The Concours d’Elegance of America marks its 40th anniversary with the annual show and competition at the Inn of St. Johns in Plymouth, Michigan, on July 27-29, this year featuring the 70th anniversary of Porsche.
Porsche’s seven decades will be highlighted with a number of special displays, seminars and exhibits, including historic cars rarely seen in the U.S., and appearances by some of Porsche’s most-illustrious drivers, including Vic Elford, Hurley Haywood and Brian Redman.
During the main concours Sunday, the exhibit of Porsche race cars will include about 16 competition vehicles, several of them from the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart, and will feature the 1971 Le Mans-winning Martini Racing Porsche 917K, the 1973 Can-Am championship-winning Sunoco-Porsche 917/30 entered by Roger Penske, and a Rothmans Porsche 962C that scored three wins on its way to the team’s 1985 World Sportscar Championship.
Also on display will be one of the last of the iconic Porsche racecar transporters.
Another concours exhibit will showcase General Motors’ famous Jet Age Turbine Dream Cars — the Firebird I, II and III — when the future of automobiles was foreseen as emulating jet aircraft.
A Cars and Coffee car show will take place Saturday, as well as a Concours d’Lemons that spotlights “capricious judging, bribery, awful trophies and even worse cars,” according to the concours website.
For more information on the concours and featured events, visit the website.
Big rigs and more at Carlisle Truck Nationals
A three-day celebration of truck of all shapes, sizes and purposes rolls into the Carlisle, Pennsylvania, Fairgrounds from August 3 to 5 for the Carlisle Truck Nationals.
“The big rigs that come to Carlisle are doing so from the region over, and with Carlisle (the town) being the distribution epicenter for all things going to Mid-Atlantic cities, it’s a perfect complement to the weekend,” according to a Carlisle news release. “Haulers, bobtail rigs, flat beds, dump trucks, heavy machinery, tow trucks, wreckers and more make up this display along with showings of antique trucks and more.”
Special truck competitions and events, a swap meet, and aisles of vendors will be featured, as well as displays of custom vans, fire trucks, lowered and lifted trucks, and antique trucks dating back a century.
For more information, visit the event website.
Simply Japanese in Great Britain
Beaulieu’s Simply Japanese has booked more than 35 clubs and 350 vehicles to take part in the annual festival at the National Motor Museum in New Forest, Hampshire, UK. With cars ranging from the simplest of economy hatchbacks to high-performance exotics and customs, the event is one of the biggest on Beaulieu’s calendar of annual Simply rallies.
Among the clubs taking part are the Z Club of Great Britain for the Datsun sports cars, Del Sol UK honoring the open-top Hondas, the Mighty 5s for the Mazda MX-5 collectors, Herts Scooby Crew of Subaru drivers, Mazda Bongo Owners Club camper contingent, Accord Type R Owners Club and the Japanese car group Kuruma Shakai.
For more information, visit the event website.
Forest Grove Concours winner
A 1939 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 256 Corsa owned by David Smith of Medina, Washington, was named Best of Show at the Forest Grove Concours d’Elegance held on the campus of Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon.
With more than 300 classic, sport and custom car and trucks on display, the 46th annual event featured The Passion of Alfa Romeo.
More concours and events
The Milwaukee Concours d’Elegance, formerly known as the Milwaukee Masterpiece, takes place Sunday, August 5, at Veterans Park along the waterfront. For more information, visit the event website.
The Goodguys 31st Pacific Northwest Nationals of street rods and custom cars will be held July 27-29 at the Washington State Fair Events Center in Puyallup, Washington. For more information, visit the event website.
