Concours at Wynn Las Vegas: The New Supercar Kingpin?
The term “concours d’elegance” essentially refers to a show or competition where vehicles are primarily judged on their aesthetic perfection and presentation. For anyone immersed in the world of high-end automobiles, the inevitable question arises: is one particular concours superior to another? The venerable Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance often enters this debate. Typically, this refers to the entire Monterey Car Week, a sprawling, high-octane showcase of all things automotive and expensive, culminating in the most prestigious concours event on the final Sunday. But attendees frequently ask if the Goodwood Festival of Speed or the Goodwood Revival outshine Pebble Beach, or if Amelia Island, Moda Miami, or Retromobile hold a candle to it.
Carly was seriously injured after rescuing Joss from Wyndemere General Hospital Spoilers
Concours at Wynn Las Vegas: The New Supercar Kingpin?
The term “concours d’elegance” essentially refers to a show or competition where vehicles are primarily judged on their aesthetic perfection and presentation. For anyone immersed in the world of high-end automobiles, the inevitable question arises: is one particular concours superior to another? The venerable Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance often enters this debate. Typically, this refers to the entire Monterey Car Week, a sprawling, high-octane showcase of all things automotive and expensive, culminating in the most prestigious concours event on the final Sunday. But attendees frequently ask if the Goodwood Festival of Speed or the Goodwood Revival outshine Pebble Beach, or if Amelia Island, Moda Miami, or Retromobile hold a candle to it.
Indeed, wherever the elite and fashionable gather to admire blue-chip automobiles, the question of Pebble’s dominance is raised. While Pebble Beach remains the undisputed monarch of the concours, its immediate heir—The Quail—may be facing a serious challenge to its throne.
Why The Quail?
The Quail, or more formally, The Quail: A Motorsports Gathering, has historically served as the perfect prelude to Sunday’s main event at Pebble Beach. In fact, for a significant and growing faction of the car community, The Quail has long surpassed the Sunday spectacle at Pebble. These enthusiasts typically gravitate towards cutting-edge supercars and hypercars. I’ve encountered countless car enthusiasts who attend Car Week but opt out of the Sunday event, uninterested in “all the old cars.” Furthermore, the closure of the Geneva International Motor Show has left a noticeable void in the supercar calendar, a gap The Quail has admirably filled.
To provide a few examples, the Lamborghini Aventador debuted at Geneva in 2011, and the ultra-exclusive Veneno followed in 2013. The Aventador’s successor, the Revuelto, was unveiled online, but the Temerario (the Huracán’s replacement) made its public debut at The Quail in 2024. The same holds true for the seven-figure Fenomeno, which debuted at the 2025 Quail. Bugatti unveiled the Chiron in Geneva back in 2016, but the Bugatti Divo (2018) and Mistral (2022) were both first seen at The Quail. This pattern extends to numerous other vehicles. In essence, The Quail has become the premier global stage for these specific machines.
Until Halloween of this year, I considered The Quail’s position in the automotive hierarchy unassailable. Then I attended the 2025 Las Vegas Concours (officially the Concours at Wynn Las Vegas), and now I’m not so sure. I should mention that I also attended the 2024 Vegas Concours and, while enjoyable, it felt somewhat provincial. The vehicles were impressive, but they were largely predictable. If not for a project I was collaborating on with Czinger, which invited me as a guest, I likely wouldn’t have attended this year. But I am immensely grateful that I did.
What Is It?
The Wynn featured 48 Bugatti Veyrons on the lawn this year. Yes, you read that correctly. Out of the 450 Veyrons ever produced, and the 100 sold in North America, 48 were in Las Vegas. Actually, it was 49, as Bugatti brought a stunning white Vitesse Super Sport to commemorate the Veyron’s 20th anniversary—along with a Bolide, Centodieci, Chiron Super Sport, Divo, Mistral, and a model of the forthcoming 18-cylinder hybrid Tourbillon, the Chiron’s successor. But displaying over ten percent of all the Bugatti Veyrons ever built in one location has left me completely awestruck.
The younger generation enjoys Paganis, too, right? Because there were over 40 of them. I didn’t get the exact count (I was distracted by the Veyrons), but there were several Zondas, including a Zonda Revolution (one of five), dozens of Huayras, a collection of Utopias, and—much to The Quail’s concern—the debut of the Huayra Codalunga Speedster, a limited edition of 10 that Pagani plans to sell for $7 million before taxes and import duties, should you be interested. (The mint-green one, displayed under cover, belongs to Apple’s Tim Cook.) Even if these exotic, high-performance creations aren’t to your taste, the fact that the 2025 Las Vegas Concours wasn’t just the largest Pagani gathering ever held in North America, but also the venue where Horatio Pagani (honored onstage by emcee Justin Bell for his contributions to car design) and his team chose to introduce a new car, speaks volumes. But I’ll discuss that more in a moment. Returning to the over 40 Paganis: that’s more cars than the factory produces in a single year.
The Lamborghini section was equally astonishing if you appreciate these types of vehicles. To begin with, the 2025 Wynn Vegas Concours was the largest gathering of Lamborghinis in history. That’s right—ever. Again, I didn’t count, but the general consensus was around 230. That’s 230 out of the 600 vehicles displayed that Saturday. Simply incredible. Among those 230, there was a Veneno Coupe (one of only three publicly sold, with the factory retaining a fourth), a Sesto Elemento (one of 10), 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 “few-offs” (as Lamborghini now calls them) together in the same place was at the factory museum. It was a jaw-dropping display of priceless, high-performance Italian engineering.
To remain concise, I am omitting the Koenigseggs, the Gumpert Apollo, the Czingers, the Nilu, the McLaren Project Endurance race car debut, all the cars that were actually judged (including a past, insane Pebble Beach Concours-winning 1929 Mercedes-Benz 680 S Barker Tourer 26/120/180 that won pre-war Best of Show here, as well), the HWA EVO, a Mercedes-AMG One, two Oldsmobile Aerotechs, and a McLaren F1. Yes, that’s one spectacular car show.
What Could Possibly Be Next?
Two central conversations dominated my discussions with fellow attendees at the Wynn Vegas Concours. The primary question was: “How on earth are they going to top this next year?” I have no idea, but all the best to the Wynn. The second, and frankly far more intriguing, question was frequently posed by OEM representatives: “Should we even bother attending The Quail next year?” A valid point. Perhaps it’s time to say farewell to The Quail as well.
Some facts you might not know about The Quail: A single ticket cost $1,300 last year. That’s $1,300 for “legacy ticket holders,” as I believe they call them, who have attended in the past. For first-time attendees, the price was $1,600. While steep, it costs OEMs approximately $400,000 to display a car at The Quail for just six hours. The Vegas Concours charges about one-twentieth of that. And if you want to attend, tickets cost $100 each. That’s roughly $2 per Veyron. I spoke with three different carmakers who openly questioned the need to ever return to The Quail. Perhaps, they suggested, Las Vegas and Moda Miami are sufficient? Moreover, attendees won’t face the heart-stopping hotel prices (one friend paid $1,100 a night for a motel near Pebble, with a five-night minimum), nor will they be stuck in soul-crushing traffic. And booking dinner reservations is a breeze because Las Vegas is specifically designed to accommodate large-scale events.
While this might sound far-fetched, only 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 on my must-attend list. You should add it to yours, too.