concours
A parade of elegance
Island’s motoring festival now a destination event BY LANCE HANLIN | PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROB KAUFMAN
T
he Hilton Head Island Motoring Festival & Concours d’Elegance was created 10 years ago simply to help raise funds for the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra. Today, it is considered one of the top automotive events in the country. That’s music to Carolyn Vanagel’s ears. “Exhibitors are scrambling to get in our concours,” said Vanagel, president of the festival. “We’ve reached a point now that we’re really playing on a national stage.” Like a traditional orchestra, the motoring festival is made up of four parts: The Savannah Speed Classic (Oct. 28-30, Hutchinson Island), The Motoring Midway (Nov. 5-6, Hilton Head Island), The Car Club Jamboree (Nov. 5, Hilton Head Island) and The Concours d’Elegance (Nov. 6, Hilton Head Island). Vanagel stresses the festival has something for everybody, not just motorheads. “Every year, it’s different,” Vanagel said. “We have different cars and different exhibits. Every year you come, you’re going to see something fresh and new.” SAVANNAH SPEED CLASSIC The festival will open with historic sports car racing on Oct. 28-30 at The Grand Prize of America Track on Hutchinson Island. While the Classic is linked to the concours, the type of “historic” vehicles at the two events will be very different. Cars in Sunday’s concours must be pre-1972 and motorcycles must have been made before 1980. The only restriction on models getting into the three-day Speed Classic is that they can’t be run on a current racing series. That opens the door for some serious horsepower. Several groupings of classes will race against one another. One grouping for vintage Indy cars will feature classics driven by wellknown drivers such as Mario Andretti and A.J. Foyt. Spectators will also be able to test drive cars and SUVs from automotive sponsors including BMW, Porsche and Land Rover. For an additional fee, those in attendance can also jump in a car with a professional driver and get up to racing speeds. The cost is $50 for a manufactured vehicle or $100 for an actual race car. Several notable Grand-Am drivers will also be on hand, including Bill Auberlen, Joey Hand, Hurley Haywood and Grand Marshal Boris Said of NASCAR Sprint Cup fame. “I expect to see a lot of really cool cars,” Said said. “And I love cars.” In addition to all the racing, there will also be a beer garden and live music. October 2011
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