 |
DEAR SERGEANT AL: In a previous post you mentioned something about a car being in “Concours” condition. Can you explain what that is and how a car gets that way? –D’ EXCELLENT LUXURIOUS ELEGANT GASOLINE AUTOMOBILES NEVER CRITIQUE EXCESSIVELY.
 |
| 1963 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Spyder California at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. It won an award though I'm not sure for what category, but obviously very well deserved. |
“From a strictly personal point of
view, my definition of an elegant [Concours] car would be ‘the kind of car I
would like to be buried in.’”
– Ansel Adams, Photographer and former Honorary Judge at Pebble Beach
– Ansel Adams, Photographer and former Honorary Judge at Pebble Beach
DEAR D’ELEGANCE: The term “Concours” refers to any of several
worldwide exclusive events, and the criteria for an example to be considered
for competition in these events, which showcase classic, historical, antique, unusual,
unique, rare, or specialty automobiles or motor bikes of some kind in some
instances, sometimes based on a particular theme, time period, marque, or other
specific criteria. A “Concours” car
usually means how a car would look the moment its manufacturing process is
completed when the car rolls right off the assembly line down to its minute
detail, whether that car was manufactured ten or 120 years ago. The car
looks newer than new and there are categories, which describe the condition of
the car from unrestored to pristine. To gauge where you would restore a car for
example, you would usually restore a rare antique classic to Concours condition
and an older car not yet a classic or collectible that hasn’t much value to
daily driver condition. The difference between these two kinds of restorations can cost
tens of thousands of dollars and how extensive the restoration work was done. In the
best of the best examples for Concours show for example, the pebbles in the tires are
removed and any dirt or grass stains smeared on the undercarriage is cleaned,
as if the car was a furniture piece in a living room. There is no wax over
smear, swirl marks, or paint overspray. The restoration, if there is one, is
taken to the minutest detail down to the nuts and washers holding the cars
together and relative to the time period the cars were made. There cannot be
any add-ons or custom additions depending on the show criteria, so for example,
if the car has an add-on A/C unit it either must be removed or have an
aftermarket air conditioning unit that would have come from the time period the car was made if
not from the original manufacturer. Because of the time, money, and effort to
put these cars together in pristine condition, most if not all are rarely used
as daily drivers, never driven in foul weather, in fact most are trailered into
an event, and are usually part of a private collection or museum. If the motor
is running it is usually to park the car on some golf course grass for the
exhibition and then back to the trailer, and that’s it. If the owner puts 100
miles on the car a year, that’s more than enough miles for the Concours circuit
in most cases. To put it bluntly, a good portion of the cars are big toys strictly
for show owned by big boys (sometimes big girls), and usually rich. Jay Leno for example is the most famous
well-known collector of many examples of Concours cars and motorcycles.
 |
| Concours like Pebble Beach give the exotic car makers an excellent opportunity to introduce new products and concept cars. Bentley Motors Ltd. is rumored to introduce an actual example of their new Bentley EXP 9 F Concept SUV at the Pebble Beach Concours D'Elegance this coming August. The car is ready for production and I hope they name it the Bentley Cross Continental. Wouldn't that make a cool name for a Bentley SUV? |
The kind of shows that present these kind of cars
is called Concours d’Elegance, which also present automobile manufacturers an
opportunity like they do at auto shows, to introduce and present new products or
concept cars that usually cater to the market demographic that attends these
kind of demonstrations. Since it takes lots of money to restore and present a
specialty automobile described here, and to attend an event which usually costs
hundreds of dollars some of which is given to charity along with the raffles
they hold while the event occurs, you usually find the exotic car companies
introducing new products or concept cars to promote sales or to get feedback
from potential customers as to what they like. So not only will you see cars
like old Ferraris or Bentleys being exhibited, but you might also see Ferrari
and Bentley there introducing new products or a cool exhibit to get opinions or
excitement on what people think about ideas or products that might be put into
production. But Concours is not limited to exotics as there are other kinds of
shows for other cars like muscle cars, 50’s 60’s or 70’s cars, English or
German cars, etc.
Each event is usually held annually at the same
place and at places like a golf course or hotel resort and at locations
worldwide. The most exclusive event of the year is considered to be the Pebble
Beach Concours d’Elegance, usually held in mid to late August at the golf
course resort at Pebble Beach, California. Pebble Beach is so exclusive that an
entrant can only enter the competition every ten years unless the car falls
into one of the exemptions, and usually must be an extremely rare or unique
example, or you must be outright invited to attend the event as a competitor. Usually
an award is given at the end of the competition for “Best in Show” for a car
that beats all in all categories, the brass Super Bowl World Series ring of the
Concours competition. The Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance is being held this
year at 200 Clock Tower Pl
#205A, Carmel, CA 93923 on August 29, 2012 and next year August 19,
2013. Admission for most is $200, and VIP passes with lunch and dinner, gifts,
and special access cost $600 each. Click here to buy tickets
and make sure you buy them in advance, as tickets will NOT be sold at Will Call
during the event. Click
here to learn more about Pebble Beach and Concours cars. I hope this better
explains when I mean “Concours condition”, D’ELEGANCE, but remember it doesn’t necessarily have to be a Rolls Royce or
anything else fancy to be one. The
Austin Marina I mentioned for example is almost ready to bust out on the
Concours circuit but the car bottomed out so badly due its reputation that it might take a while
before you see one in any category at show. If there are any already out there on the
show circuit those examples are real trailblazers! I hope this answers your
question, a real good one thanks, and for my other readers please keep them
coming. Safe driving!
Suggested
Reading:
0 comments:
Post a Comment
Sgt. Al here. I welcome your comments, ideas, and suggestions. You have questions about the police, and I'm interested in hearing what you have to say as a citizen. Thanks!