Rolling Revelry
Arizona Concours d’Elegance Celebrates Automotive Artistry
Writer Shannon Severson // Photography by Patrick Darby
With wheels bumping along miles of rocky, rutted wagon trails, a woman and her two sons set out on an unprecedented journey through Germany’s Baden-Wuerttemberg region.
The trip was fraught with challenges — steep hills that required pushing from her sons and local farmers, a clogged fuel line repaired with a hairpin, a short-circuited wire and snapped drive chain, and suspicion from perplexed onlookers — but Bertha Benz completed the 12-hour, 65-mile trip to see her mother in August 1888.
Without her husband Karl’s knowledge, Bertha took the first long-distance road trip in the world’s first automobile, and the publicity jump-started public interest in — and demand for — the fledgling Benz Motorcar Company’s invention. Germany memorialized Bertha’s route in 2008, and Mercedes-Benz will celebrate its 140th anniversary in 2026.
Here in Scottsdale, “Sculpture in Motion” is the theme of the eighth annual Arizona Concours d’Elegance on Sunday, Jan. 18. One of just 100 replicas of the original Benz Patent-Motorwagen that launched a revolution in personal transportation will be on display, along with 100 carefully curated vehicles for a juried event that co-chairman Chuck Stanford Jr. says is part “rolling art exhibit and part high-quality auto show.”
The elite event is made possible by a dedicated team of nearly 200 volunteers, and all profits are donated to Make-A-Wish Arizona, the founding chapter of the organization that grants wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions. Wish Kids even attend the show, are interviewed by the emcee and collaborate to award a special trophy to their favorite vehicle of the day.
“It’s a cool aspect of the event,” Stanford says, estimating that more than $300,000 has been donated to that worthy organization over the history of the concours.
Scottsdale Arts is a key partner, lending the lush grounds of the recently renovated Scottsdale Civic Center as the setting for an open-air museum that welcomes discriminating automobile and art enthusiasts alike.
“We are thrilled to partner with the Arizona Concours d’Elegance again this year,” says Gerd Wuestemann, Ph.D., president and CEO of Scottsdale Arts. “We are looking forward to another great event featuring these rolling works of art, with Scottsdale Civic Center serving as a magnificent backdrop.”
Stanford says the various stages and amphitheater at the venue spotlight sponsors and advertisers while creating excitement for the awards presentation. The winners of each class drive to “center stage” to receive their trophies. From those, a Best of Show winner is selected from both the pre- and postwar eras.
“Show cars are always grouped by pre- or postwar,” Stanford explains. “There was a period when, due to World War II, very few cars were produced from 1940 to 1947, but the technological advances during that time were significant. A 1950s car is dramatically different from a 1930s car.”
Attendees can also choose their era when it comes to fashion — and win prizes for doing so. Dressing in period fashion or classic garden-party looks is a hallmark of this refined event. Smartly dressed vehicle owners and visitors spend the day meandering through up to 15 classes of vehicles, admiring the curves and chrome amplified by warm Arizona sunshine that dances across the fine leather coachwork of a gray Art Deco-style 1934 Cadillac V-16 Convertible Coupe or the sleek headlights of a limited-edition, fly yellow 2003 Ferrari Enzo that looks fast even at a full stop.
While luxury vehicles and granting the wishes of critically ill children are at the heart of this glamorous event, Stanford says they also like to have a little fun with rotating specialty categories each year. “Fun in the Sun” is one such class this year, celebrating the beach movies of the 1960s and 1970s. A metallic purple 1968 Meyers Manx gives Newport Coast dune buggy adventure vibes, while the pale green 1964 Fiat 500 stirs up visions of summer days by the water in some far-flung town hugging the cliffs of the Ligurian Sea on Italy’s Riviera.
“It’s the first time we’ve done something like this — to have a nostalgic, whimsical class of cars,” Stanford says, noting that he was prompted by collectors who had some of these fun, throwback vehicles that were classics in their own right but might not normally be part of a show like the Arizona Concours d’Elegance. After all, people connect with different cars for different reasons.
As the Scottsdale-Phoenix area is a car town with Cars and Coffee meetups on any given weekend, it can be tricky to find vehicles that truly stand out. Stanford and his co-chair, Ed Winkler, lead a year-round committee to seek out exceptional cars — both in design and provenance.
“In Scottsdale, people bring out million-dollar cars without a second thought,” Stanford points out. “To pull together a display of cars attendees have never seen is our mission. We search far and wide to get an extreme selection of vehicles from the dawn of motoring right up to modern-day supercars.”
The high standards of 50 international judges set the Arizona Concours d’Elegance apart from many other shows. Each judge is an expert in the cars they are judging and spends time with every owner and every car, meticulously poring over the details of each rolling work of art’s condition, authenticity and provenance. It is the only Arizona car show to be ranked as a Plus show by the standards of the International Chief Judge Advisory Group.
“We take the judging rules very seriously,” Stanford reveals. “We are particular and nonpolitical. Ratings are based on score sheets and not personal preference — also known as ‘French rules’ — meaning historical importance, originality and authenticity take priority over a car just being pretty.
“Many old cars have been dressed up or modified over the years because a restorer took liberties and made them more attractive or stylish than the original factory version. ICJAG Plus also means the Arizona Concours d’Elegance is very well-administered and organized — and very particular about the integrity of the judging. That helps bring wonderful cars to the concours and allows us to get important cars from top collectors.”
The ICJAG points system rates 20 different categories. Each entry begins with 100 points, and marks are subtracted from there. A subjective “bonus” of up to three points can be added as special recognition of provenance. There may be scratches on the hood, for example, but if those scratches are there because of a successful racing career at Le Mans, those imperfections become part of a vehicle’s legacy.
“Every car has a story, and some of the stories are truly unique and exciting,” Stanford shares with enthusiasm. “Some have won races or been owned by famous people. Others have been in the same family for 100 years.”
It’s those stories — the history, artistry, fine craftsmanship and dedication to preserving these mobile works of art — that drive Stanford, Winkler, their dedicated volunteers and Scottsdale Arts to present this distinctive event. The growing number of Arizona Concours d’Elegance attendees and collector submissions is evidence that, year after year, this spectacular event rolls on — and just keeps getting better.
Arizona Concours d’Elegance
Sunday, Jan. 18 // 9 a.m.–4 p.m. // Scottsdale Civic Center // 3939 N. Drinkwater Blvd., Scottsdale // $90+ // Discounts available // arizonaconcours.org