I took a rainbow Jeep to the UK’s most inclusive car show – and found its gayest Audi

The UK’s most colourful motoring event returned to the British Motor Museum on Sunday July 26, bringing together more than 400 LGBTQ+ car enthusiasts and allies for a day of sunshine, Kylie prosecco and spectacular vehicles.

The event launched last year through the efforts of Bentley, Attitude Magazine and several other car manufacturers, in partnership with the British Motor Museum. For 2026 Carwow was proud to join as a sponsor of the event – and to arrive in style in our very own PrideWOW Jeep Wrangler.

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And what an event it was. Petrol&Pride is fully inclusive – even electric cars are allowed to attend – and so the 195-car display included everything from a Fiat Panda to a Ferrari 12Cilindri. The front row consisted of an automotive rainbow running from a red Alfa Romeo 4C at one end to a violently purple Bentley Continental at the other.

My personal highlight? Well, there were far too many to choose from – but the lurid green BMW 3.0 CSL filling out the middle of the rainbow was particularly fantastic, as were both of the blue Citroen DS19s that arrived in considerable style.

As with any car show, there were prizes – but unlike the local classic car show, there were no awards for Shiniest Wheelnuts or Most Authentic Headlining. The prize for the ‘Biggest Glow-up’ went to a Chrysler New Yorker, and ‘Butchest Car’ was awarded to a Chevrolet Caprice police cruiser complete with working lights and siren. And driven by Officer Hooker, of course.

The top prize for ‘Gayest Car’ went to a distinctly battle-scarred Audi A3 convertible. Carwow’s Ben Crawford was on the judging panel. “It’s all in the details,” Ben said. “The kerbed front wheel from someone who can’t park, the door bin stuffed full of makeup and the hair scrunchie around the gear lever – we genuinely couldn’t have chosen anything else.”

Prizes were awarded by former competitive swimmer and diversity advocate Michael Gunning – bottles of Kylie prosecco and a suitably bedazzled petrol pump trophy.

For me, as an openly queer car enthusiast, Petrol&Pride felt like a truly safe space. There’s no shortage of LGBTQ+ people in motoring – whether journalists, engineers, photographers, executives, or just plain old car enthusiasts. And while a very vocal minority still exists – the sort of people who brand a Mazda MX-5 as ‘a car for hairdressers’ and think anyone who isn’t a straight white man has no business being interested in cars – at Petrol&Pride, those tired attitudes felt increasingly out of step with the wider car community.

It would be easy to assume that acceptance now moves in only one direction. The attack at Berlin Pride the previous day was a brutal reminder that it doesn’t. LGBTQ+ people remain a regular political talking point, while some major companies have begun scaling back or quietly rebranding their DE&I commitments.

Events like Petrol&Pride are valuable to remind everyone that it’s not all doom and gloom – and sometimes, you can just spend a super fun afternoon, quoting Drag Race and looking at cars, with your most fabulous friends.

Petrol&Pride will return to the British Motor Museum in 2027 – and I’ll definitely be there.

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