Toys for Tots Exotic Car Toy Rally in South Florida | Dec. 1, 2018 Recap
Over 300 exotic cars, from the likes of the Pagani, Lamborghini, and McLaren, joined the South Florida Toy Rally on December 1st, 2018, in a massively successful effort to distribute unwrapped, new toys for the Toys for Tots program run by the United States Marine Corps Reserve. We are here to present to you a recap of this amazing charity car event.
South Florida’s exotic car ‘Toy Rally’ celebrated its 13th anniversary on December 1st, 2018. This exclusive exotic car toy rally benefits the Toys For Tots program, which is run by the United States Marine Corps Reserve.
It is the biggest procession of Supercars to take the streets of South Florida, and it’s all for charity! Toy Rally is the most exciting and highly anticipated exotic car meetup and event in Florida, and quite possibly the country.
The Toy Rally is truly a spectacle to behold. Exotic cars by the hundreds, spanning miles of road, driven by enthusiastic owners, all in respect to benefiting underprivileged children here in the USA during the holidays.
What is more marvelous than hundreds of cars totaling over $80 million dollars?
The incredibly positive impact and difference the Toy Rally makes for the kids involved in the charity event, that’s what!
The team at Diamonds by Raymond Lee of Boca Raton are so happy to have been a part of making the holiday season special for the many deserving children. We decided to write up this post to give everyone a recap of the amazing day.
This incredible day is full of incredibly giving people who make this massive event possible.
Recap of the Toy Rally
On December 1st, 2018, Diamonds by Raymond Lee (founders of Diamonds and Donuts Boca Raton Car Show) took part in the Toys For Tots Rally (run by Toy Rally).
This Exotic Car Toy Rally in South Florida is open to the public but exclusive for the cars that can participate in the rally. 300 or so exotic cars are selected during the sign up period. The man in charge of everything is Fred Burton.
Here is how the day went down through our firsthand experience
At 8am, all of the drivers met up at the BB&T Center, home of the Florida Panthers hockey team, located in Sunrise, Florida. Here we had a driver’s meeting to go over the specifics of the rally before departing.
The Marine Corps and local law enforcement joined the rally to convoy the exotics to each location.
After departing from the BB&T Center, we made a midway pit stop at Ferrari Fort Lauderdale.
They shut down Federal Highway, which is right in front of the Ferrari dealership, for the massive rally.
When we stopped at the Ferrari dealership on Federal Highway
We hung out at Ferrari Fort Lauderdale for a half hour until we took off again to our last and final stop.
The final stop of the Toy Rally was the Good Year Blimp Station in Pompano Beach, Florida.
This is where we dropped off our toy donations (everyone had to bring a $100 minimum worth of new unwrapped toys…although most brought significantly more).
Good Year Blimp base where all of the toys were dropped off
This special event accumulated so many toys that the USMC needed moving trucks in order to transport all of them. We haven’t been able to get exact numbers on the donations and toys but last year in 2017, the Toy Rally broke all of their past records. The rally saw over $80 million dollars worth of import cars, a record attendance, over 3,000 new toys, AND over $75,000 in cash, all of which went to Toys for Tots. When you add all of that up, you get countless and priceless smiles on a lot of kids faces. It’s a positive holiday impact that we are proud to have been a part of this year.
Here are all of the toys that we donated
At the Good Year Blimp Station, we also enjoyed a delicious lunch and an auction took place.
The view while having lunch was amazing!
From there everyone mingled and enjoyed the rest of the event.
Highlights from the Toy Rally
Prestige, one the main sponsors of the rally, brought out TWO Paganis, which estimate about $1,400,000 each.
The Pagani Huayra is a twin-turbocharged 6L V12 beast able to produce 720bhp at 5,800rpm and 738lb-ft of torque at 2250-4500rpm. It has a jaw-dropping top speed of around 238mph (scary). And, it goes from 0-60 in a mere 2.8 seconds. These types of numbers are unheard of. Moreover, with Pirelli Tires, the Pagani Huayra can manage 1.66g of later acceleration at speeds up to 230mph. YIKES.
