Import Expo Greensboro 2025 took over the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina, on October 25, bringing a packed indoor lineup of JDM cars, tuner builds, right-hand-drive imports, race-inspired machines and a few domestics into the mix. Hosted by ImportExpo and Team Tensei, the Saturday evening show drew a steady crowd from the time the doors opened and kept the Coliseum busy throughout the night.
The tone was set before spectators made it very far through the entrance. A heavily modified, slammed Acura NSX was among the first cars greeting the crowd, and it wasn’t the only NSX in the building. Once inside, the variety opened up quickly with Nissan GT-Rs, Toyota Supras, Honda Civics, right-hand-drive Japanese imports and builds ranging from clean street cars to much more involved show and performance projects.
Import Expo has a different feel from the outdoor shows that make up a big part of the summer calendar. Bringing everything inside changes how the cars are presented. Paint, lighting, engine bays, wheel setups and interior details become a bigger part of the experience, and builders can lean into presentation in ways that don’t always translate to a parking lot or show field.
That worked particularly well with the mix that came to Greensboro. Chris Gosda’s photos capture cars sitting low under the Coliseum lights, aggressive wheel and tire combinations, detailed engine compartments, custom trunk and audio work, underglow and plenty of the small details that separate a finished show build from a modified daily driver.
For a look at how the event has developed, check out Gauge Magazine’s Import Expo Greensboro 2024 coverage. Last year’s show established Greensboro as a strong stop for ImportExpo, and the 2025 turnout kept that momentum moving.
Japanese performance cars naturally made up a big part of the floor. Multiple Acura NSXs gave Honda’s mid-engine icon a strong presence, while Nissan GT-Rs, Toyota Supras, Civics and other Honda builds filled out the more familiar side of modern import culture. Right-hand-drive cars brought another layer to the lineup and gave spectators a chance to get close to machinery that still isn’t something you run across every day.
The interesting part was that the cars weren’t all built from the same recipe. Some were centered around stance and presentation. Others put the engine bay and performance hardware front and center. There were cars with extensive body and paint work, cars clearly influenced by motorsports, and others where the details only started showing themselves after you stopped and looked for a while.
That variety matters at an import show. A room full of identical builds gets old quickly. Import Expo Greensboro had enough different approaches to keep people moving from one car to the next instead of simply walking past rows of the same thing.
The import and JDM side was the backbone of the event, but Import Expo Greensboro wasn’t closed off to everything else. A selection of domestic performance cars and other builds broke up the field, giving the show a broader modified-car feel without losing its identity.
That crossover has become a normal part of today’s custom scene. The lines between tuner, show car, race car, exotic and domestic performance communities aren’t nearly as rigid as they once were. Put together the right group of cars and people will find something worth stopping for regardless of the badge on the grille.
If that side of the scene is your thing, Gauge has plenty more in our event coverage, along with years of import and custom-car photography from shows around the country.
The cars were the reason everyone came through the doors, but they weren’t the only thing keeping people moving around the Coliseum. Vendors covered several corners of the automotive lifestyle, with apparel, show merchandise, Hot Wheels, detailing products and performance businesses represented throughout the event.
One of the more interesting setups came from a tattoo shop that didn’t simply set up a table and hand out cards. They brought high-horsepower race cars along with them, putting their automotive side on display while talking with potential customers. It fit the crowd better than a generic vendor booth ever could.
Between the vendor displays, people shooting photos and video for social media, and spectators circling back to cars they wanted another look at, the floor stayed active throughout the show.
For all of the polished show cars in Greensboro, the vehicle that ultimately came away with Best of Show had a very different purpose behind it: a time-attack race car.
It was a fitting choice for a show where appearance and performance regularly crossed paths. Import culture has always had one foot in motorsports, and seeing a competition-focused build earn the top award was a reminder that function can command just as much attention as flawless paint and perfect presentation.
By the end of the night, Import Expo Greensboro 2025 had delivered a pretty accurate snapshot of where the modern tuner scene sits: JDM favorites beside newer performance cars, right-hand-drive imports sharing space with domestics, highly finished show builds parked near cars with obvious track influence, and a crowd documenting all of it one phone and camera at a time.
ImportExpo continues to bring its indoor show format to cities across North America, and Greensboro has become one of its North Carolina stops. For upcoming dates, registration and official event information, visit the ImportExpo website.
Scroll through the complete Gauge Magazine gallery below for our look inside Import Expo Greensboro 2025.
Photos by Chris Gosda
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