The Pagani Huayra R and Ferrari 296 Speciale Piloti sat trackside at MadRing for the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix. Nearby, a Lamborghini Countach Intervention Car from the 1982 Monaco GP drew attention. Over three days, the circuit showcased nearly sixty cars in what CarDesign.es curated as the largest public display of automotive history, including hypercars and supercars, ever seen at a Spanish motorsport event.
The lineup came with a story. Each Fan Zone grouped cars by theme and era. Bulevar Cibeles and Bulevar Sol were packed with limited-edition hypercars and competition machines, each accompanied by technical and historical notes from the CarDesign.es team. Visitors could move from the handmade Hispano Suiza Carmen Sagrera to the raw Nichols N1A in just a few steps.
The 2026 Spanish Grand Prix at MADRING was the event’s first move from Barcelona to a new city circuit in Madrid in 35 years, as Reuters and FIA confirmed.
Elsewhere, the Monumental zone focused on classic design and craftsmanship from the golden age of coachbuilding. The Mercedes-Benz 190 SL and Rolls-Royce Phantom VII, once owned by the Baronesa Thyssen, stood out as reminders that design reaches beyond horsepower. In the Barrio zone, a recreation of the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR faced its modern descendant, the SLR McLaren, showing what changes and what endures as technology and rules evolve.
Team identity and national pride also featured. The Distrito zone charted the history of legendary racing teams, including Ferrari and McLaren, alongside Lotus and others. It showed how racing DNA moves from track to street. Nearby, Marca España paid tribute to Spanish engineering, tracing a line from the Hispano Suiza Alfonso XIII and Ricart 166 Compressor through custom work by Pedro Serra and Eduardo Barreiros, then on to student-built Formula cars from Tecnun and Universidad Carlos III de Madrid.
For anyone with a Fan Zone ticket, the event packed a crash course in automotive history into one weekend. Its goal was clear: put Spanish car culture on the map as a force in design and innovation. The IV Premios CarDesign.es and the IED CarDesign.es 2026 Prize for best Transport Design thesis added a competitive edge, putting established icons alongside new talent.
MADRING featured multiple Fan Zones, with Bulevar Cibeles and Sol among them. Barrio and Distrito were also included, while Monumental completed the lineup. Each offered distinct access and activities tied to specific grandstand sectors, information from independent guides and official sources. This setup let manufacturers like Ford host dedicated brand experiences, including demonstration areas and off-road sections, extending public engagement around the Grand Prix.
Spain’s enthusiasm for classic cars isn’t new. As reported earlier, rallies and rare car gatherings have long drawn crowds across the country. But MadRing’s scale and careful curation raised the bar, blending international prestige with a distinctly Spanish perspective.
Grouping cars around engineering backgrounds, with themes and eras in view, gave visitors context. The exhibition showed what makes a car beautiful and why some designs endure while others fade. Academic prototypes and student-built racers also showed how Spanish automotive design takes shape in classrooms and workshops as well as factories.
By bringing together icons and innovators, alongside young designers, CarDesign.es made a statement: Spain belongs in the global conversation about automotive design. Events like this make that case openly and with ambition.
