Growing up in the Middle East, “Concours d’Elegance” wasn’t exactly a phrase that rolled off the tongue.
Translating literally to “competition of elegance”, it’s exactly what it sounds like: a high-stakes beauty contest among collectors to determine who owns the most stunning and rare automobiles on the planet.
And make no mistake, these are very serious competitions. Amid these rarefied environs, having a Ferrari won’t even get you in the door.
If you wish to make a splash at a Concours event, and especially if you want to win, you’ll need to get your well-manicured hands on a car with true provenance. So here’s my guide to a win.
Is the company that built your car long defunct? Excellent start.
Competition history? Essential.
Did a film star or racing driver once own it? Even better.
Did it have an infamous ex-owner – say, a dictator or scandalous playboy? Judges may murmur disapprovingly, but mystique moves metal and earns trophies.
Of course, a truly great Concours also needs a setting to match the spectacle.
Italy naturally hosts the prettiest event: Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, held on the cerulean shores of Lake Como, where only the bluest-chip classics are invited onto its immaculate lawns.
Meanwhile in Monterey, the US hosts the most prestigious event of them all: the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.
A centre of automotive artistry, it draws well-heeled collectors from around the world to admire each other’s latest acquisitions, trade gossip and bask in the California sunshine. Tickets cost hundreds of dollars and sell out in days.
From the discreet safety of the buffet table, members of the Fourth Estate, myself included, chew the tips of our Bic pens and try to make sense of the classic car market: a sprawling, billion-dollar ecosystem that sits somewhere between fine art and, well … at least it’s safer than crypto most days.
Still, a win at Pebble Beach or Villa d’Este isn’t just about bragging rights – it can send a car’s value soaring.
No surprise then that ecosystems spring up around these events – from hotels to auctions to manufacturers staging new-car launches, everyone wants a piece of the collectors and taste-makers who patronise these gatherings.
And now, these events are starting to arrive in the Middle East.
After a smattering of attempts, one man has succeeded: renowned local collector Zaher Samman, whose lively Instagram shows a lot of fine Italian automobiles you’d wish you were driving to work tomorrow instead of a rental MG.
Samman’s Concorso Italiano UAE event (open to only, you guessed it, Italian marques) successfully ended its third edition in February. That said, he’s well aware why previous attempts at staging Concours events have stumbled.
“I hear from judges and competitors that some of the past shows really weren’t up to standard,” Samman admits. “It’s not easy to pull one of these off. If you don’t have the right cars, the ones that actually excite the people coming to see them, it’s not going to work.
“If you’re showing cars people can see on the street every day, it’s just not interesting.”
For Samman, coaxing those truly special cars out of private collections remains the biggest challenge.
“In Europe or the US collectors want to show off their cars,” he explains. “But here, many of them don’t want to be known. The biggest collections are usually owned by very high-profile individuals, extremely private people, and they don’t want that to change.”
With every successful local event like Concorso Italiano, we get one amuse-bouche closer to serving up our own perfect entrée
Still, with time and persistence, he’s begun to wear down resistance. This year’s event featured 25 cars and drew more than 600 visitors – a significant leap from the previous edition. That momentum, he says, is starting to lure the big fish.
“As the event grows and collectors start to see that having a car exhibited is a plus, not a minus, it begins to show up on their radar,” Samman says.
Putting an event of this magnitude together is never easy, and I certainly wish Samman the very best.
There’s a confluence of factors which explain why Europe and the US will always be the epicentre of classic cars: ease of travel and transport, a long-established event history, plus the unique kind of snobbery that comes with the fact that many of the vehicles were crafted there.
While our region is now well established in the luxury space, the tastes of many collectors remain firmly rooted in the nouveau riche rather than the coach-built, beauty-first aesthetic that defines a Concours event.
Still, with every successful local event like Concorso Italiano, we get one amuse-bouche closer to serving up our own perfect entrée.
Imthishan Giado is partner at Motoring Middle East
