This weekend, we got to see the Belgium Auto Show in Ghent, the spinoff from the 2024 Brussels Auto Show. It proved to be quite a spectacle, attracting a massive crowd from the region.
The Brussels Auto Show was meant to be the replacement for the Brussels Car Show for the 2024 edition, but could not fill the massive shoes. As the Autosalon returned, the BAS had to find a new date, a home, and, hence, even a name. Thus, the show moved to Ghent in 2025 and followed a concept closer to the variety shows of the Essen Motor Show.
This year’s BAS occupied the majority of Flanders Expo in Ghent, with the catwalk and most prime stages occupying the main hall (Hall 1), while a special movie car exhibition is located in Hall 8, as well as three smaller halls hosting various stages and cars. Each smaller hall was packed with shops selling models, memorabilia, clothing, or tuning parts; there were simulator centres and a downsized race track for remote-controlled cars.
There was also a large open stage hosting the drift show that we missed as we tried to get a ticket at peak hours, only to find it sold out. Judging from the massive queues for the parking and the entrance, we’d say the organisers probably managed to secure pretty solid visitor numbers.
The main hall was the centre of action. This is where the most prominent stages (some with actual three-dimensional booths) were located. The main spectacle was the catwalk, an elevated platform to showcase cars, where owners could tell their stories and spectators could cheer for the sound of roaring engines.
The Belgian oldtimer federation BEHVA was present with a selection of classic cars from various eras, including a Supra in a Castrol racing livery, a Fiat 124 from the Abarth Museum, a prewar race car, and a modern-day Aston Martin V12 Vantage.
Another major player was YouTuber Shmee150, who brought several cars from his collection, showcasing them on a simple but elegant stage. Shmee’s real name is Timothy John Burton, but he is known in petrolhead circles as Shmee150 or Shmee.
He is a British car vlogger from London, and his YouTube channel has over 2.8 million subscribers. He became popular uploading videos of supercars and decided to live his dreams. His videos document him travelling to see exotic cars or maintaining and using his own car collection, which is now located in his Shmuseum.
Another prominent stage was dedicated to Zach’s Garage, a private collection and museum owned by British entrepreneur Zach Lewis. This booth came up with a couple of exciting pairings, like a Gullwing with an SLS, a Countach with an agricultural tractor of the same brand, and, of course, a Koenigsegg Jesko.
The rest of the stages are also loaded with exciting supercars, like several high-end McLarens, including the Senna hypercar.
In addition to showcasing some pretty wild McLarens, the stage of McLaren Twins also featured a Czech hypercar, Praga.
French YouTuber Pog brought its Ferrari disguised as a police patrol vehicle, though in January, we got to see a more complete collection at the Brussels Car Show.
There was a stage with half a dozen Vipers from every generation, and some other stages loaded with wild exotics.
The smaller halls were also filled with cars, some belonging to clubs dedicated to models (Mustang or MX-5), brands (e.g. BMW) or countries (like JDMs).
Movie car icons are the primary theme of the show.
The other major Hall is filled with Movie cars. This is courtesy of a company specialised in renting out movie cars, which also provided an immense spectacle in several previous car shows. Their fleet includes a few hero cars, like the Ford Anglia from Harry Potter, the yellow VW Beetle from the 2018 Transformers movie Bumblebee, the white Peugeot from the French movie Taxi and the Ecto-1 from Ghostbusters.
An even bigger selection came from television series, such as Mr Bean’s Mini, KITT from Knight Rider, the GMC van and a white Corvette from the A-Team, a white Testarossa recalling Miami Vice, or Homer Simpson’s car.
We also spotted numerous models from the Fast & Furious franchise in Hall 1 (Toyota Supra, Honda S2000, Mitsubishi Eclipse), right on time to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the highly successful movie franchise.
All in all, we had a truly entertaining time in Ghent. The show might be nothing compared to the shiny new expos of Brussels, Essen, Stuttgart, Paris, or even Kortrijk. It was also incredibly crowded on Sunday, which, in turn, is great for the event’s future. With the spectacles offered, we will keep the Belgium Auto Show on our agenda for the future, but surely prefer to visit on a less crowded day.
