Car enthusiasts often take themselves pretty seriously but there’s a growing movement to inject some fun into the culture. For example, Radwood claimed its biggest show of all time thanks to a massive turnout in Austin, Texas. Around 700 cars were on display, with approximately 3,000 people in attendance. Given the locale’s “keep Austin weird” reputation, it’s no surprise that the wacky gathering drew crowds.
This year’s Austin show was held at Driveway Austin, a motorsports park, track, and race school, which allowed for our photographer to get some great rolling shots of the cars entering and exiting the venue. The wooded scenery was a far cry from what you normally see in and around Los Angeles, so this gallery is a refreshing break from what we typically capture at our local car shows.
Radwood, which only allows cars into the show that were sold in the ’80s and ’90s (with an exception for cars conceived in that era but sold in the 2000s), has a knack for attracting oddities in the form of lifted sports cars, slammed off-roading rigs, right-hand drive legends, and obscure concept cars.
Take this Porsche “951 Baja” for example, outfitted with all of the lightbars and roof racks typically associated with off-road racing. Of course, its owners had to find a hill on which to park their rugged coupe because it’s an “overlanding thing and you wouldn’t get it.”
There was also a hefty assortment of period supercars. Our photographer spotted a pristine white Countach LP5000 QV with a fresh red leather interior that looked fantastic parked against the track’s curbing. We also caught a glimpse of a fresh Porsche 959. Ferrari was well-represented by a number of 308 variants, a Testarossa, and even an F40. Acura had a great showing, with multiple NSX supercars on display.
JDM fans also had plenty of metal to look at. We’re particularly fond of this 1990 Suzuki Alto Works RSR, which looks like an Autozam AZ-1 and a minivan had a lovechild. It has the bug-eyed Autozam headlamps and an aggressive widebody look. Funnily enough, this obscure Kei car had an almost-twin in the form of yet another imported Alto Works hatch. A cheerful yellow Honda Beat was also in attendance along with an adorable Nissan Figaro. The Japanese off-roading community was also out in full force, spearheaded by a Mitsubishi Delica and an impeccable rescue-ready Toyota Land Cruiser.
In fact, some of the off-road-ready rides were our favorites from the entire show. We have to give some love to the Grand Wagoneer, complete with wood paneling. The Mitsubishi Montero seems to be making a comeback as it ages, with a number of examples turning up for the show. In addition to the rescue Land Cruiser, plenty of clean civilian models caught our photographer’s eye. The immaculate Range Rover was a great sight as well. OK, this last pick isn’t explicitly an off-roader, but the Mercedes-Benz wagon with the rooftop tent was impossible not to love.
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Make sure to check out the complete gallery below to see more of our favorites from the show. We’re hoping the Radwood hype continues to build for when the show comes back to LA next year. In the meantime, keep it rad by checking out our time behind the wheel of the oldest road-legal NSX as we drove it to Radwood LA 2019.
