Concours d’Elegance Award

The Concours d’Elegance Award is the most prestigious award presented at the Bay to Birdwood. It follows the original Concours d’Elegance format in that the overall appearance of the vehicle and passengers is judged.

Established at the very beginning of the event in 1980, the Award has been won by some of the finest historic vehicles in Australia. The inaugural winners in 1980 were Stephen, Christina, Gabriella and Elizabeth Boros with their 1930 Model A Ford.

Winners 2023

Concours d’Elegance Award, Post-1950: Winner – Corey Armstrong, 1973 Mazda Capella RX-2

Concours d’Elegance Award, Pre-1950: Winner – Malcolm Adamson, 1936 SS Jaguar Airline

Judging

All vehicles entered in the Concours d’Elegance Award will be judged at a separate pre-judging event in the morning of  Saturday 19 October 2024  in the Courtyard Precinct of the Migration Museum, State Library of South Australia, and South Australian Museum. Please make sure you can attend the pre-judging event if you intend to enter the Concours d’Elegance Award. 

Since 2020 there have been two Concours d’Elegance Awards, one for the Pre-1950 Vehicle and one for the Post-1950 Vehicle.

The finalists will be judged by the technical experts. The vehicles are assessed on a number of areas including paint, engine bay, interior, and overall effect. The dress of the entrants is judged according to how closely their appearance is associated with the era of their vehicle. All finalists receive a certificate and the overall winner receives the prized Concours Trophy.

The primary scoring system is broken into three parts:

  1. the vehicle
  2. the occupants’ attire
  3. the overall effect of the vehicle/occupant(s).

The entries gaining the highest combined scores are announced as finalists.

As an Concours d’Elegance Award entrant, your vehicle must be presented in a suitable condition and comply with the Bay to Birdwood rules. Event regulations for the 2024 Bay to Birdwood will be updated closer to entries opening.

Previous Winners

Any vehicle that wins an award will NOT be eligible to win or enter the award section for the next ten consecutive Bay to Birdwood events.

Previous winning vehicles are encouraged to enter the event and will be displayed with other previous award-winning vehicles. Please contact the Organisers if you are entering a Bay to Birdwood award-winning vehicle