The Detroit Concours d’Elegance Relocates to Detroit

The Detroit Institute of Arts hosts 120 of the world’s finest classic, historic, and exotic cars
821
1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL // Photo courtesy of Marc Dutton

For one special day on Sunday, Sept 18, the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) will host a truly spectacular array of rolling automotive art and history in the form of the 2022 Detroit Concours d’Elegance. This world-renowned show — hosted by the Meadow Brook mansion in Rochester from 1979-2010 and the Inn at St. Johns in Plymouth from 2011-2021 –will be on the streets of Detroit for the first time. Now owned and operated by Hagerty, the Michigan-based automotive lifestyle brand and collectible-car specialty insurance provider, the show will take place in the grassy park areas and streets around the DIA between Woodward and John R and Farnsworth and E. Kirby Streets.

“Despite Detroit’s role as the center of the automotive industry,” says Hagerty CEO McKeel Hagerty, “it always meant more than that. Detroit was known for its taste-making —guiding the pop culture of music, arts, sports and, yes, cars through the decades. So, this car weekend in September is not just a spotlight on great cars but also on a great city.”

The Sunday Detroit Concours d’Elegance — “building on more than four decades of world-class automobiles, fine dining, exceptional hospitality and impactful community giving” — will feature some 120 historically significant vehicles in 15 classes including Detroit-inspired classes “The Cars of Harley Earl” (GM’s famous first design leader), “Detroit Autorama” and “The Cars of Woodward Ave.” Live entertainment, free ride & drives, concessions and merchandise will also be on hand.

Below is a sampling of the world-class cars you’ll find at the show:

Other Detroit Concours events:

On Saturday, Sept 17, from 9 am.-1 p.m., Comerica Park’s parking areas will be transformed into Cars & Community, a family-friendly automotive festival featuring RADwood, a celebration of 1980s and 1990s lifestyle blending period-correct dress and automotive history; Concours d’Lemons, celebrating the oddball, mundane  unexceptional and truly awful of the automotive world; a showcase of local car clubs; and a Kids Zone full of hands-on interactive activities.

Saturday evening’s Motor City Party at the College for Creative Studies’ Taubman Center will offer a strolling dinner, an open bar, and a lively roundtable discussion with retired GM Design vice president (and 2022 Concours Honoree) Ed Welburn; Stellantis Chief Design Officer Ralph Gilles; Ford Motor Company Chief Industrial Platform Officer Hau Thai-Tang; GM Executive Vice President Doug L. Parks; and McKeel Hagerty about the future of the automobile industry and what GM, Ford, Stellantis and Hagerty are doing to keep driving alive.

Find more information and ticket prices at DetroitConcours.com.