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This 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing won the Best in Show award at the 2025 La Jolla Concours d\u2019Elegance. (La Jolla Concours d\u2019Elegance)<\/p>\nThe La Jolla Concours d\u2019Elegance is celebrating 20 years of bringing rarely seen cars to Scripps Park. Though such an achievement could be attributed to many factors, organizers believe a \u201cthoughtful and intentional evolution\u201d led the event to this point.<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s Concours is planned for Friday through Sunday, April 24-26, with a soiree, a tour, on-street viewing of speedy cars and the main show of some 170 vehicles.<\/p>\n
The theme is \u201cIcons of Speed: Historically Significant Super Cars,\u201d highlighting the fastest street-legal rides from 1935 to 1996.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn\u2019t just mean race cars,\u201d said Concours Chairman Michael Dorvillier. \u201cWe have a car from the \u201950s that was considered the coolest fast car you could drive.\u201d<\/p>\n
The idea for a car show in La Jolla first emerged in 2003 when a group of local merchants gathered at George\u2019s at the Cove restaurant to find ways to draw visitors to The Village during the quiet winter season, according to the Concours organization.<\/p>\n
Two years later, the La Jolla Motorcar Classic debuted in January with about 50 cars, largely owned by local collectors, displayed in Scripps Park. Owners stood beside their cars on the lawn, residents and visitors wandered freely through the park, and hot rods shared space with antiques and other classic automobiles.<\/p>\n
Within a few years, the event expanded into a full weekend featuring a coastal driving tour, hospitality events and a juried competition.<\/p>\n
In 2009, the La Jolla Historical Society assumed stewardship of the event.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a great event, but the Historical Society didn\u2019t really know what to do with it,\u201d Dorvillier said. \u201cThere was a small committee that ran it \u2026 but they saw the potential so they called me in to help out.\u201d<\/p>\n
This 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing won the Best in Show award at the 2025 La Jolla Concours d\u2019Elegance. (La Jolla Concours d\u2019Elegance)<\/p>\n
In 2010, Dorvillier, a self-proclaimed \u201ccar guy,\u201d attended the show as a \u201cfly on the wall.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw the potential, so I started to look at it with a more critical eye and where I could take it in the future,\u201d he said. \u201cI saw it could be something really special.\u201d<\/p>\n
Under Dorvillier\u2019s leadership, the event was officially rebranded in 2012 as the Concours d\u2019Elegance, a French term meaning \u201ccompetition of elegance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Unlike many car shows, in which entries are viewed for their modifications, uniqueness or other features, the Concours is focused on \u201coriginality and authenticity\u201d Dorvillier said. \u201cIt has to be all original. It can still be restored, but it has to be original.\u201d<\/p>\n
Taking it a step further, Dorvillier \u201cnot only wanted to make the event a Concours but \u2026 make it into one of the best in the country,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI appreciate old cars, but my kids were born and raised in La Jolla and I had friends that owned businesses in La Jolla and saw the potential to give back to many of the communities I liked: La Jolla, the car community and the merchant community,\u201d he said. \u201cWe did that. We increased the caliber of cars, the judges, the look and feel of the event. Our tagline from the beginning was \u2018World-class cars, world-class experience,\u2019 and that has always been important to us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dorvillier took steps to draw more people \u2014 car enthusiasts or not \u2014 to the event.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s that experience that makes people want to come back,\u201d he said. \u201cThere was no way we were going to be among the top Concours in the country by just having a car show.\u201d<\/p>\n
The event began a free showing of cars that did not otherwise qualify for the Concours on the street next to Scripps Park.<\/p>\n
Additionally, a party to kick off the weekend was established to give non-car enthusiasts an event.<\/p>\n
The party was once held on Saturday night but was moved to Friday in 2023 to give organizers more time to get the park ready for the Sunday show and create longer stays for people coming from out of town, which Dorvillier said also benefits local merchants.<\/p>\n
To give car fans something to do on Saturday, Porsches on Prospect was introduced in 2023, lining Prospect Street with samples of the iconic high-performance brand for public viewing. The event later was rebranded as Porsches & Power on Prospect to include other types of cars.<\/p>\n
Saturday activities also include the La Jolla Concours Tour d\u2019Elegance, a driving tour that includes visits to private car collections, followed by a scenic drive through San Diego and lunch at a private venue.<\/p>\n
At the Sunday show, Dorvillier said, \u201cthere are people giving tours explaining the history of those cars. There\u2019s \u2026 cool stuff to do, there are nice suites and live music. Other Concours events do some of those things, but none do everything the way we do. There\u2019s that experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 2025, La Jolla-based Events.com acquired the La Jolla Concours d\u2019Elegance with plans to position it for continued growth while preserving its spirit and community roots.<\/p>\n
Reflecting on the event\u2019s 20 years \u2014 one year during the COVID-19 pandemic, a golf tournament was held instead \u2014 Dorvillier said he is \u201cvery proud of what our entire volunteer team has accomplished and what we have been able to do for the community and how respected this event is nationally and internationally.\u201d<\/p>\n
2026 La Jolla Concours d\u2019Elegance<\/p>\n
\u2022 VIP Soiree, \u201cMotorvault\u201d: 6-10 p.m. Friday April 24, Scripps Park. With food, cocktails, an exclusive preview of Concours collector automobiles, entertainment and a live auction. $399 (increases to $449 on Wednesday, April 15)<\/p>\n
\u2022 Tour d\u2018Elegance: 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 25, beginning on Prospect Street. $595.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Porsches & Power on Prospect: 5-9 p.m. April 25, Prospect Street. With live music, retail and restaurant specials, gallery events and more. Free admission.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Concours d\u2019Elegance (main show): 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, April 26, Scripps Park. $109 general admission (increases to $129 on April 15).<\/p>\n