The 25th anniversary edition of a Father’s Day tradition, the Rodeo Drive Concours d’Elegance, takes place Sunday on one of the world’s most famous luxury-shopping venues, Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, California.
While some of the greatest sports cars and classics from Europe and the United States will be seen parked along the avenue, entry to the public event is absolutely free.
As usual, the show is expected to span the gamut of styles, eras and interest among collector car owners who will show about 100 vehicles in the laid-back concours. And as befitting a 25th anniversary event, there will be a special class of silver cars.
“This year’s event will feature an unprecedented lineup of classic, exotic, luxury and supercars,” Bruce Meyer, concours chairman, said in a news release. “As interest has grown over the last quarter-century, owners of world-class classic and sports cars have specifically chosen our concours to display their prized vehicles.”
Of special interest will be a rare 1953 Fiat 8V Supersonic by Ghia in the silver-cars group, as well as a 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz convertible and a 1964 Porsche 904 GTS.
For more information, visit the Rodeo Drive website.
Muster those motors
The story of America on wheels over five decades, the 1930s through the ’70s, will be featured on Father’s Day weekend, Saturday and Sunday, during the Motor Muster at Greenfield Village at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.
“From the lean depression-era of the 1930s, the American Homefront during WWII, the futuristic 1950s and revolutionary 1960s, to the bicentennial year of 1976, get a unique perspective on American culture through the lens of what we drove,” the organizers say in a news release.
“From luxury vehicles to gritty muscle cars, every automobile here has been carefully chosen to guide you through a unique story of American mobility and drive.”
A celebration of the engines made famous by the Detroit Big 3 also will be featured, including Ford’s groundbreaking flathead V, Chevy’s small-block V8 and Chrysler’s famed Hemi V8.
For more information, visit the event website.
Pomona hot rod spectacular
The LA Roadster Show and Swap Meet, one of the year’s major events for hot rod enthusiasts, returns to the Fairplex in Pomona, California, on Fathers’ Day weekend, June 15-16.
Founded in 1960 and still staged by the LA Roadsters car club, the annual event showcases a huge gathering of hot rods, roadsters and custom cars, as well as the world-famous swap meet featuring rare classic parts and memorabilia as well as project cars ready for restoration and customization.
For more information, visit the event website.
Jet Age GM concepts
A special appearance of 1950s gas-turbine-powered Jet Age concept cars from General Motors will be featured at the Concours d’Elegance of America, which celebrates its 40th year July 27-29 at the Inn at St. John’s in Plymouth, Michigan.
The three jet-aircraft-inspired concepts designed by the legendary Harley Earl – Firebird I, Firebird II and Firebird III, introduced respectively for the 1953, 1956 and 1959 Motorama show seasons – will be on the show field along with the other special concours entries, including a special class honoring the 70th anniversary of Porsche.
For more information, visit the event website.
Classic movie car’s latest role
The stunning 1939 Delage D8-120 Cabriolet, which drove around Paris with Gene Kelly and Nina Foch on board in the 1951 Hollywood film An America in Paris, will be displayed during the Heveningham Hall Concours d’Elegance that takes place June 30-July 1 at the historic estate in the U.K.
The Chapron-bodied Delage, owned by the Mullin Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, has a colorful history. A general in the Vichy government in France used the luxury car during World War II – he sent the car ahead to Los Angeles after the war, but as a Nazi sympathizer couldn’t get a visa to the U.S., and fled to Argentina.
The Delage was purchased from the general by RKO Studios in L.A., before the car was cast by MGM into its famed musical.
For more information about the British concours, visit the event website.
More concours and event news
The New England Concours d’Elegance will be held June 24 at Mitchell College in New London, Connecticut, featuring BMW from th3 1930s through the ‘60s, pre-war Mercedes-Benz, Packard, Ford Mustang and Hemi power. For more information, visit the event website.
Reviving a Swiss tradition dating back to 1927 in Geneva, the Concours d’Elégance Suisse will be held June 22 through 24 the grounds of the Château de Coppet, historic home of Madame de Staël, with a panoramic view of the Mont-Blanc and Lake Geneva. For more information, visit the event website.
