Concours d’Elegance 2011 – Geneva, IL

29 Aug Concours d’Elegance 2011 – Geneva, IL

One of the most interesting events of the year took place in Geneva, IL this past weekend. This isn’t your average car show — this is the Concours d’Elegance.

NOS wasn’t there, there were no miniature bikes and scooters putting around. Hats were worn with the brims out front and the stickers removed, catchy t-shirts were replaced by polos, oxfords and chinos. Almost everything was original, and great lengths were taken to ensure that originality stayed pristine. No modifications, no loud exhausts. The Concours d’Elegance is a yearly gathering to celebrate a time in automobile history that is passed over by more recent aficionados. This is the time of coach built Rolls Royces and Duesenbergs, AC Cobras and even a few cars built before the Cubs won their last world series. These owners spend countless amounts of hours (and undoubtedly countless amounts of money) to ensure that every single inch of their car is gloriously restored to showroom-quality condition. There were hundreds of cars at this event, totaling in the tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars, and fans both young and old came out in celebration of the heyday of motoring. From the entire car down to the most minuscule detail, this was more of a museum than it was a car show. Things you see here are not liable to crop up on the freeway some Sunday morning, but you never know. Many of these cars bore the scars of driving — darkened tires and exhaust pipes were the most obvious visual cues that these vehicles are not just cared for, but let free to roam the roads on the nicest of days. Without further ado, here’s one collection you won’t see everyday:

Apparently, somewhere in the near future they’ve invented a time machine, and have sent back a single man to regale us with stories from the as-of-yet-unwritten future. That man? Jersey’s Shore’s Pauly D:

Five bucks for hubcaps? From a Porsche dealer? You sure it’s not Autozone?

After the show, there was an awards ceremony that took place in the main intersection of the Concours. Every award winner putted their car into the circle, was given a trophy as the announcer gave the crowd some history on the vehicle. Some people chose to match their dress to the car, while others rocked decidedly more contemporary fashion. Either way, the drivers had as much fun as the crowd, and everybody went wild each time a car rolled into the square.

Overall, it was an absolute blast. Some of these cars we’ve never seen before, and others we may never see again, but we’ll definitely be back next year for some more old world charm.