing history.
“The bike that actually was built for Barry Sheen, for his world championship in the 1970s that he won, will be there,” Mr Tanti said.
One of the most anticipated on-track moments will be Canberra-born V8 Supercars driver Cameron Hill, at the wheel of a Toyota race car as part of his new deal with Brad Jones Racing (BJR).
“It is going to be the first time that Cam Hill is actually going to be behind the wheel of a BJR racing car,” Mr Tanti said.
“Incredible in Canberra.”
In total, organisers are expecting up to 200 vehicles – but Mr Tanti said quality matters more than sheer numbers.
“We’d rather have super high quality vehicles on display,” he said.
The festival will return to a later summer timeslot after organisers moved away from the Australia Day long weekend, used in 2025.
“We had an abundant amount of people saying, ‘We’re not here during the Australia Day long weekend. We want to be at the Festival of Speed, but we can’t make it, we have to go down the coast’.”
About 200 cars are expected at the 2026 festival. Photo: James Coleman.
Infrastructure changes introduced last year, including pedestrian bridges across the circuit, will remain.
“The bridges were amazing for ingress and egress and the flow of the event,” Mr Tanti said.
“It really put us on that level where the event felt like a proper motorsport event from Europe.”
The festival again partners with local community foundation Hands Across Canberra, helping kick off its annual ‘Canberra Day Appeal’.
“The festival combines all the excitement, the glamour, the grunt, all the fabulousness of prestige cars with a really strong family atmosphere,” Hands Across Canberra CEO Genevieve Jacobs said.
Hands Across Canberra CEO Genevieve Jacobs with Canberra Festival of Speed organiser Martin Tanti. Photo: James Coleman.
“It’s also about kicking off giving for the Canberra community, so people are back from the coast, they’re back at school, the year is beginning. Let’s focus on what we can do for our community together.”
As the jaws of last-minute Christmas shoppers dropped around the Bunda Street display, there were plenty of questions.
“Who owns this car, how fast does this car go?” Mr Tanti said.
“So I just say to them, come to the Festival of Speed, and you’ll be able to see how fast these cars go.”
The 2026 Canberra Festival of Speed will be held on Saturday, 31 January and Sunday, 1 February at Thoroughbred Park. Tickets are available online.
Original Article published by James Coleman on Region Canberra.
