Hilton Head Island Gears Up for the Concours d’Elegance & Motoring Festival

America’s love affair with cars goes on full display this fall at Hilton Head Island’s 19th Annual Concours d’Elegance & Motoring Festival, a multi-day homage to the classics of the industry with events offering the best in dining and luxury lifestyles.

This year’s festival kicks off Friday, Nov. 5, at Hilton Head Island Airport with the Flights & Fancy Aeroport Gala, a glamorous event under the stars showcasing automotive and aviation legacies. Vintage aircraft, flown in from across the country, will be on display alongside pristine Concours cars, with the gala dinner starting at 7 p.m. at the nearby Port Royal Golf Club.

The Aero Expo continues Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the airport. Along with the vintage aircraft and classic automobiles, the exhibition will include new and advanced models, offering an auto and aviation timeline of the past, present and future.

At the same time, 20 select car clubs will put 200 of their best automobiles on display next door on the 1st and 18th fairways of the Port Royal Golf Club’s Planters Row golf course in a competition for the top awards. This year’s themes will focus on Italian-made cars and motorcycles, modified vehicles demonstrating American power and ingenuity and vehicles owned by women. The Car Club Showcase will end with a Satisfy Your Thirst After Party featuring live music and tastings from South Carolina distilleries and breweries.

Several special exhibits also will be presented Saturday and Sunday on the short game practice area and driving range of the Port Royal Golf Club. Bob McNab, the 2021 Honored Collector, will be showing off a number of his prized beauties, including a 1953 Chevrolet Townsman Station Wagon, a 1969 Ford Torino 428 Cobra Jet Fastback and a Dale Earnhardt Wrangler #3 Chevrolet Auto Coupe.

Motoring aficionados won’t want to miss Design Among the Stars, the most unique and intimate experience of the weekend. Held Saturday at 6:30 p.m. in The Sea Pines Resort’s Harbour Town Clubhouse, this event offers guests the opportunity to mingle and dine with some of the world’s most notable automobile designers in an elegant setting overlooking the iconic Harbour Town Golf Links.

The Concours d’Elegance will conclude Sunday at the Port Royal Golf Club when 75 judges from across North America select the Best of Show winner from among those honored as the best in each class. 

For more information or to purchase tickets to any of the events, click here.