From Dakar Rally Land Rover to 1 000HP drift BMW: Riga Auto 2026 trade fair takes place this week!

This weekend, from 24th to 26th of April, Ķīpsala will welcome the visitors and participants of the Riga Auto 2026 international automotive trade fair. Plenty of new model reveals and brands launched on the Latvian market for this first time. There will also be lots of racing cars and uniquely customized vehicles, including the world’s thinnest (only 50cm wide!) ride from Italy. The sporting line-up will have modern drift cars and road monsters, as well as classic sports cars that had even won the desert rallies.

From classic race in Sicily to adventures on the Baltic roads
Built in 1979, this Porsche is a well-crafted, modified homage to the legendary Martini & Rossi RSR cars that dominated the famous Targa Florio races in early 70s. RennSport Rennwagen (RSR) is a stripped-down version of the car that weighs less, packs race track suspension and the engine that has been boosted to RSR standards. 911’s current owner has been honing this car for the past 15 years. It has had an illustrious and rich life: Porsche Club of America race in the US, Latvian Youngtimer Rally in Talsi and many happy years riding the famous Targa Florio track that weaves through the Sicilian Madonie mountains. This Porsche was proudly exhibited at the Targa Florio museum in-between the races on those legendary roads. Today this fantastic Porsche calls Latvia its home – ready to enter into a new chapter and go on fresh adventures across the Baltic road network. You will be able to see this sports car at car review platform WhatCar? stand of the Riga Motor Show.

Legendary Nürburgring-winning BMW M6 GT3
When it comes to race cars of today, Riga Auto 2026 will showcase the car that has won the world-famous races at the German Nürburgring racetrack. In 2020, Rowe Racing team won the Nürburgring 24-hour endurance race with BMW M6 GT3, making the team history. The winning recipe was based on a perfect balance of power, durability and aerodynamics. BMW M6 GT3 is equipped with 4.4 litre boosted V8 turbo engine that has 585HP. Race car itself weighs only 1.3 tonnes and will speed up from naught to 100 kph in 3.2 seconds. It can reach the maximum speed of 300 kph. On the race track, it will come on top when competing with the likes of Ferrari 488 GT3, Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo and Porsche 911 GT3 R.

Classic Land Rover from the modern-day Dakara rally-raid
Karolis Raišis, Lithuanian car racer and off-road enthusiast, represented his country at the last year’s two-week Dakara rally-raid with 1978 Land Rover 109 Station Wagon, winning the third place among the historical vehicles and every Dakar racer’s most-coveted Bedouin statue. Karolis Raišis’ road to Dakar began in summer of 2024 when he bought almost five decades-old Defender off-roader. After importing the off-road car from Sweden, it needed a full restoration. Team of mechanics at the Vilnius Motor Museum had to almost work non-stop 24/7 to make it on time and send the fully race-ready car to the Saudi Arabia. Car was rebuilt in a month. Equipped with additional fuel tank. The original engine was replaced with much more powerful Rover V8, and most critical components were substituted with more sturdy ones. The aim was to do everything possible to recreate the experience of two French brothers who won the race in 1979, the first ever rally, with identical 109 Station Wagon.

Drift race BMW with 1 000 horsepower engine
Latvian Pro drift rider Edgars Kroģeris will compete with a completely new drift car this year, the BMW 2 series car that is based on the sportiest line-up of the M2 modified BMWs. Visitors will have a chance to see the reveal of the new race car and meet the racer in person on the first day of Riga Auto 2026, on 24 April, at 14:00. The new drift car of Edgars Kroģeris has the same V8 turbo engine with roughly 1 000HP that the previous car had, which makes it far more superior than factory BMW M2, which is represented in this race version only with its brakes.
But this is not the only car you will be able to see at the Latvian Drift Racing booth. For the whole duration of the three-day fair, besides this amazing BMW, visitors will be able to appreciate also another Pro class Nissan drift car, meet the racers behind the cars, take part in fun competitions, find out more about the start of the drift race season and Drift Masters stages across Latvia.

Legendary rotary engines in car manufacturing and racing
Compared to traditional piston engines, rotary engines have a unique build. Instead of using pistons that go up and down the cylinder shaft, rotary engine is based on triangular eccentric rotor design enclosed by an oval chamber. As rotary engine completes one full revolution, the air is subsequently sucked, compressed, ignited and pushed out in three different sections of the chamber. Such design makes the engine extremely small, light and produces very high rpm rate, while dampening vibrations to a minimum at a stable, flowing power output. Engines of this kind are widely used in factory and racing cars by Japanese Mazda, for example, in RX-7 and RX-8 series cars.
There will be a special area at the trade fair designated to these uniquely-built engines that back in 1991 allowed the Mazda 787B race car win the Le Mans 24-hour endurance race. Booth will exhibit Mazda RX-8 and also disassembled rotary engines (some of them with damage). The aim of the display is to share the engineering know-how and demonstrate how trained mechanics can fix these engines on their own. Visitors will be offered an opportunity to test their knowledge and skills by assembling the rotor or even the whole engine.

More Baltic market reveals than ever
Baltic Motor Show Riga Auto 2026 will not only reveal 15 new cars for the Latvian and Baltic market, but also several new car brands that have never been seen on the Latvian market. One of the new models that has been confirmed to appear at the trade fair is the next, 6th generation Toyota RAV4 crossover. Toyota RAV4 is one of the most popular compact off-roaders in Latvia. The 6th generation RAV4 is still as hardy as it were, but its design is much more fluid. The interior of new RAV4 is built around modern technologies and comfort. Not only does it have a 12.3-inch instrument panel, but there is also up to 13-inch multimedia display. The 6th generation RAV4 is strictly available only as hybrid – either self-charging or plug-in. Power ranges up to 304HP. You can still choose between 4x4 or more sportier GR Sport version of the crossover. Toyota’s new RAV4 will be accessible during the trade fair at the Jēkabpils-based official Toyota dealership LaLuna and car buyers guide WhatCar? stand.

Trade show has three thematic sections: New Cars with unprecedented number of new car brands this year, Auto Mechanics with great diversity of car maintenance and repair products, and Auto Exotica with really exceptional hobby and sports cars. Detailed programme of Riga Auto 2026 is available here: www.bt1.lv/auto/program.php

Trade show is organised by BT 1 International Expo Company and supported by Latvian Authorised Automobile Dealers Association and car buyers’ guide Whatcar?.

Riga Auto 2026 main partner is global trading platform eBay, which offers modern and reliable solutions for trading car parts.

Opening hours:
24–25 April: 10:00–19:00
26 April: 10:00–17:00

Tickets:
Adults: €12
Students, pupils, seniors, disabled: €8
Family ticket (2 adults + 1 child under 18): €25 + €3 for each additional child

Buy tickets in advance here.
Parking: €5 (up to 4 h) + €2 for each additional hour
Free parking at lot P3 (Matrožu iela) for visitors will be available on 25th and 26th of April. There will be shuttle buses to Expo Centre every 5 minutes.