After a 3-year hiatus due to the global pandemic, the La Jolla Concours returned this past April to throngs of beautiful cars and big crowds at the region's famous event. The La Jolla Concours has earned a reputation as one of the finest internationally renowned classic automobile showcases in the United States, continuing to attract discerning car enthusiasts from around the globe. Every classic car admirer dreams of going to the Pebble Beach Concours but finds it cost prohibitive. A far less costly option can be found at the La Jolla Concours held each April on a stretch of grass overlooking probably the most beautiful cove in California, at the famed La Jolla Cove. The concours attracts classics but in contrast to Pebble Beach, the cars are more affordable classics, and are mostly postwar.
The 16th annual La Jolla Concours D’Elegance was held on April 24th and featured nearly 150 one-of-a-kind classic and exotic automobiles, along with numerous motorcycles and even aircraft. This year, the featured marque was the famed Bugatti, with the celebrated marque being the Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing Coupe; these were just some of the vehicles found at the event, but there were numerous other brands and models, some being quite rare, and many being painstakingly restored to perfection. Other attractions included fly-bys of unique and historic aircraft and a VIP garden with numerous food & drink options. There is always a little something for everyone at this event, and this year was no different, with sizeable crowds enjoying not only the cars, but the natural beauty of the venue itself.
The team from Classic Showcase was in attendance, assisting several of our collector clients with campaigning their cars, including a 1974 Jaguar XKE Series we restored for a client several years ago, a Black Jaguar XK-120, a 1962 XKE we recently serviced, along with a recently restored 1966 Jaguar E-Type Coupe that we completed in the Spring of this year. In addition, we also brought and campaigned one of our recent additions to the family, an immaculate 1958 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia that seemed to generate an endless amount of smiles from anyone that gazed upon it.
The competition proved to be fierce, with judging heating up early in the day at the southwestern lawn, where our cars were located. A half-dozen classic Jaguars were on display, seemingly outgunned and outnumbered by the large number of Porsches on display, in addtion to other classics from the likes of Alfa Romeo, Mercedes-Benz, classic Datsuns, along with "newer" up and coming Japanese classics from the 1980s from Toyota, Honda, and Ferrari. This area of the event featured an extremely diverse selection of cars.
JUDGING ON THE SOUTHWESTERN LAWN
As our client's cars were being judged on the Southwestern area of the Concours, there was an equal amount of excitement taking place on the bigger northwest lawn, where a seemingly endless amount of absolutely gorgeous Bugatti’s, Delahayes, Mercedes Benz, and Packards (among many more) dazzled and excited the crowd. There were so many classic and rare Bugattis on display that the Concours lawn could have doubled as a mobile museum of automotive antiquity. In addition to Bugattis, there was also a generous supply of rare and otherwise unique American cars on display, as well as a number pre-war models rarely seen outside of museums or prestigious Concours events such as this.
As with the Southwest Lawn, there was truly a little bit of something for everyone on display, along with the pageantry of the award ceremony occurring towards the end of the event.
This year's Concours was a resounding success, and in our experience appeared to be quite possibly the "biggest" La Jolla Concours event we have ever seen, and with that level of excitement we can only expect next year's even to be even bigger and better! Mark your calendars for the next year's 17th Concours, we'll see you there!
Our Client's 1966 Jaguar XKE FHC was awarded first place in Jaguar 1945 – 1975 class, with Tom Krefetz of
Classic Showcase graciously accepting the award on behalf of the client who was unable to attend...but elated with the results!
• Best in Show:
The Nethercutt Collection’s 1931 Bugatti Type 51 Dubos Coupe
• Most Outstanding Pre-War Award:
Aaron and Valerie Weiss’ 1933 Marmon Sixteen.
• Most Outstanding Post-War Award:
Charlie Duvall’s 1956 Mercedes Benz 300SL Coupe.
• Co-Chairman’s Award:
Daniel Withers’ 1955 Mercedes Benz 300SL African Alloy.
• Mayor’s Award:
Shawn DeLuna’s 1917 Hall-Scott
• People’s Choice:
J&W Segal’s 1950 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Supergioello