Danville Concours d'Elegance 2015

The Danville Concours d’Elegance 2015 was held September 19-20 on the historic downtown streets of Danville, California. The 11th annual event included a traditional Concours and Tour d’Elegance rally.

This year’s Danville Concours had a selection of over 180 automobiles on display, with a wonderful collection of Ferraris showing the history of the marque over the years. The standout vehicles included a 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO, serial number 4757GT, and a recently restored 1953 Ferrari 250 Europa Vignale Berlinetta enjoying its second public appearance after the Pebble Beach Concours. On the other end of the spectrum, attendees also enjoyed the opportunity to see the 2015 Ferrari La Ferrari in person.

Best of Show at the 2015 Danville Concours d’Elegance was awarded to Phil White’s 1959 Maserati GT 3500 Vignale Spider, the prototype for the Maserati 3500 GT. Other winners included the wonderful 1928 Packard Series Six Convertible owned by Fred Hill that won Best in Class in the Pre-1950 Non-Sports Car category. Fred Hill discovered this car in a chicken coop and restored to its original condition including its Goddess of Speed hood ornament that was the object of many photographs throughout the day. He has owned the automobile for forty years and he performed the Best in Class restoration himself.

British automotive enthusiasts enjoyed the beautiful selection of Jaguar XKs and E-Types from over the years, in addition to a number of vintage Land Rovers that added a sense of adventure to the day. The collection of Jaguars and Land Rovers set just the right tone as displayed next to the newest offerings on display in the Jaguar Land Rover display area.

A wonderful gathering of vintage motorcycles comprised many rarely seen in the States, such as a 1962 Demm Sport 50, identical to the one on display in the Demm Museum in Bologna, Italy. This rare bike is a European model never imported to North America. Further highlights included a 1948 Malaguti Olympique, another European model never imported to the United States and a 1960 Vittoria Paperino Sprint, the only known Vittoria known to exist in North America as less than 500 were produced between 1957 and 1960.

Jim Edlund, Chairman Danville d’Elegance Foundation, said, “This really is a very special event as it brings together a wonderful collection of automobiles, motorcycles and enthusiasts, our sponsors, the greater Danville community and a truly dedicated group of volunteers that work year round to make this a very special weekend. For two days in September, this group strives to raise money for Parkinson’s research and patient care. It is an event that I have been proud to co-chair for the past eleven years.”

Kicking off the weekend was the Danville Tour d’Elegance. Departing from the Lafayette Park Hotel, the Tour winded through the wine country of Napa and Sonoma and ended at Mantanzas Creek Winery for tasting and lunch. All enjoyed the spectacular fall scenery and beautiful vistas of the vineyards along the drive. During lunch Tour participants enjoyed hearing Derek Hill speak of his inaugural year as emcee at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Phil Hill and family have been supporters of the Danville Concours d’Elegance over the years in the organization’s goal of raising funds for Parkinson’s disease.

The Danville d’Elegance Foundation is dedicated to supporting organizations in their pursuit of a cure for Parkinson’s disease, while raising funds to benefit the advancement of both Parkinson’s research and patient care. Each year the Danville d’Elegance Foundation has steadfastly increased its fundraising goals, providing funds to both The Michael J. Fox Foundation TEAM FOX and the Sunnyvale-based Parkinson’s Institute. Since 2004, the Foundation has raised more than $2.6 million for Parkinson’s research and patient care.

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Similar to the 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 events, Sports Car Digest also documented the 2015 Danville Concours, with Senior Photographer Dennis Gray producing the following images from this year’s event. We split up Dennis’ pictures into two galleries. The first gallery starting below features our favorite images, all displayed in the full-width view of Sports Car Digest, while the second gallery and award winners can be found on the last page of the article and gives a comprehensive view of all the photographs. To see more from Dennis, visit HistoricMotorPrints.com/.

Danville Concours d’Elegance 2015 – Featured Photo Gallery

The 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO arrives and even the young ones know it's something special — When the 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO arrived, even the young ones knew they were looking at something special

Mercedes-Benz 190SL on the Danville Tour

The 2015 Danville Concours featured a nice collection of motorcycles.

Polishing and prepping at the Danville Concours

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Danville Concours d’Elegance 2015 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Two