The Wynn Las Vegas Concours: A New Contender for Automotive Supremacy
The term “concours d’elegance” typically refers to a show or competition where vehicles and accessories are judged primarily on their appearance and presentation.
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The Wynn Las Vegas Concours: A New Contender for Automotive Supremacy
The term “concours d’elegance” typically refers to a show or competition where vehicles and accessories are judged primarily on their appearance and presentation.
As one navigates the world of luxury automobiles, the perennial question invariably arises: is one concours d’elegance superior to another, specifically regarding the renowned Pebble Beach Concours? Often, this query pertains to the comprehensive Monterey Car Week, a constellation of events including the principal Pebble Beach proceedings. Taken together, these gatherings represent an extravagant celebration of all things wheeled and expensive, culminating on Sunday with the premier concours d’elegance of them all. Still, we are frequently asked: Is the Goodwood Festival of Speed a better event than Pebble? What about the Goodwood Revival? Amelia Island? Moda Miami? Retromobile? Audrain?
Indeed, anywhere discerning collectors and enthusiasts congregate to marvel at blue-chip automobiles, the question of Pebble’s supremacy is inevitably raised. The truth is, Pebble Beach remains the undisputed king of concours. However, the heir apparent to Pebble’s throne—The Quail—may soon find itself facing a formidable new challenger in the form of the Las Vegas Concours.
Why The Quail?
For years, The Quail, officially known as The Quail: A Motorsports Gathering, has served as the perfect prelude to the main event: Sunday’s Pebble Beach Concours. In fact, for a growing segment of the automotive world, The Quail has long surpassed Pebble’s Sunday event. This demographic primarily consists of individuals deeply passionate about late-model and brand-new supercars and hypercars. I have lost count of the number of automotive friends who make the journey to Car Week but skip Sunday’s festivities, claiming no interest in “a bunch of old cars.” Furthermore, the demise of the Geneva International Auto Show created a significant void in the supercar calendar, a void that The Quail has expertly filled.
Let me provide a few examples. The Lamborghini Aventador debuted at Geneva in 2011, and the ultra-expensive Veneno was unveiled there in 2013. The Aventador’s successor—the Revuelto—made its official public debut through an online unveiling, but the Temerario (the Huracán’s replacement) was first showcased at The Quail in 2024. The same holds true for the multi-million dollar Fenomeno, which debuted at the 2025 Quail. Bugatti revealed the Chiron in Geneva in 2016; however, the Bugatti Divo (2018) and Mistral (2022) were both first presented to the world at The Quail. This trend applies to countless other vehicles as well. In essence, The Quail has evolved into the world’s premier venue for showcasing these types of machines.
Until this past Halloween, I believed The Quail’s standing in the global automotive hierarchy was secure. Then I attended the 2025 Las Vegas Concours (officially known as Concours at Wynn Las Vegas), and now I am not so sure. I should clarify that I also attended the 2024 Vegas Concours and, while I enjoyed myself, it felt somewhat provincial. There were some impressive cars, but they were mostly the usual suspects. In fact, if it weren’t for a project I was working on with Czinger (which invited me as its guest), I probably wouldn’t have bothered attending this year. But I am incredibly glad I did.
What Is It?
The Wynn hosted 48 Bugatti Veyrons on the lawn this year. You read that correctly. Of the 450 total Veyrons ever produced and the 100 sold in North America, 48 were present in Las Vegas. Well, 49, as Bugatti also brought a stunning white Vitesse Super Sport to celebrate the Veyron’s 20th anniversary—along with a Bolide, Centodieci, Chiron Super Sport, Divo, Mistral, and a prototype of the upcoming Tourbillon, the 18-cylinder hybrid set to replace the Chiron. However, displaying over 10% of all Bugatti Veyrons ever built in one location still leaves me in awe.
Are hypercars the preferred choice for younger generations? Because there were more than 40 Paganis. I didn’t get the exact number (I was too busy admiring the Veyrons), but there were several Zondas including a Zonda Revolution (one of five), dozens of Huayras, a plethora of Utopias, and—alarmingly for The Quail—the public debut of the Huayra Codalunga Speedster Pagani plans to produce in a limited run of 10 at a price of $7,000,000 each before taxes and tariffs, if you’re interested. (The mint green one on display in Vegas under a cover belongs to Apple’s Tim Cook.) Even if these carbon-titanium extroverts aren’t your cup of tea, the fact that the 2025 Las Vegas Concours was not only the largest gathering of Paganis ever held in North America but also the venue chosen by Horatio Pagani (honored onstage by host Justin Bell for his contributions to automotive design) and his team to introduce a new model speaks volumes. More on that later. Returning to the topic of more than 40 Paganis: that’s a larger quantity of cars than the factory produces in an entire year.
The Lamborghini display was equally astonishing if you are interested in these types of vehicles. First off, the 2025 Wynn Vegas Concours was the largest gathering of Lamborghinis ever. Yes, ever. Again, I didn’t count, but the reported number was approximately 230. That’s 230 out of the 600 cars present that Saturday. Simply breathtaking. Among those 230, there was a Veneno Coupe (one of only three ever sold to the public; the factory retained a fourth one), a Sesto Elemento (one of ten), a Centenario Coupe (one of 20) and Convertible (one of 20), and a Reventón (one of 21). The last time I saw all these limited-production models (as Lamborghini now calls them) together in one place was at the factory’s museum. It was a spectacular showcase of precious, high-horsepower Italian engineering.
In the interest of brevity, I am omitting details about all the Koenigseggs, the Gumpert Apollo, the Czingers, the Nilu, the McLaren Project Endurance race car debut, all the vehicles that were actually judged (including a former and absolutely insane Pebble Beach Concours-winning 1929 Mercedes-Benz 680 S Barker Tourer 26/120/180 that also won the prewar best of show here), the HWA EVO, a Mercedes-AMG One, two Oldsmobile Aerotechs, and a McLaren F1. Yes, that is one hell of a car show.
What Could Possibly Be Next?
Two topics of conversation dominated the discussions when I stopped to chat with fellow attendees at the Wynn Vegas Concours. The primary question: \”How on earth are they going to top this next year?\” I have no clue, but I wish the Wynn the best of luck. The other, and frankly far more intriguing, question was posed by the OEM car manufacturers: \”Should we even bother participating in The Quail next year?\” A valid question. Perhaps it is time to wish The Quail luck as well.
Some facts you may not know about The Quail: A single ticket cost $1,300 last year. That’s $1,300 as a courtesy for repeat attendees (\”legacy ticket holders,\” as they are apparently called). For first-time attendees, the price was $1,600. Yes, that’s expensive, but it costs OEMs around $400,000 to display a car at The Quail. For just six hours. The Vegas Concours charges about 1/20th of that. And if you want to attend, tickets are $100 each. That’s approximately $2 per Veyron. I spoke with three different car manufacturers who openly questioned the need to ever attend The Quail again. Perhaps, they mused, Las Vegas and Moda Miami are sufficient? Moreover, for attendees, you won’t be paying heart-stopping prices for hotels (a friend stayed at a motel near Pebble that was $1,100 a night, with a five-night minimum), nor dealing with soul-crushing traffic while driving from event to event. Additionally, making dinner reservations is easy because Las Vegas is literally designed to accommodate large gatherings.
While this may sound far-fetched, it is important to remember that just a few years ago, Geneva was the epicenter of the supercar world. I cannot predict the future, but I can assure you that the Concours at Wynn Las Vegas is now a must-attend event on my calendar. You should add it to yours as well.