Stories
Gumball 3000 — Miami to Mexico City, June 4-12, 2026
The 27th annual Gumball 3000 rally rolls out from Miami on June 4. Route, waypoints, the new Ulysse Nardin partnership, and what makes this year's edition different.
We don’t run the Gumball, but plenty of our readers follow it — and a few past Pure Adrenalin guests have run it themselves. The 27th edition starts this week (June 4, 2026) from Miami. Here’s what’s on the route and what’s notable about this year.
The basics
- Edition: 27th annual Gumball 3000.
- Dates: June 4-12, 2026.
- Start: Miami, Florida.
- Finish: Mexico City, Mexico.
- Distance: Approximately 5,000 km over 8 driving days.
- Stops: Amelia Island, New Orleans, Houston, Austin, Bandera, Monterrey, San Miguel de Allende.
- Tagline: “It’s A Rally, Not A Race.”
The route
The 2026 edition is unusual in two ways: it starts in the United States and finishes in Mexico, and the route is heavy on the American South rather than the European routes that historically defined the rally.
Day 1 (June 4) — Miami start. The traditional opening party at the start city.
Day 2 — Amelia Island. A short northbound run to the historic Florida island, home to the well-known Amelia Concours d’Elegance.
Day 3 — New Orleans. A long westbound day through the Florida panhandle and across the Gulf Coast to New Orleans.
Day 4 — Houston. Onward west to Texas.
Day 5 — Austin. A relatively short hop to Austin — Circuit of the Americas country.
Day 6 — Bandera, TX. Into Texas Hill Country.
Day 7 — Monterrey, Mexico. The border crossing into Mexico and the first major Mexican stop.
Day 8-9 — San Miguel de Allende → Mexico City. The colonial-era Mexican mountain town, then the closing run to Mexico City for the finish-line party.
The route choices are unusual for the Gumball — much less highway tedium than some past editions, and a lot of stops where the cars get to be looked at by towns that don’t normally see this kind of convoy roll through.
What’s new this year
Partnership with Ulysse Nardin. The Swiss watchmaker has produced a Freak x Gumball 3000 Edition 2 timepiece tied to the rally. This is the second iteration of the partnership, and the limited-edition watch is one of the trip’s collectible elements for participants.
The Mexico finish. The Gumball has not historically finished in Mexico. The closing-party tradition has more often been London, Cannes, Tokyo, or Miami itself. Mexico City as the finish line is a deliberate format change.
Why people do the Gumball
We have an obvious bias — we operate small, curated, intimate driving tours. The Gumball is the opposite of what we do: it’s big, public, social-media-heavy, and the route covers ground rather than savouring it.
But the appeal is real for the people who do it. It’s the largest sustained gathering of interesting cars on public roads in the world. It’s a week with peers — many of the same drivers come back year after year. And the social spectacle is part of the point — the Instagram-able stops, the police escorts in some cities, the welcome receptions, the parties.
For our part: we wish anyone running the 2026 rally a great week on the road. If you’re a Pure Adrenalin reader heading to Miami on June 4, send us a photo from Mexico City a week later.
How it relates to our world
The Gumball and Pure Adrenalin sit at opposite ends of the same hobby. We run small groups (6-12), single brand (Porsche), curated routes (one road at a time), short tours (3-5 days), focused on the driving itself. The Gumball runs big convoys (often 100+ cars), all brands, distance routes, longer durations, focused on the spectacle.
Plenty of our guests have done both formats and like them both for different reasons. They’re not competing products.
If the Gumball Mexico finish sounds great but the format is too much, you might like our Porsche Europe tour for the next time. Five days, the same hotel rotation, the helicopter day, and a group small enough that you’ll know everyone’s first names by Day 2.
— Pure Adrenalin Editorial Team
Frequently asked questions
- When is the 2026 Gumball 3000?
- June 4-12, 2026. It's the 27th annual edition of the rally. The route runs from Miami to Mexico City over eight driving days, with waypoints at Amelia Island, New Orleans, Houston, Austin, Bandera, Monterrey, and San Miguel de Allende.
- Is the Gumball 3000 a race?
- No. The official tagline is 'It's A Rally, Not A Race.' It's a public-road touring rally — participants drive their own cars (often supercars or hypercars) along the announced route at legal speeds. There is no winner. The event is organised around the convoy, the stops, the parties, and the social spectacle, not lap times.
- How much does it cost to participate in the Gumball 3000?
- Entry fees are not publicly listed and are arranged on application. Historic editions have ranged from $50,000 to $100,000+ per car (typically two participants per car), which covers the route, hotels, parties, and most logistics. Participants supply their own car, fuel, and travel insurance. Apply through the official site for current pricing.
- Can you enter the Gumball 3000 in any car?
- The rally accepts a wide range of vehicles, but the event culture is built around interesting cars — supercars, hypercars, unusual classics, custom builds. Standard daily-driver cars are accepted but rare. The Gumball organisers vet applications, partly for car interest and partly for participant fit.