As an automotive journalist that covers a vast array of events including all manner of car shows, it isn’t every day that one truly surprises me.

Luckily, Saturday was not every day, and I was completely flabbergasted by the metal on display at the fifth annual Luxury Supercar Weekend in Vancouver’s Van Dusen Botanical Gardens.

The funny part is, I expected to see the rare, $750,000-plus stuff and so while enjoying the sights of the McLaren P1 (twice; there were two of the $1,000,000 hybrid supercar present), and the Pagani Huyara (the first Pagani model to be road legal in North America) in all its naked-carbon goodness, it was the off-Broadway stuff that left my mouth agape.

How about a Porsche 917K Le Mans racer, circa 1971? In classic Martini livery, to boot?

Or what about the Maserati MC12, of which about 60 were produced between 2005-05?

Even a replica of the 1967 Shelby GT500 from 2000’s Gone in 60 Seconds, a car that’s been done many, many times managed to stand out amongst all the plastic (carbon-fibre…whatever), chrome-wrapped Mercedes-Benz SLS and Lamborghini Aventador models of the day.

One of the most refreshing aspects of the event, however, is that while there is a $50 admission fee ($25 for those 12 and under), you don’t get the feeling that this is an event only to be populated by men with $5,000 suits. Children were given the opportunity to take a seat in the Huyara or to sample a virtual simulator (free of charge) complete with moving driver’s seat and race-car inspired steering wheel.

I remember how excited I was when I got to sit in a stone sculpture of a car during Expo ’86 in Vancouver; can you imagine what these kids are going to remember after sitting at the wheel of a real Pagani or steering a virtual race car around a track in high-def? Worth every penny.