It’s that time of year again! Concours, auctions, rallies- oh my! OK, let’s be honest. For most Californians like myself, we play on the back roads and coastal highways all year round with the occasional rainy weekend and holiday to keep us garaged up. Even then it’s the perfect time to tidy up some loose ends or prep for the next big event. April brought to many SoCal classic car junkies the 11th annual La Jolla Concours d’Elegance. Located in sunny San Diego county, the La Jolla Concour offers a little bit of everything for the automotive enthusiast.
Working for the industry leading Sports Car Market Magazine, I am lucky enough to be directly involved with this concour on their marketing plans and some event details. It helps to have our publisher and fearless leader Keith Martin returning for his 5th year as the emcee. For the third year in a row, I flew down to man the SCM vendor booth and attend some of the pre-concour events offered by the top notch and well rounded steering committee.
Prior to any concour related event, I was able to take a day to visit many of my good clients in the area. First stop was seeing budding classic car craftsman, coach-builder and metal shaper Jake Krotje of The Flying Dutchman Company. Located in San Marcos, CA, Jake spends his days around a foundry and welder, working on the likes of classic Bugatti’s, Mercedes, unimogs and even a rare Kurtis 500S. Look for a featured story on Jake in the near future.
I was also able to visit longtime friend and classic car lifer Mark Leonard of Grand Prix Classics in La Jolla. His collective knowledge on European race cars and period details is rivaled by few. His showroom is beautifully packed with collectibles most would only dream of owning. From concour perfect Porsche 356 Coupes, to world speed record holding Triumph motorcycles and super rare Lola race cars, Mark has a little bit for everyone and is a man to trust when it comes down to buy or sell.
Next was the brand new showroom for the team at Symbolic International. What a location! With a changing of the guard for Symbolic Motors, Chris Peterson , Bill Noon and Patrick Von Schoote are building another winner in Sorrento Valley. Surrounded by one of a kind artwork and a restoration shop capable of ground up work, Symbolic International will continue to offer some of the most coveted classic cars in the world. Can’t wait for their grand opening party- I will be there.
Finally I was off to meet Gary Bobileff of Bobileff Motor Cars in north county San Diego. For 37 years, Gary has done top notch restoration and service on some of the best Ferrari and Lamborghinis ever assembled. Countless concour awards and acknowledgements, Gary has also been a chief judge at the Cavallino Classic and Pebble Beach Concour for decades. Oh, and it helps that he’s generally one of the nicest car guys I have ever met.
Finally it was time for my favorite event of the week- the tour d’Elegance. In past years I have ridden in a 1932 Auburn and even a 1929 ‘Flying Star’ once owned my Mussolini, but this year I was lucky enough to have options! One being a brand new Aston Martin Rapide S offered by good friend Dean Liebowitz, and the other a 1970 MGA 1600 driven by Bonhams auction specialist Jacob Greisen. As much as I love a comfy cockpit of a newer sports car, I opted for the real driving experience of the GTA. Jacob is an outstanding driver with an abundance of classic car knowledge. Our drive was spectacular and one of the finest afternoons I could ask for. Our tour brought us to two private collections, Evan’s Garage and Chuck Spielman’s “Only Yesterday’ as well as a great lunch at The Grand Del Mar Hotel which was hosted by my boss.
Saturday night was the ever eventful cocktail reception on the grounds of the La Jolla Cove. We were all greeted by circus acrobats, wonderful company and more food and drinks we could stomach. This of course set the stage for the concour on Sunday morning. Cars were there before 7am lining up on the lawn, and so was I. Our booth was centrally located giving me some of the best views of the day. Crashing waves, beautiful people and picture perfect weather is all part of the atmosphere we all come to know and enjoy. Oh and the cars! The wonderful collection of classic Ferrari’s, Rolls Royce’s, Porsche 911s and Mercedes ‘Pagodas’ only scratched the surface of what was to be seen this year.
One of the best parts of this event is the public accessible Motor Car Classic at the Conours offered on Prospect Street adjacent to the concour. Free of charge, this outside mini-concour gives everyone a taste of the automotive good life. The streets were packed by families and lots of kids, which is needed in this hobby.
This truly is one of my favorite weekends of the entire year. I could speak in much more detail about Chairman Michael Dorvillier, the camaraderie of the fellow entrants, and the casual nature of this highly regarded concour- but I will let the pictures speak for them self.
Steven Sports Car 