At the legendary Gumball 3000 Rally, supercar drivers become rock stars

From September 20 to 27, 2025, around 100 supercars will race across Europe, from Istanbul through Romania, Serbia, and Italy all the way to Ibiza. And wherever they stop along the way, they cause a sensation. Whether spotted by chance by car spotters at unofficial halts or during the official milestones—after all, you don’t see a convoy of about 100 supercars every day. One of the scheduled stops was the city of Florence on September 23, 2025. Streetwheelz1 was in Italy and experienced the party atmosphere live.

Florence is a tourist magnet even without major public events. It is well worth taking the time to explore its famous landmarks (including the Ponte Vecchio, the Uffizi, the Duomo, the Palazzo Vecchio, and the Galleria dell’Accademia with Michelangelo’s David), as well as the hidden gems of this Tuscan city. From Piazzale Michelangelo, located on Monte alle Croci, you get a breathtaking view of the entire city and, for once, see the Duomo in one piece—up close, it is simply too large to fit into a single photo. The organizers of the rally could not have chosen a more majestic backdrop for their event. As the golden hour slowly descended upon the city, the crowd eagerly awaited the first arrivals of the rally.

Just before sunset, the first participant made it in. And gradually, as dusk fell, more and more drivers arrived. First came the distant roar of an engine, then the cars drove one by one onto the specially built ramp, which—with its floodlights, smoke machines, and thundering sound—would have been a fitting entrance for any rock star. The crowd erupted in cheers. Some cars responded with loud engine revs. The moderator sent the drivers off with, “See you tomorrow in Nice,” the next stop after Florence. It sounded a little daring—and that’s exactly how it should.

The cars of the roughly 100 participants were diverse. Many Lamborghinis and Ferraris were present, alongside Mercedes, Rolls Royce, and Porsche. But there were also rarer machines, including a Gordon Murray Automotive T.50 and a Ford GT. And then, of course, the car that many spectators had been waiting for all evening: a 1-of-100 Pagani Zonda in a unique red paint scheme.

Both the cars and the drivers of the rally are flamboyant. Beyond the obligatory “Gumball 3000” decals, some turned heads with eccentric designs. French entrepreneur Paul, for example, dressed up his pink-wrapped Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS as a piglet—complete with ears and a snout. One of the most famous participants this year is internationally successful DJ Afrojack. Also joining were two major German YouTubers: luxury car dealer Omid Mouazzen (662k subs on YouTube) and Inscope21 (2.73 million subs on YouTube).

While rallies are often imagined as dusty treks through deserts or mountain passes in ruggedly built race cars, Gumball 3000 is more of a long—indeed very long—journey in luxury supercars. As beautiful as these machines are, they are probably not very comfortable. There are no daredevil jumps over gravel tracks, but rather full throttle on highways and through cities, conquering an endless stretch of road. On this day, they came straight from Belgrade—a leg that takes at least 10 hours, assuming speed limits are observed. Because the motto of Gumball 3000 is clear: “It’s a rally, not a race.” Still, some engines were so overheated that they could no longer even roar for the crowd.

These eight days demand everything not only from the cars, but also from the drivers and their support crews. On stage, they spoke of heavy rain, mechanical breakdowns, and exhaustion. Understandably so—on a 1000-kilometer stage, anything can happen.

But it is likely these very uncertainties that attract the participants. The rough edges, the surprises. Gumball 3000 is radical. Loud. A lifestyle. Instead of taking a Lamborghini for a sunny spin down a shopping street or logging endless highway kilometers just for the sake of it, there is a clearly defined goal. And as a rally participant, you become part of Gumball 3000’s history—and with it, a rock star.

As the moderator so aptly put it: “See you tomorrow in Nice.” Or in some other city somewhere in the world. That is the stuff legends are made of.

About Gumball 3000: It is a flavorful mix of rally, party, lifestyle, and supercar parade. The founder, Maximillion Cooper, created the event in 1999, inspired by the classic film The Gumball Rally (1976) and the approximate distance of the road trip—about 3000 miles. Website: https://gumball3000.com

Written by cr