Concours at Wynn Las Vegas: A New Apex in Supercar Spectacle
The definition of “concours d’elegance” is generally understood as “a show or contest of vehicles and accessories in which the entries are judged chiefly on excellence of appearance and turnout.”
Once you’ve spent a significant amount of time in the high-end automotive world, the conversation inevitably turns to whether one event surpasses another, and whether the legendary Pebble Beach Concours retains its crown. Pebble Beach, of course, typically refers to the comprehensive Monterey Car Week—a convergence of premium automotive gatherings that culminates on Sunday with what is widely considered the pinnacle of concours d’elegance. This event is an orgy of luxury, money, and expensive machinery that attracts the global elite.
But the questions persist. Is the Goodwood Festival of Speed now superior to Pebble Beach? What about the Goodwood Revival? Or perhaps Amelia Island? Moda Miami? Retromobile? The Audrain?
Everywhere the world’s wealthiest and most stylish congregators meet to admire blue-chip automobiles, the same query arises: Is Pebble Beach still the top dog? Let’s be frank. Pebble Beach remains the undisputed king of the traditional concours. However, the rising contender, the likely heir apparent to Pebble’s kingdom—The Quail—may finally have a formidable challenger to the throne.
Why The Quail?
For years, The Quail (officially known as The Quail: A Motorsports Gathering) served as the perfect appetizer before the main event that is Sunday’s Pebble Concours. In fact, for a growing segment of the car community, The Quail has long eclipsed the Sunday proceedings at Pebble. These enthusiasts are typically most interested in new and recent production supercars and hypercars. I have lost count of the number of car friends who make the pilgrimage to Car Week but skip Sunday’s main event because they have zero interest in “a bunch of old cars.” Furthermore, the demise of the Geneva International Auto Show left a gaping hole in the supercar calendar, a void that The Quail has filled quite nicely.
Let’s look at some examples. The Lamborghini Aventador made its official debut in Geneva in 2011, and the ultra-exclusive Veneno followed in 2013. The Aventador’s successor, the Revuelto, was initially revealed via an online launch, but the Temerario (the Huracán’s replacement) made its first public appearance at The Quail in 2024. This was also the case for the seven-figure Fenomeno, which debuted at the 2025 Quail. Bugatti unveiled the Chiron in Geneva back in 2016; however, the Bugatti Divo (2018) and the Mistral (2022) were both debuted at The Quail. This pattern holds true for dozens of other models. In essence, The Quail has solidified its position as the world’s premier showcase for these types of machines.
Until this past Halloween, I believed The Quail’s standing in the global automotive hierarchy was secure. Then I attended the 2025 Las Vegas Concours (officially named Concours at Wynn Las Vegas), and I am no longer certain. I should clarify that I also attended the 2024 Vegas Concours and, while I enjoyed it, it felt more provincial than world-class. There were some impressive cars, but mostly the usual suspects. In fact, if I hadn’t been working on a project with Czinger (which had invited me as its guest), I probably wouldn’t have bothered attending this year. But believe me, I’m incredibly glad I went.
What Is It?
The Wynn showcased 48 Bugatti Veyrons this year. You read that correctly. Out of the 450 total Veyrons ever built and the 100 sold in North America, 48 of them were in Vegas. Actually, it was 49, as Bugatti also presented a stunning white Vitesse Super Sport to celebrate the Veyron’s 20th anniversary—along with a Bolide, Centodieci, Chiron Super Sport, Divo, Mistral, and a prototype model of the forthcoming 18-cylinder hybrid, the Tourbillon, which will replace the Chiron. But displaying over ten percent of all Bugatti Veyrons ever produced in one location is still staggering to process.
The kids are into Paganis, right? Because there were over 40 of them. I didn’t get the exact number (I was too busy drooling over the Veyrons), but there were several Zondas, including a Zonda Revolution (one of only five), dozens of Huayras, a bunch of Utopias, and—signaling real trouble for The Quail—the official public debut of the Huayra Codalunga Speedster. Pagani plans to produce only 10 of these, with a price tag of $7 million each before taxes and import duties, should you be interested. (The mint-green specimen hidden under cover in Vegas belongs to Apple’s Tim Cook.) Even if these carbo-titanium extroverts aren’t your style, the fact that the 2025 Las Vegas Concours hosted not only the largest Pagani gathering in North American history but also that Horacio Pagani (who was honored onstage by host Justin Bell for his contributions to automotive design) and his team chose this venue to debut a car speaks volumes. I’ll elaborate on that in a moment. Returning to the topic of more than 40 Paganis: this number exceeds the entire annual production volume of the factory.
The Lamborghini section was equally mind-blowing for enthusiasts of these machines. First off, the 2025 Wynn Vegas Concours hosted the largest Lamborghini gathering ever. Yes, ever. Again, I didn’t count, but the figure being circulated was around 230. That’s 230 of the 600 cars present on that Saturday. Simply incredible. Among those 230, there was a Veneno Coupe (one of only three ever sold to the public; the factory retained a fourth), a Sesto Elemento (one of ten), a Centenario coupe (one of 20) and convertible (one of 20), and a Reventón (one of 21). The last time I saw all these “few-offs” (as Lamborghini now calls them) together was at the factory museum. It was a mind-boggling display of precious, high-horsepower Italian metal and composites.
To keep this concise, I’m leaving out details about 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 stunning 1929 Mercedes-Benz 680 S Barker Tourer 26/120/180, a former and insane Pebble Beach Concours-winning car that also won pre-war best of show here), the HWA EVO, a Mercedes-AMG One, two Oldsmobile Aerotechs, and a McLaren F1. And you thought that was it? No, that was just a fraction of the spectacle.
What Could Possibly Be Next?
Two threads of conversation kept recurring as I stopped and chatted with fellow attendees at the Wynn Vegas Concours. The first big question was: “How in the world are they going to top this next year?” I have no idea, but I wish the Wynn the very best of luck. The second, and frankly far more intriguing query, came from the OEM car manufacturers: “Should we even bother participating in The Quail next year?” It’s a legitimate question. Perhaps I should also wish The Quail the best of luck.
Here are some things you might not know about The Quail: Last year, a single ticket cost $1,300. That’s the “legacy” price for past attendees (they call them “legacy ticket holders,” I believe). For first-time attendees, the price was $1,600. Yes, that’s exorbitant, but it costs OEMs around $400,000 to place a car on a stand there. For six hours. The Vegas Concours charges roughly 1/20th of that. And if you want to attend, tickets are just $100 each. That’s about $2 per Veyron. I spoke with three different carmakers who openly questioned the need to ever attend The Quail again. Perhaps, they mused, Las Vegas and Moda Miami are enough? Moreover, for attendees, you won’t be stuck paying heart-stopping prices for accommodations (I heard about a friend who stayed at a motel near Pebble that cost $1,100 a night, with a five-night minimum), nor will you be running around from event to event in soul-crushing traffic. Additionally, securing dinner reservations is effortless because Las Vegas is literally designed to handle massive gatherings.
While this might sound far-fetched, just a few years ago, Geneva was the undisputed center of the supercar world. I cannot predict the future, but I can assure you that the Concours at Wynn Las Vegas is now firmly on my must-attend list. You should certainly add it to yours as well.
