Autoblog

Click above for high-res gallery from the 2008 Rodeo Drive Concours

Father's Day in Beverly Hills can only mean one thing to car lovers: The annual Rodeo Drive Concours d'Elegance. As its name implies, the concours is held right along that world-famous shoppers' paradise that is Rodeo Drive, right in the shadow of the "Pretty Woman" hotel. This year's theme was "Haute Wheels: Celebrating Car Couture," which might have made a few people at Mattel cringe, but was intended to evoke memories of the original Parisian Concours where high fashion was on display along with the beautifully crafted custom coachwork. Estimates say 30,000 people were on hand braving the heat, doing some window shopping, and catching glimpses of celebrities like Larry King who simply mingled with the crowd and became just another car guy on Sunday. The Rodeo Drive Concours is always a special show because of its location, the cars almost feel secondary to the setting, but car fans weren't disappointed, either.

Approximately 100 cars were on display, running the gamut from hot rods to Veyrons, Fords to Ferraris, and motorcycles to Maseratis. Personal highlights were a rare 1955 Lancia Aurelia B24S Spider America, gorgeous original Stutz Bearcat, a 21-window VW Microbus complete with matching trailer, a coveted 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO, a wild Dubonnet Hispano Xenia custom and a beautiful green Delahaye 135S we happened to spot on the drive into the event. It wasn't too smart to be sporting those Celtic colors in LA right now, but the driver and car made it in safely. Other notable entries included one of six or seven (depending on who you ask) Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupes, what is believed to be the only modern Marcos in the U.S., a gorgeous Zagato-bodied Maserati that was once found behind a wall hidden from plunderers, a 1933 Duesenberg Model J Tourster that was too popular to photograph whole, the Porsche Design boat, Cizeta, F40, Veyron...check out the gallery to find your favorite.


All photos © 2008 Frank Filipponio / Weblogs, Inc.