Overview The La Jolla Concours d'Elegance parks more than 150 collector cars on the lawn of Ellen Browning Scripps Park at La Jolla Cove, with the Pacific at the edge of the grass, for a Sunday of class judging each April; Best in Show in 2026 went to William Lyon's 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster. The 2026 edition was the 20th. Cars show in two fields: the Concours, restored or preserved to factory specification, and the Motor Car Classic, open to all marques and modified cars. Events.com owned and managed the 2026 edition, and proceeds go to the La Jolla Historical Society, founded in 1964, which uses them to keep its exhibitions free. On site The weekend builds to Sunday. Friday night is the Motorvault VIP Soiree on the Concours green, with San Diego chefs, a live auction and the show cars lit after dark, and a Chairman's Party follows on Saturday evening. Porsches and Power on Prospect is a free evening of exotic cars in the village. The Tour d'Elegance drives the coast from Prospect Street inland to Rancho Santa Fe, stopping at a private collection and a 40-acre estate with its own karting track. On Sunday white tents line the ocean edge of the park, general admission includes champagne tastings, and the VIP lounge looks over the water with tastings from 15-plus San Diego restaurants. It runs rain or shine. Talent and Influencers Nigel Matthews was chief judge for 2026; by the Concours' count he had judged 140 concours worldwide and been chief judge at 32, and ten judges were named on the 2026 panel. The judging page points entrants to FIVA preservation criteria. The 2026 commemorative poster was signed by the artist Scott Jacobs. Track record Michel Ullman, Terry Underwood and Yvette Marcum started it in January 2004 as the La Jolla Motor Car Classic, with about 50 cars. The Historical Society took over in 2009, and the event took its current name in 2012. Past fields have carried horseless carriages, Woodies and Carroll Shelby's cars; the 2026 classes ran from pre-war American open cars to air-cooled Porsches, Japanese cars under the Rising Sun banner and a Best Hyper Car award, and a 1933 Marmon V16 won Most Outstanding Pre-War. Brand presence The title partner's name goes on the event, as the La Jolla Concours d'Elegance presented by the brand, with one of its vehicles shown in a prime spot, a turn at the microphone at the Friday reception and the Tour lunch, and its logo on every Tour entrant's window decal. Two tiers below are reserved for car dealerships, with a courtyard for two or four display cars; seven San Diego luxury dealers were on the 2026 sponsor list. The Champagne Garden, Entrant Lounge, Main Stage, judges, a vintage air fly-by and 15 hospitality suites with their own bartender are sold one at a time.