The 2021 Muscle Car & Corvette Nationals

November in the Midwest means that, for the most part, car show season is over. Classic cars are put into storage as snow and salt get ready to take to the roads (if they aren’t there already).

An exception to that rule is the Muscle Car & Corvette Nations aka the MCACN. The show is held annually in November at the Donald E. Stevens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.

Hundreds of some of the nicest Corvettes and muscle cars in the country converge in the convention center. I’ve been to several, and the 2021 show did not disappoint. This year it was held on November 20th and 21st.

The Show

The Muscle Car & Corvette Nationals is full of vendors, automotive celebrities, seminars, and lots and lots of cars.

Outside of the show, there’s a range of unique cars on display. Before even stepping foot inside, I was greeted by a 1966 Ford GT40.

You’ll find almost 400,000 square feet of some of the coolest cars to ever roll out of Detroit packed tight together. The organizers really do a great job of making sure each show is different.

The classes are divided by make, model, as well as modifications. The quality of the cars is evident when you see ones surrounded by mirrors on the ground.

The Cars

It’s hard to overstate just how many cars are on display at MCACN. It seems like everywhere you turn, there’s a sign with an arrow telling you there are more cars this way.

It’s one of the few places I’ve found where you can become sort of numb to all the cars; wherever you look, there’s another showstopper.

 This year, GM cars, 1970, and 1971 cars were some of the vehicles highlighted.

It’s not every day you see a 1969 Pontiac Trans Am, let alone the first production one.

Mecum Auction Cars

Once again, the Mecum Auction company brought some rare and iconic cars to the show. Their display included a prototype Ford GT40, several road racing Corvettes, a Shelby Cobra drag car, and a rare “tanker” Corvette, to name a few.

A Shelby Cobra Dragonsnake.
A Ford GT40 Roadster prototype.
A Chevy Corvette racecar.

The Barn Finds

Barn finds have a special place in automotive lore. Countless car fans have dreamt about opening a creaky barn door or a desolate shed only to find some ultra-rare piece of automotive history. MCACN has an entire section dedicated to them.

The barn find display has a variety of cars in various conditions (some still covered in dust). The barn finds definitely attracted a crowd.

And More

Besides the cars, there’s also vintage snowmobiles (it is the Midwest after all!), vintage bicycles, some awesome old school minibikes, and classic dirt bikes to top it all off.

More Info

If you’re looking for more info on the MCACN, you can check out their official website. If the Corvette part of the Muscle Car & Corvette Nationals is the reason you’re here, take a look at my blog post about the National Corvette Museum (they fixed the cave-in).

Did you go to the MCACN or know of a car event I should attend next? Please let me know in the comments!

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2 thoughts on “The 2021 Muscle Car & Corvette Nationals

  1. John Cunningham

    What a great show. The best era for American muscle cars has to be the late sixties to the early seventies. Looks like there were plenty of cars from that time on shown there. I love the GT40 pictured. The Ultimate Sports Racing car of that era with the Porcshe 917 coming in 2nd place. Is the red wedge pictured a Dodge Charger circa 1969? I always preferred the Plymouth version, as driven by Richard Petty in Nascar. Wedges and Wings.. As a teenager in the late 60′ s I always bought Hot Rod Magazine. Mostly drag racing but they also had great Nascar coverage and some great pics which usually ended up on my bedroom wall. Great coverage of this show Joe

    Liked by 1 person

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  2. Michael Spina

    Awesome show. Have been attending since 2016. Bob and his crew make it a “must go” every year. The people and the cars make the show incredible.

    Liked by 1 person

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