© Tom CartwrightFrom flex to shared passion – how Miami’s car culture is changingMiami’s car scene is shifting—beyond the supercar flex, a grassroots community of real drivers and racing fans is taking the wheel.
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Lamborghini Revueltos are slowly stalked by Ferrari LaFerraris, which are in turn followed by prowling Pagani Utopias. This is the automotive flex the Magic City is famed for – a supercar culture that reveres the exotic, expensive and unobtainable above all else.
But times are changing. And while the city’s car culture is still most extravagantly repped by its episodes of high-end show and tell, bubbling beneath the surface are whole ecosystems of alternative passions – from modified Porsches to tricked-out ‘70s American cruisers and from spectacular classic festivals to F1 itself and a growing community of fans who are putting the Miami Grand Prix at the heart of their passion for cars.
Mario Magalhaes© Mario Magalhaes
MarioMagalhaesisanautomotivecontentcreatorandamateurracerwhoseYouTubechannel,Shift,documentsthelocalsceneinMiami.
From the beginning of the pandemic up until now, Miami car culture has experienced a massive resurgence. And it’s across all walks of life – from the grassroots right to the upper echelon...Mario Magalhaes"Miami is an exaggerated kind of mini world in itself. From the beginning of the pandemic up until now, Miami car culture has experienced a massive resurgence. And it’s across all walks of life – from the grassroots right to the upper echelon. The BMW scene is huge. The exotic scene is huge. You're going to see everything from tuned Civics to Bugatti Chiron Pur Sports and Ferrari Enzos. It's beautiful."
However, it’s at the grassroots level that Magalhaes is most comfortable and where he sees the biggest growth. “Miami has always had its core,” he says. “There are certain places…. There's a brewery called Beat Culture Brewery that’s kind of like your [famed UK biker meet] Ace Café. During COVID, it became the hub for not only the VW world but also the BMW crew, the Fiat Abarth guys, the JDM crew. There's an open-air parking lot and all of the scenes could converge. The grassroots scene is definitely thriving. Those who are car people—they appreciate any type of build. Whether it's a Miata, Civic Type R, a Jetta, whatever it is. They appreciate it because of the work put into it.”
Miamibuildscomeinallshapesandsizes;aparticularspecialityofthecity,however,arethecuriouslynamedDonks.
Part of a larger sub-sect of car modification referred to as high-risers, and effectively the opposite of a lowrider, Donks are typically 1970s Chevrolet Caprices or Impalas with flashy metallic paintwork, jacked-up suspension, and obnoxiously large and flashy rims. In fact, the larger and more outrageously shiny the rims are, the better. The story goes that the phrase ‘donk’ was coined specifically for these cars, as the Impala logo resembled, and was often referred to as a donkey by owners. A favourite of early 2000s Florida rappers, Donk culture has grown to the extent that there’s now a specific Donk Day festival, organised by the Donk Planet channel and which this year will celebrate its 10th edition in Miami.
Mario Magalhaes© Mario Magalhaes
As well as Magalhaes’ celebration of all facets of Miami road car culture on his YouTube channel, the content creator is also helping to convert Floridians to racing, principally with FARA, the Formula and Auto Racing Association in which he competes. Dedicated to boosting amateur competition, FARA organises racing events for a wide variety of cars at tracks across South Florida. With a dwindling number of circuits to choose from, however, Magalhaes says FARA is about rescuing racing in the state from slow decline.
“With FARA and now with the drift scene, we're trying to bring [racing] back because we're losing tracks,” he explains. “We lost Palm Beach International Raceway, and we lost County Line Dragway. The first was an NHRA eighth-mile track with a fantastic go-karting track and a road course, and County Line was a drag racing and drift scene track. We lost that years ago."
“As a result, we started the drift scene again, with a friend who runs a group called Street Racing Made Safe,” he continues. “He's a huge advocate for taking racing off the streets, and he rents out the go-karting track at AMR Motorplex outside of Homestead-Miami Speedway to host a monthly autocross championship series. We also have Clean Culture – shows for the stance kind of scene as well – you know, for the crazy camber type of crowd. So, it’s really everything. Everything is taking off, and it’s wonderful to see.”
Thetake-offisevidenttooathigherlevels,asMiamicollector,racerandnowclassiccardealerDiegoRibadeneirareveals.
Born in Ecuador, Diego and his family moved to Miami at the age of eight and with his father involved in car dealerships and collecting, he was immersed in the city’s auto scene from an early age. Over the years he has seen the exotic car scene grow massively, but alongside it is a passionate classic car culture that encompasses everything from vintage supercars to restomod Porsches.
Diego Ribadeneira© Diego Ribadeneira
To most looking from outside, Miami’s scene is probably about the newer cars – Ferraris, Lamborghinis – that kind of a show-off type of scene. But in Miami, it goes a lot deeper than that...Diego Ribadeneira “To most looking from outside, Miami’s scene is probably about the newer cars – Ferraris, Lamborghinis – that kind of a show-off type of scene. But in Miami, it goes a lot deeper than that,” he says. “There’s a huge Porsche culture here, both air-cooled and water-cooled, but big on air-cooled. A lot of passion and a lot of people modifying cars. Right now, I would say my favourite machine is a 911 Safari from the 1980s, done by the Keen Project. Leh Keen is the creator. He’s also a race car driver, very passionate. And he’s built about 38 of these cars, I think, up until now. So, if you own one, you get to do at least one rally a year in different places, mostly North Carolina.
“Then you also have companies like We Are Curated that specialise in vintage supercars. That has sparked a revival of all those ‘80s, ‘90s and 2000s supercars coming in and out of Miami. Quite a few new events have also popped up, such as ModaMiami.”
