The Detroit Concours d’Elegance - Purdy's Take

The Detroit Concours d’Elegance,
Formerly, the Concours d’Elegance of America at St. John’s
Formerly, the Meadow Brook Concours d’Elegance

By Steve Purdy
Senior Editor
The Auto Channel

Detroit, September 2022 - What a ride it’s been for the Concours d’Elegance presented in Southeast Michigan for over 40 years. For much of its early existence it was the second most prestigious invitational classic and collector car show/competition in the country, next only to the famous Pebble Beach Concours overlooking the Pacific Ocean near Monterey, California. Then, Bill Warner, racer, writer, photographer and all-around car guy, founded the show at Amelia Island, just north of Jacksonville, Florida that quickly became number two.

Today, there are dozens of high-end Concours d’Elegance (translated from French meaning an exhibition of elegance) invitational shows with a high level of judging to determine which are really the finest. Serious collectors lust after Best in Show, or even Best in Class at a Concours event.

Most of these shows are presented on golf courses or other lovely verdant settings - very few in an urban venue. When they rescued this one from near death last year Hagerty, wanted to move it into the city and essentially rethink the whole show. Not only was the former St. John’s Seminary, venue for the past dozen years, converted to a convention facility and golf course sold but the new owners were going in a different direction leaving the cars behind. The Concours was already facing dismal prospects as funding was drying up. Thinking outside the box was called for, thought McKeel Hagerty and his team of enthusiasts.

Hagerty self identifies as an “automotive lifestyle brand.” From a core business of specialty insurance for collector cars they’ve branched out aggressively over the past few years launching a glossy magazine, initiating driving experiences, supporting diverse events around the country and acquiring two other Concours - Amelia Island and Greenwich, CN.

When they announced last year the move to the grounds of the Detroit Institute of Art most of us were skeptical. Though this world-class art museum on famous Woodward Avenue is surrounded by Wayne State University, other museums and cultural institutions, it’s still in an urban environment seldom seen as a venue for such an elegant show. But, as some of us thought, if anyone could do it, Hagerty could.

So, the show is over, the mid-September weather was great, they assembled about 150 special cars in more than a dozen classes. (Former shows hosted 250 to 300 cars and 20 or more classes displayed on golf courses.) They seem to have managed the logistical challenges admirably. It turns out the grassy lawns around the DIA, plus a couple street spaces were spacious enough and proved to be appropriately elegant to display these special cars.

Most impressive was the display of Harley Earl cars on the driveway in front of the DIA facing Woodward Avenue. Earl, for those less steeped in automobile design history, was GM’s long-serving, legendary design VP coming on board in 1928 after creating the high-style 1927 LaSalle. On display were Earl’s first “concept” car, the Y-Job of 1938, and his 1951 LeSabre, both his daily drivers in their day. On either side were: Earl’s custom 1920 Cadillac created while working for his uncle’s coachbuilding firm in California when he was barely 20 years old, Ken Lingenfelter’s “Corvair” design exercise from 1954 that defined the first Corvette, a “shark-fin” 1959 Cadillac, the aforementioned 1927 LaSalle, a 1941 and a 1956 Cadillac.

A significant line of Mustangs occupied one corner of the front lawn under some massive shade trees. The banner attached to the fence behind them proclaimed “The Stampede” a cross-country road trip for enthusiasts organized by America’s Automotive Trust from their LeMay-America’s Car Museum in Tacoma, Washington. Mustang owners were enlisted to drive to Detroit to be part of Ford’s introduction of the newest generation Mustang a few days earlier as part of the Detroit Auto Show.

Nearby sat the car that won the biggest honor – Best in Show. Minnesota sports car collector Tom McGough’s elegant 1937 Delahaye 135 Roadster also won Best in Class and the Hagerty Youth Award. The newly restored Delahaye beat out two other cars at least as elegant: a 1931 Chrysler CG and a 1937 Jaguar SS. They are all very different but all reflect the beauty in automobile design during the Art Deco era.

Hot rods, orphan cars, Italian sports cars, American sports cars, Autorama cars, super cars, cars that cruised Woodward Avenue in the time of street racing, and limited production cars from both GM and Chrysler were also honored with special classes. For complete listing of class winners and photos see the Hagerty website at: https://detroitconcours.com/event/winners

Ed Welburn, former GM Design VP, was on hand as honored designer, being feted at dinner and helping present the awards. Welburn oversaw some of the best designs in the GM portfolio including stunning concept cars for Cadillac and Buick.

So, what did we think of the new show and its format?

Well, I guess I’d just say . . . so far, so good. Considering the challenges the folks at Hagerty have made an excellent start at defining what a Concours d’Elegance in Detroit can be.

© Steve Purdy, Shunpiker Productions LLC

Steve Purdy, Shunpiker Productions
Founder and President: the Automotive Heritage Foundation
Senior Editor: The Auto Channel
Creator, Producer and Host: A Shunpiker’s Journal Radio Program
Associate Producer: Sirens of Chrome: The Motion Picture
Board Member, Society of Automotive Historians
Founding Member: The Individual Communicators Network
Charter Member: Detroit Automotive Press Association
Member: Midwest Auto Media Association
Former Trustee: National Automotive History Collection
Member: Detroit Sports Media
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