ilani has officially opened its new six-story parking garage, and the casino opted to celebrate the occasion by racing edible cars — as in, cars made primarily out of cake.
The two replica Formula One cars each consisted of a cake body mounted on an aluminum chassis, resulting in a 669-pound vehicle that was, according to a press release from ilani, 91 percent edible.
That 91 percent number was key, according to ilani, because the goal of the race was to set two new Guinness World Records: fastest edible vehicle and longest distance covered by an edible vehicle. To qualify, the cars needed to be at least 90 percent edible.
The cake-based vehicles lacked internal combustion engines, so it was a downhill race on the slopes of the “speed ramps” that lead to the garage’s upper levels.
Professional race car driver Michael Andretti was recruited to drive one of the cars. One was a replica of one the cars he drove during two of his championship seasons, and the other was a replica of a car driven by his father, Mario Andretti, according to the Guinness World Records webpage for the race.
The cars were created by celebrity cake artist Mike Elder and his company Black Sheep Custom Cakes, and took a team of nine people 46 work hours to build, according to the Guinness World Records page.
Andretti’s car won the race and broke both records, according to the press release, reaching a speed of 17.08 miles per hour and traveling 349.81 feet. After the race, ilani donated more than 500 pounds of cake to Share Vancouver, according to the press release. The driver of the second car wasn’t identified.
The garage project broke ground in the summer of 2019. The project includes more than 2,700 spaces and was designed to allow for a future expansion to more than 4,000. It also boasts an LED park-assist system, elevator kiosks to provide guests with directions to their vehicles and several electric charging stations.
The garage will allow the casino to host major concerts and events during peak weekend business hours without running into parking capacity limitations, according to the press release. The rooftop level was also designed to double as an outdoor event space in the summer.