They only made 100 cars during the production run.
Pagani Huayra L’Ultimo
The Pagani Huayra L’Ultimo is the last Huayra coupé made for US customers. It has everything as a normal Huayra in regards to mechanical components, but it features a plethora of bespoke parts unique to it alone. Such as the Pachetto Tempesta Aerodynamic package, a bespoke rear wing, a roof scoop (that sounds as amazing as it looks) inspired by the Zonda R, amongst other things like the unique paintwork which was inspired by Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton’s F1 car.
A couple interior shots of the Pagani
The color of the interior is a major contrast from the exterior, with it’s white leather seats and turquoise center console, floor mats and other accessories.
This Pagani has a Hermes designed interior and it is literally one-of-a-kind. Speaking of Hermes, check out our Hermes handbags here.
Several of our Diamonds and Donuts hardcore attendees were also in the rally!
Lamborghini Aventador
@954_mr-xi brought out his Lamborghini Aventador with his daughter riding shotgun
The Aventador, named after a Spanish fighting bull, a Transformer from the Age of Extinction, one of only 5,000, is a dream car for many but a reality for Mr. Xi. The base price for a Lambo Aventador is around $400,000. It has a V12 engine that can employ 690bhp and take the driver up to speeds of 217mph. This Lambo has her own name. She’s called Bella because she’s such a pristine beauty.
McLaren 650S
@boop14 brought out her McLaren 650S
The McLaren is made from the most exquisite materials. Bred for racing by using the highest technology in the industry. The McLaren 650s brings luxury and power together, therefore making it one of the most exciting vehicles ever to hit the streets. It has dihedral doors, climatic side intakes, brilliant all-LED headlamps, and more eye-catch aesthetics. All of which equally match its incredible performance.
From 0-62mph in 3.0 seconds and 0-124mph in 8.4seconds, you can get this badass car up to its top speed of 207mph in no time.
What’s more impressive about the 650S than it’s speed and acceleration is its serious control and almighty brakes. No matter how fast you go, you can stop, steer and switch gears just as quickly. The McLaren 650S is sexy, fast, and safe.
Champion Porsche
@taied_up from Champion Porsche brought out the 2018 911 Turbo S.
The Turbo S is likely the greatest example of Porsche’s illustrious 911 series.
The 2018 Turbo S is an exclusive model, with only 500 being built globally. This specific Turbo S, even more so, as it has been modified from all angles. It has 21” Champion Motorsport x Vossen forged center lock wheels, a Werks1 carbon fiber rear spoiler, H&R Sports Springs, a GIAC performance tune, a Tubi Style Race Exhaust, BMC Performance Air Filters, and a paint of Nardo Grey.
Big shout out to Champion Porsche for bringing this magnificent car out and sponsoring the rally.
Acura NSX
@joker_nsx brought out his 2017 Acura NSX
The Acura NSX represents the “everyday supercar” phrase perfectly. It has balls to the wall performance with comfortable seats and a sound system that is equally impressive. As it has a standard hybrid mode, it manages drives through the city lights quietly and civilly. But when it’s time to open it up on the highway or track, it immediately turns into the Jekyll with its crazy acceleration and power. We are talking a drop of a dime transformation when it’s time to hit the road hard.
People take this car rally seriously as you can tell!
Scott Israel giving his speech before the rally
Scott Isreal (Sheriff of Broward County) gave a moving speech and thanked everyone for participating in this fantastically fun event for a meaningful cause. The Broward County Sheriff’s department plays a big roll in this Toy Rally in South Florida. This is because i-95, which is the biggest interstate in South Florida, gets shut down just for the Rally.
