What not to miss at the 40th Concours d’Elegance of America
The 2018 Concours d’Elegance of America is coming up on July 27–29, and as usual it will bring a wide spectrum of cars to Plymouth, Michigan, to celebrate the 40th running of the event. Appropriate for the venue, Plymouth will be a featured marque—there will be plenty of ’60s muscle on display as the budget performance brand struts it stuff. The other featured marque, on the other end of the budget spectrum, is Bugatti, several of which will be on hand showing off pre-war racing pedigrees.
Events kick off Friday morning with a Motoring Tour through Wayne and Oakland counties, which includes an M1 Concourse tour and track experience on the facility’s Champion Motor Speedway. Tickets are $75. If you’d like to experience driving someone else’s car, that can be arranged as well: Hagerty’s free Ride and Drive will run from 9 a.m.–4 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and offer a variety of classic cars to drive. Just register at the Hagerty booth near the front entrance. Later on Friday, the Battle of the Brands will feature live music and also dozens of sports cars revving their engines for the exhaust tune competition.
Saturday begins with Cars and Coffee, and, for those cars that have a bit more “character,” there’s also the Concours d’Lemons, complete with its own zany set of rules, judging, and awards. Registration is already full, but you may still want to bring your own less-than-perfect ride just in case (lemons aren’t exactly known for their reliability.) The Firebird I, II, and III concepts will be on display at a seminar sponsored by Bosch titled, “GM’s Jet-Age Gas Turbine Dram Cars.” Another seminar, “The One That Got Away,” is hosted by Hagerty on Saturday morning and features Wayne Carini, Dave Kinney, Jeff Lane, and Brian Rabold, Hagerty’s vice president of valuation services. Tickets are free, all you need to do is register. Wrap up Saturday night with Truck Night, an event open to the public that celebrates daily driver trucks.
Sunday is, of course, the main event, the Concours d’Elegance of America. Classes will include pre- and post-war American and European classics, and Porsche 70th Anniversary will be celebrated with a special display of Porsche Werks race cars. If straight-line racing is more your speed, Logghe chassis Funny Cars are also featured. The Logghe Stamping Company Competition Products Division practically invented Funny Cars and their contribution to drag racing can’t be understated. If you love the stretched, flip-top bodies of the late ’60s and early ’70s, this is your event.
Tickets for the Concours are $35 and can be here.
