The World's Great Concours, from Pebble Beach to Villa d'Este

The word concours comes from the French for competition, and a concours d'elegance is exactly that, a contest not of speed but of beauty, authenticity, and history. The finest restored and preserved cars in the world are arranged on immaculate lawns and judged by experts, in a tradition that stretches back to the elegant garden gatherings of early twentieth century Europe.

Pebble Beach

The most prestigious of them all is the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in California, held every August since 1950. Its Best of Show award is considered the highest honor in the collector car world, and the field is drawn from the rarest and most significant automobiles in existence. The 2025 edition crowned a Duesenberg SSJ once owned by Clark Gable, and the event has now raised more than fifty million dollars for charity over its history, a reminder that the great concours are as much about philanthropy as prestige.

Villa d'Este

Its European counterpart is the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este, set on the shores of Lake Como in Italy. Staged in the gardens of a historic lakeside villa, it is smaller and more intimate than Pebble Beach but no less revered, and it carries the older European tradition of the concours into the present. Between the two, one on each side of the Atlantic, sit the twin summits of the collector car calendar.

What It Means to Win

Judging at this level is exacting. Cars are assessed on the accuracy of their restoration, the originality of their components, their history and provenance, and their sheer elegance. To win a class is a significant achievement, and to take Best of Show is to be recognized, for that moment, as the finest car in the world. For collectors who spend years and fortunes preparing a single automobile, no trophy means more.