The Lotus that Broward County Sherriff used in the rally
This is what it looked like on the roads
It was amazing to see all of the people on the other side of i-95, who were stuck in jammed packed traffic, outside of their cars cheering on the rally. Everyone looked happy, donning smiles from ear to ear, as they took photos and videos of the exotic vehicles in the rally passing in the opposite direction. It must have made for an ironically enjoyable traffic jam.
The Marines made a presence out there as well
A couple shots of the R8 Diamonds by Raymond Lee rallied with
The 602hp V10+ engine is the epitome of mid-engine drivetrain vehicles. It has the finest balance via its point of balance and vital weight transfer attributes. The Audi R8 will break the necks of anyone it passes due to its impressive looks, sound, and speed.
The LED headlights are its “standard” and it’s available with laser beam technology. The crisp 19-inch 5-double spoke wheels, on top of all of its other characteristics, create the ultimate, cunning sports design. All of this combined makes for a lot of happy car show enthusiasts.
Lamborghini Huracán
This Lamborghini Huracan belongs to TR3 Performance @tr3performance. Yes that is a custom twin turbo kit they custom built at their shop.
Lamborghini pulls inspiration for their cars from historical Spanish fighting bulls and the Huracán is no exception. Named after a fighting bull from 1879 that was recognized for its “outstanding courage and strong sense of attack”, the Huracan’s name for this model Lamborghini’s is utterly fitting.
It has smart, sleek lines that slice through the air and docile roads. It’s a thrilling ride that few are lucky to experience. Thanks to @tr3performance, the people of Diamonds and Donuts can touch this beauty that whips the South Florida roads whenever it pleases.
It has a V10 engine that reaches a top speed of 199mph with an interior full of the finest technology in the industry. It was a pleasure being able to see this nearly-half-a-million-dollar car up close and personal.
About Toy Rally
The South Florida Exotic Car Toy Rally is an entirely charity based event that gathers likeminded exotic car aficionados to create a huge parade of the world’s most exotic cars in an effort to raise money and toys for the USMC’s Toys for Tots. For the past 13 years, Toy Rally has been putting on an otherwise unprecedented exotic car rally in South Florida, distributing toys by the thousands to underprivileged children, with the goal of simply brightening up their holiday.
Toy Rally states that they are the “largest single event donor to their local Toys for Tots USMC base” and the car rally is “one of the largest processions of exotic cars and one of the most anticipated exotic car events in the country!”
“The Toy Rally is proud to be officially recognized, and authorized by the USMC to operate and collect on behalf of Toys for Tots, and to have received the prestigious USMC “Commander’s Award” for the difference the Toy Rally makes to the Toys for Tots program.”
About Toys for Tots
The Toys for Tots program was created 71 years ago by the Marine Corps. The program supplies less fortunate children with millions of toys each year during the holidays.
Here is their mission, as stated directly on their website:
“The mission of the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation is to assist the U. S. Marine Corps in providing a tangible sign of hope to economically disadvantaged children at Christmas. This assistance includes providing day-to-day leadership and oversight of the Program, raising funds to provide toys to supplement the collections of local Toys for Tots Campaigns, to provide promotional and support material and defray the costs of conducting annual Toys for Tots Campaigns. Other Foundation support includes providing administrative, advisory, financial, logistic and promotional support to local Toys for Tots Coordinators; managing funds raised and monies donated based on the use of Toys for Tots name or logo; providing other support the Marine Corps, as a federal agency, cannot provide; and conducting public education and information programs about Toys for Tots that call the general public to action in support of this patriotic community action program.
The objectives of the Foundation are to help less fortunate children throughout the United States experience the joy of Christmas; to play an active role in the development of one of our nation’s most valuable resources – our children; to unite all members of local communities in a common cause for three months each year during the annual toy collection and distribution campaign; and to contribute to improving communities in the future.”
Sponsors
There were many sponsors who made all of this possible. You can find a list of the Toy Rally sponsors on their website.
There were 3 different level of sponsorship – Premium Unleaded, Plus Unleaded, and Regular Unleaded. Prestige and Ferrari of Fort Lauderdale had notably the largest presence.
