The 26th annual Rodeo Drive Concours d’Elegance again celebrates Father’s Day with a collector car show Sunday, July 16, on the world-famous shopping boulevard in Los Angeles.
While the curated car show is highly exclusive, with only invited vehicles allowed to park in front of such high-end luxury stores as Prada, Louis Vuitton and Cartier, the show is absolutely free for all spectators who wish to attend.
This year, the Rodeo Drive Concours features the 100th anniversary of Bentley Motors with exceptional examples of the iconic British cars on display. Also expected on the several blocks that will be closed off to regular traffic will be vintage race cars, classics, antiques, American muscle and the latest exotics from around the world.
Among the automotive finery will be a pair of special cars from the collection of the late Fast and Furious actor Paul Walker, presented by ClassicCars.com and its Future Classics Car Show.
For more information, visit the event website.
100 years of Bentley at Pebble Beach Concours
The Bentley Motors centennial also will be the focus of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, when one of the world’s most esteemed automotive events fills the 18th fairway of the Pebble Beach Golf Links on August 18 with exceptional vehicles of the past.
About a quarter of the entries in the 2019 concours will be Bentleys, according to the organizers, filling six full special classes and several special groupings.
“Offerings will range from the earliest surviving 3 Litre to a multitude of racing greats and several superlative postwar cars,” according to a concours news release.
The concours poster car is one of the most coveted of Bentleys, an 8-litre sports car originally owned by Welsh aviator and Brooklands racer Captain Vivian Hewitt. The mighty machine with its huge side exhaust headers was driven fewer than 7,000 miles in the 1930s before being parked in a barn for the next 26 years. The unrestored original is now owned by collector Daniel Sielecki.
Walter Owen Bentley, known as W.O., founded his namesake company on July 10, 1919. The brilliant engineer led the company for just a dozen years before its was sold to Rolls-Royce during the Great Depression. But Bentley’s heritage of great road cars and motorsport victories continues to this day.
“W.O. made an indelible mark on history,” Peter Hageman, a Concours Selection Committee member involved in gathering Bentleys for the coming event, said in the news release. “He created heroic cars that were driven to glory by heroic men and women. Their stories fueled the imaginations and desires of a host of early automotive enthusiasts, and they continue to inspire us today.”
Other Pebble Beach featured classes include the centennial of the Zagato design house of Italy, Bugatti race and touring cars, and historic Hot Rod magazine cover cars.
For more information, visit the event website.
Early Ferrari racing champ at concours
Among the world’s most significant Ferrari race cars, the 1949 166MM Barchetta that in its first year won both the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Mille Miglia – the only car of any marque to achieve that feat – will be shown in a 70th anniversary celebration at the Concours of Elegance, held September 6-8 at Hampton Court Palace in England.
The racer will be one of four 166MM chassis to be shown at the concours, including another Barchetta that won the 24 Hours of Spa, also in 1949.
For more information, visit the event website.
Hurst spotlighted at Carlisle Chevy meet
The Carlisle Chevrolet Nationals will host a Hurst Showcase honoring the famed shifter brand at the Carlisle, Pennsylvania, fairgrounds on June 21 and 22.
Special guests will include Linda Vaughn, the original Miss Hurst Golden Shifter, plus the designers, engineers and marketing-team members who made Hurst such a muscle car icon.
Thousands of Chevrolet-powered vehicles are expected to drive in for the annual festivities.
For more information, visit the event website.
First-year Coyote Creek Concours
The inaugural Coyote Creek Concours d’Elegance takes place June 23 at the Coyote Creek Golf Club in Morgan Hill, California. Formerly the Alameda Point Concours, held for the past two years, the event moves to the new site located midway between San Francisco and Monterey.
Among the featured classes for 2019 are vintage Japanese cars, vintage motorcycles and Gen Xcellent cars of the ’80s and ’90s, along with the array of standing concours classes.
For more information, visit the event website.
Vintage race cars at Hershey
The Elegance at Hershey, a three-day weekend of hillclimbs and concours, takes place June 7-9, at Hotel Hershey in the Pennsylvania capital of chocolate.
On Friday, June 7, and Saturday, June 8, vintage race cars will compete on the uphill road behind the hotel in The Grand Ascent, modeled after the previous Hershey Hill Climbs and the famed Goodwood Festival of Speed in England.
On Sunday, June 9, the hotel gardens will host the concours d’elegance, a show and competition of exceptional classic cars as well as a display of the Grand Ascent racers.
For more information, visit the event website.
More concours and events
The London Concours, which calls itself the British capital’s finest automotive garden party, takes place June 5-6 with about 100 cars from the early days of motoring to the latest supercars spread over the five-acre site at the Honourable Artillery Company HQ in the heart of the city. This year, the concours honors the collection of Julian Balme of London and his American classic and performance cars. For more information, visit the event website.
RADwood HooptieCon, a celebration of ’80s and ’90s cars and culture, takes place June 8 at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, New Jersey. For more information, visit the event website.
The Cincinnati Concours d’Elegance will be held June 9 at Ault Park in Cincinnati, with the featured theme of Mid-Century Modern – America Style, 1948-1965. For more information, visit the event website.
The San Marino Motor Classic takes place June 9 at Lacy Park in San Marino, California. For more information, visit the event website.
The third annual Philadelphia Concours d’Elegance joins in celebrating the 100th year of Bentley on Saturday, June 15, at the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum in Philadelphia. For more information, visit the event website.
The Eyes on Design car show celebrating the art of vehicle design takes place June 16 at the Edsel and Eleanor Ford House in Grosse Point Shores, Michigan. For more information, visit the event website.
