I recently attended the 39th 2007 Montreal International Auto Show, which by most standards is a fairly large event: 375,000 sq. ft., 95 Exhibitors (vehicles and related products/services) numbering 650 vehicles in all.

There were over $5m of featured exotic cars, including my favorite little barely-legal trackday racer toy car (Lotus Exige S) making its Canadian debut. Another hypercar I personally had never heard of prior to the show was the HTT Plethora - a Quebec-built exotic which draws inspiration from the McLaren F1 with its center driving position. It’s got all the usual trimmings, plus one option you don’t often find when it comes time to customize your new automobile:

Let’s do a little math: 1300hp + 1150kg (2530lb) + traction = FAST

Some other of my favorites were the Ford Mustang GT-R, Shelby concept, Toyota F1 car, a marijuana-themed custom, and a really funky green showcar (I’ll let you guess the model underneath all that bodywork).

You can browse the entire photoset on Flickr. You can also see the 20 latest photos at the top of the sidebar, courtesy of Monoslideshow.

On a more somber note, a horrible accident occured the day after I attended and commented on the spaciousness of the architecture including the open escalators:

The Quebec coroner’s office says it could take six to eight months to complete its investigation into the death last week of a 15-year-old boy who fell 16 metres from a fifth-floor escalator ..

.. said yesterday he and police now agree the boy did sit on the moving rail immediately after stepping onto the escalator. Montreal police confirmed Charron’s statement. “The teen looked back at his friends and seemed surprised to suddenly find himself moving, Charron said. He then lost his balance and fell” ..

That really sucks.