While the automotive concours got its start in France between the wars, the tradition was picked up in the US in the 1950s. We carried it along and built it up with everything from the Greenwich Concours to Amelia Island to the granddaddy of them all, the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance and many more, up to and including our invention of Cars and Coffee.
In recent years the Europeans have rekindled their love affair with the concours, most prominently with Villa d’Este, held last May and scheduled for May 23-25 next year, and Chantilly Arts & Elegance Richard Mille coming Sept 12-15 this year, among others.
Germany has had concours of its own in recent years, among them: the Classic Gala Schwetzingen, which will run this year Aug. 30 to Sept. 1; and Classic Days, which was held in Dusseldorf but had to be canceled this year due to permitting issues.
Last week another German concours sprang to life, a brand-new one called The Concours of Elegance Germany, held over six days from July 22-27 at the fabulous Tegernsee south of Munich. The first four of those days were given over to a tour, with 25 drivers piloting their beautiful cars through the beautiful countryside.
Then there were two days for the shows. Those included an Under 30 class, a womens’ concours featuring cars owned by women, and a few other events before the big show on June 27.
Tegernsee is in the south, so close to Switzerland and Italy that some of the Germans actually seem to be enjoying life.
This first Concours of Elegance Germany was actually put on by the Brits, specifically, the same chaps who do the Concours of Elegance Hampton Court Palace and the London Concours. They gathered together 80 gorgeous cars for the concours and a total of 200 cars over the course of the week.
The event was held on the grounds of the Gut Kaltenbrunn venue on the shores of Tegernsee, a large lake 2500 feet up in the Bavarian Alps.
There were supercars from the Lamborghini Miura and Lancia Stratos to the Ferrari Enzo and a RUF Yellow Bird. There were classics like an original BMW 328 as well as Bentleys and Rollers from the early part of last century.
For most of the awards, cars were divvied up into decades: Best 1920s Car was a 1926 Bugatti Type 35T; Best 1930s Car was a 1935 Aston Martin Ulster; Best of the 1950s was a 1956 Bentley S1 Continental DHC; 1960s was a ’68 Alfa Romeo Tipo Daytona 33/2; 1970s was a ’76 Monteverdi Palm Beach; 1980s an F40; and “1990s and Onward” winner was a beautiful blue Bugatti EB110 America. Best in Show went to a 1939 Lancia Astura Pinin Farina Cabriolet.
Winners were chosen by the entrants themselves, not by judges, just as they are at Hampton Court and London. No complaints have made their way across the pond or onto the internet, so it must have been a good time.
The PR guys said the inaugural event “got off to a great start last week—sold out, great auction results (from the RM Sotheby’s auction concurrent with the concours), very happy sponsors and partners, and more importantly, a great turn out of some 3,000 ticketed guests, as well as all our official guests, who had a thoroughly enjoyable couple of days in the sunshine.
“We set out to create an international German Concours that the passionate collectors and enthusiasts in Germany could call their own,” said James Brooks-Ward, CEO of Thorough Events. “We achieved this and went beyond all our expectations. It felt like it had happened a number of times and already it feels like a well-established international Concours.”
Axel Schütte, owner of Axel Schütte Fine Cars, Dealer Patrons of the Concours, said: “I’ve been around the world with concours events, and we Germans have great collections and collectors, with fantastic cars throughout, but, we have very few occasions and platforms to showcase them. We are delighted to now have a new event like this here in Bavaria where we can share our hobby and passion.”
So it sounds like you should put this on your European Tour for next year, and also the Concours of Elegance event at Hampton Court Palace which takes place this year Aug. 30 to Sept. 1. They bookend Pebble nicely.
