Perth is the most isolated capital city in the world, and its car scene built its own calendar. A four-day tarmac rally through the city and the hills. A drag strip and a speedway on one site, with a summer of racing from October to autumn. A burnout festival in its fortieth year. And a spring of one-make shows on the river.
Here is what is worth building a weekend around, in calendar order from spring, with links to each event's page for dates, tickets and RSVPs.
Tarmac West and the Celebration of Motorsport (September)
Four days of rally action across Perth and the hills, from Whiteman Park out to Toodyay and Kalamunda. The spectator centrepiece is the Celebration of Motorsport at Langley Park on the final day: a large, free display of racing, rally, off-road, motocross, drift, motorcycles and vintage and modern cars, free for exhibitors too. Ayani Car Collective's Auto Picnic sits on the same lawn: up to 100 selected cars across supercars, exotics, JDM, classics, muscle and one-off builds.
Tarmac West, Celebration of Motorsport, Tarmac and ACC Auto Picnic
Como Classic Car Show and the spring shows (September)
Late September is show season. The Como Classic Car Show fills Wesley College in South Perth with a curated collection of classic and vintage cars. The same weekend the Byford Classic Car Club holds its bi-annual open Meet and Greet, up to 200 classics and customs for a gold coin, and the Mandurah Lions Club runs a Monday Show and Shine on the foreshore an hour south.
Como Classic Car Show, Byford Meet and Greet, Mandurah Lions Show and Shine
Powerpalooza: the Motorplex season opener (October)
Perth Motorplex at Kwinana Beach is the city's drag strip and speedway on one site, and its season opens with Powerpalooza in late October: sprintcars, drag racing and WA Burnouts on one night. The speedway side alone runs 15 events across 22 nights through summer.
Powerpalooza XI and the Super Speedway season calendar
Hillclimb championship at Jack's Hill (October)
The national hillclimb championship returns to Western Australia after an eleven-year absence, at Jack's Hill inside Wanneroo Raceway, the circuit most people still call Barbagallo.
Motorsport Australia Hill Climb Championship
German Car Day and the Concours (November)
The Mercedes-Benz Car Club of WA, the oldest Mercedes club in the southern hemisphere, owns the first half of November. German Car Day is its annual celebration of everything from Stuttgart, Munich, Ingolstadt and Wolfsburg. The following weekend its Concours d'Elegance opens a Mercedes display and shine section to the public alongside the members' judging.
German Car Day, Concours d'Elegance
Toyotas in the Park and Horsepower in the Hills (November)
TECCWA's annual Toyota show takes over Sir James Mitchell Park on the South Perth foreshore. Every Toyota is welcome, from a classic Corolla or HiLux to a GT86 or Supra. The same Sunday, Horsepower in the Hills puts cars and bikes on show at Walliston Primary School, gates open at 10am, every dollar raised going to the school.
Toyotas in the Park, Horsepower in the Hills
Goldenstates, Torque and Tape, and the Cool Down Lap (November)
The Goldenstates Championship, in its 51st year, opens the drag racing season on the Motorplex's upgraded quarter mile over two nights. Torque and Tape is a new car culture event mixing aesthetic car displays with professional photography, models and prizes. And the Cool Down Lap at Wanneroo Raceway is the end-of-season gathering for track day regulars, drifters, racers and volunteer officials.
Goldenstates Championship, Torque and Tape, The Cool Down Lap
Sprintcar Speedweek (December to January)
The Motorplex's summer peak. USA vs WA Sprintcar Speedweek starts with the Boxing Day Bonanza, runs the High Limit International over three nights between Christmas and New Year, then the Sprintcar Muster and the Speedweek Finale into January. American drivers against the WA regulars on a summer night. The same month, the Mandurah Toy Run reaches its 35th year.
USA vs WA Sprintcar Speedweek, 35th Mandurah Toy Run
Motorvation 40 (January)
Forty years of Motorvation. Three days at Perth Motorplex of burnouts, cruising, drag racing, show cars, live music and camping, with a Motorvation Champion crowned on show judging and on-track results combined. The biggest street machine weekend in the west.
Repco Motorvation 40
Westernationals (February)
The 55th Westernationals is the premier drag racing weekend of the Motorplex season, two days of top drivers across multiple classes on the quarter mile. If you only go to one drag meet a year, this is the one.
55th Annual Westernationals
Falcon GT Nationals (March)
The GT Nationals run every two years and Western Australia hosts in 2027 for the third time: four days of Ford Falcon GTs, from authenticity checks to the Show n Shine. The same month, the York Motorcycle Festival fills the historic town of York, east of the city.
Falcon GT National Concourse, York Motorcycle Festival
The annual fixtures
Two more belong on the list without a page yet: the Supercars Championship's Perth round at Wanneroo Raceway, the biggest circuit racing weekend in the state, and the Classic Car Show at Whiteman Park, the club scene's big day out. Bike riders can add AUSX Supercross at HBF Park in November.
AUSX Supercross Perth
Plan it
Every event above is listed with its dates on the Perth car events page, alongside the monthly meets. Follow the ones you want and the reminders come to you. In town for Motorvation or Tarmac West? The Perth cars and coffee guide covers the weekends either side, and Perth car clubs worth joining has the clubs behind most of these shows.
Questions people ask
What is the biggest car event in Perth?
Motorvation at Perth Motorplex in January, three days of burnouts, drags, cruising and show cars. For circuit racing, the Supercars round at Wanneroo Raceway. For a free day out, the Celebration of Motorsport at Langley Park in September.
Where is Perth Motorplex?
At Kwinana Beach, corner of Anketell and Rockingham Roads, about 40 minutes south of the city, with a drag strip and a speedway oval on one site.
When is Tarmac West?
September, over four days, with stages across Perth and the hills and the free Celebration of Motorsport at Langley Park on the final day. Dates are on the event page.
Are there free car shows in Perth?
Yes. The Celebration of Motorsport is free for spectators and exhibitors, and the Byford Meet and Greet is gold coin entry. Check each event page before you go.
