An inside look at the invite-only supercar event of the summer

A driveway overflowed with supercars during the end-of-summer party for Utah's largest exotic car club. Cars pictured include a Porsche 911 Turbo, Lamborghini Urus, Lamborghini Huracan, Dodge Viper, Audi R8, and more. Photo by David Arellano.

What do you get when you combine 50 supercars with a mountaintop mansion and a passionate community of car lovers? You get Need 2 Drive’s Utah’s Supercar Splash, aka the party of the year for Utah’s supercar community.

Hosted by Need 2 Drive Utah, the state’s largest exotic car club, the Supercar Splash is the group’s annual end-of-summer pool party and celebration. This year, over 100 supercar owners and enthusiasts got together for this extravagant event in celebration of another year of great drives and memories. KSL Cars has covered the event in the past, but this year’s get-together was bigger than ever, so we had to talk to some of the organizers and attendees to find out about all the fun.

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A Porsche 911 Turbo and other supercars sit outside the 2023 Supercar Splash event in Utah. Photo by David Arellano.

A yearly tradition

The Supercar Splash event started in 2018, but the idea began a year earlier, when Need 2 Drive Utah’s founder Ismael Utrilla (@porschedriver801) and world-famous supercar YouTuber James “The Stradman” were hanging at a friend’s house. The friend, Cory Chapman, had a heck of a house and a heck of a collection of rare cars. Before long, the logical idea arose: “What if we filled this entire driveway with supercars?” 

Soon, the idea became a reality and the annual Supercar Splash event was born. Part pool party, part invite-only car show, it’s a celebration like no other. And five years later, it’s even bigger than ever. Check out the driveway if you don’t believe us — supercars were spilling out into the street this time around. 

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Supercars fill the driveway and spill out into the street at Need II Drive's 2023 annual event. Cars pictured include an Audi R8, Porsche 911 Turbo, 911 Targa, and Corvettes. Photo by David Arellano. 

Making 2023 even bigger than ever

It may have been a bit chilly for the pool this year, but N2DU made sure to bring the heat in other ways. It takes a lot to upstage a driveway full of 50 supercars, but that’s exactly what the folks at Hana Entertainment did with their fire show. Because exotic cars need exotic entertainment to match. “The fire show was amazing,” said Chrys Arroyo, one of the supercar owners in attendance. And the fire wasn’t the only thing that was, well, fire. “The food was perfect, too,” he added. Thanks to Sicilia Mia in Holladay, guests enjoyed authentic Italian food throughout the night. And you might think Polynesian fire dancing and Italian cuisine don’t go together, but when you’re a supercar owner, you’re all about a) excitement, and b) the finer things in life. We think N2DU covered their bases well in that regard. Some other highlights included music by DJ Extremo and a giveaway by Tint Citi Utah. Other sponsors of the event were Ferrari of Salt Lake City, Carguyz Motors, 4-Wheel Classics and 4 Wheel Towing.

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A fire performer from Hana Entertainment brings the heat to Need II Drive's annual party. Photo by David Arellano.

A crowded driveway

Of course, the food wasn’t the only high-class Italian output present. Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Alfa Romeos were also on the menu, with more than enough to go around. And if any guests were more partial to German fare, there were Porsches and BMWs for them to sink their teeth into. Of all the incredible cars to admire, there did seem to be a unanimous favorite. It’s hard to pick a winner in a sea of supercars, which makes it all the more impressive that both Chrys and Ismael said their favorite car of the evening was the Ferrari SF90 Stradale, which KSL Cars had recently spotted at the Cars 4 Kids toy drive. “It pulls up and it makes zero sound,” Chrys said of the $500,000+ hybrid supercar (the most powerful road car that Ferrari’s ever built). “But when the motor kicks in, it’s crazy.”

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The Ferraris were crowd pleasers including this Ferrari SF90 Stradale. Photo by David Arellano.

Putting community first

The SF90 didn’t get a chance to “go crazy” on a group drive, nor did any of the other cars. Getting 50 supercars together is enough of an organizational triumph (Ismael told us the event takes two months to plan). Getting them all on a drive would be a truly Herculean task. 

But it’s never too long before the Need 2 Drive crew is back on the road. Ismael said he likes to have at least one event per month with the group, whether it’s for a group drive or just a bonding event. And when the group gets together, it’s not the luxury rides that get everyone excited. “It’s the people, not the cars,” Chrys said of Need 2 Drive Utah and the supercar community. “It starts to feel like they’re family.” Although he’s been involved with cars his whole life, Chrys said he’s never seen anything like N2DU. 

Ismael pointed to the group’s organization and execution as a reason for its continued success. “The owners feel that the effort and execution is there. People come because they know it’s gonna be good.”

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Ismael Utrilla, the event’s organizer, speaks to guests. Photo by David Arellano.

And while putting on a great event like the Supercar Splash is one of his favorite things about the group, Ismael said the best part is giving back. This year, the group did so with their Exotics at the Gateway event, which helped raise money for Utah Foster Care. Need 2 Drive Utah has also worked with Sicilia Mia in the past to raise funds for the Road Home in Murray. Meanwhile, some members of the club are also involved with the Cars 4 Kids charity, which benefits the Utah Ronald McDonald House and Make-A-Wish Utah.

But Ismael also sees an impact beyond dollars and cents. “You can inspire people for free,” he said. While it’s fun to drive incredible cars and host extravagant events like the Supercar Splash, the mission of his club has always been to keep people dreaming, whether that be kids or kids at heart. And if he keeps putting on events like this year’s Supercar Splash, he’ll have people setting their sights higher than the mountain roads that the group loves to cruise.

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Photo credit: Tanner B Seymour