Established in 2024, ModaMiami blends a high-end concours show with luxury lifestyle displays over a two-day show at the iconic, Jazz Age Biltmore Hotel that culminates in an auction of some of the world’s rarest cars. This year’s third edition, held in February, saw auction house RM Sotheby’s rack up an impressive $74.5 million in total sales.
But while ModaMiami brings in the high rollers, Diego says there are plenty of other events that bring car communities together.
Diego Ribadeneira© Diego Ribadeneira
“There’s the annual Miami Concours, in the Design District, which mixes modern and classic supercars,” he says. “There’s Cavallino, the Ferrari Concours in Palm Beach—I still consider it South Florida. And another great event is DRT [Das Renn Treffen, or the Race Meet], which is Porsche-related and organised by a classic Porsche dealer called Zweck. That has become a big event, with a track day, a big show and different events around it. There are more and more events and car-related things going on in South Florida. On any normal Saturday or Sunday, almost every weekend, you’ll have a Cars and Coffee in different places. So yeah, it's a booming scene.”
JuhaMikkola,sonoflegendary1983WorldRallyChampionHannu,haslivedinMiamifor11yearsandrunsautomotivecommunityBoxBox.
Juha Mikkola, son of legendary 1983 World Rally Champion Hannu© Peter Salce
The scene isn’t without its challenges, as he says the region’s unique topography has shaped how car culture has developed.
Florida is flat and was built around railroads, so everything is straight. It’s a perfect grid. Juha Mikkola “It’s the roads—they're just not very exciting,” he laughs. “Florida is flat and was built around railroads, so everything is straight. It’s a perfect grid. If you want to go for a spirited drive, in LA you’ll be saying, ‘I’m going to Mulholland’, or in New York there are plenty of places to, but here that’s a challenge. So that also leads to a culture where the cars people value are usually big V8s. Here, it’s a stoplight-to-stoplight type of culture. People want loud and a lot of power, and I don’t really need to be great in the twisty stuff because there is none. And many nice cars just sit at valet lines because there's nowhere exciting to drive them. Now you need to be a member of an expensive private club to enjoy a track day with your car.”
Twenty minutes from Miami Beach and next to Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport, into which the bulk of the track's globetrotting members fly, the Concours Club is a $220 million door private automotive country club that opened in 2021. It’s 100-plus members each paid an upfront joining fee of $375,000 and then fork out an additional $35,000 annually to drive their supercars on its two-mile track and use its luxury facilities.
The track day culture is even coming to the city’s F1 track. Launched in November 2024 by Tom Garfinkel, the CEO of the Miami Dolphins and Hard Rock Stadium, and South Florida Motorsports, the promoters of the Miami GP, the Precision Drive Club transforms the F1 circuit into a year-round playground for automotive enthusiasts, with a spotlight moment during the F1 weekend as its 100 members get to showcase their cars on track.
For Mikkola, high-end clubs are a rarefied part of Miami’s rich automotive culture, but it means that “there aren’t many options for someone with a '96 BMW 5 Series Touring to go drive.”
His BoxBox community aims to solve that problem by bringing auto nuts, especially F1 fans, into an atmosphere that celebrates cars of every kind and not just the ultra-luxury machines of the privileged few. Informed by but not exclusive to his father’s stellar achievements, it’s a passion Mikkola has nurtured since childhood.
Juha & Crew© Juha Mikkola
Originally, it was watching Senna versus Prost, then Häkkinen versus Schumacher. As a kid, it was just amazing.Juha Mikkola “My father wasn’t one of those dads that pushed me or my brother into racing, but I think it did bring a passion for it,” he says. “I remember being at Rally Finland a couple of times when I was old enough to remember, which was really cool, but for me, it was watching F1 on the weekends that did it. We have a summer place [in Finland] where we have no running water, no electricity. But my dad put in solar panels so that we could have a little TV. Originally, it was watching Senna versus Prost, then Häkkinen versus Schumacher. As a kid, it was just amazing.”
“The other thing that sparked my passion was Autosport magazine. They sent it to my dad—I think it was weekly at the time—and I just loved reading it. I remember British touring car saloons and low-cost challenger cups—I’d read the results every week and see who was doing what. So, I've always been a big fan.”
As a child Mikkola also spent time in Miami – “My parents had a place; I was here from kindergarten to fourth grade” – and returned as an adult entrepreneur. It was during this time that his love of F1 was rekindled, but he struggled to find like-minded locals.
“When Kimi came back in 2013, things peaked for me again. But I realised I had nobody to watch with. This was long before Drive to Survive, and F1 was not popular. Nobody followed it here except people who were also foreign-born.”
“The first person I met who was a fan was a guy who worked for Google – a Mexican guy and a big Checo fan. I was like, ‘Let’s get together to watch a race.’ Before I knew it, the chat grew to 10 people, 20 and then 30. We hosted our first watch party at We Are Curated with 40 people. Now the chat has grown to 200 people. We’ve had 80 people at the Miami F1 race. We've built a culture around watching races and just being fans together.”
And that fandom comes from all walks of life, an aspect Mikkola is proud of. “Our membership is mixed—some have car collections, others have daily drivers,” he says. “BoxBox is really for people who love cars for what they are, not just how they look parked. Then you add in that F1 side, and it’s really a home for real F1 fans and real drivers.
“It’s maybe the opposite of the super glitzy Miami things and more about community—real racing passion, real friendships. Cars are a way for people to connect. Miami is evolving. There’s still flash, but a new wave is coming—real drivers, real fans, real racing passion. BoxBox hopes to lead that shift.’
The final word goes to Mario Magalhaes who extends that new wave into a much wider movement:
In Miami, cars are more than machines. They’re passports—to friendships, to dreams, and to a community where everyone, no matter their ride, is part of something greater.Mario Magalhaes And in Miami, car culture is just that – great.
