Concours d'Elegance

Surely no form of contest has ever equalled the marriage of luxury and ostentation offered for many years by the great concours d’élégance. Elitist perhaps but their sheer magnificence seems just as fascinating now as it did in the first half of the 20th Century. It should be remembered that these events allowed the most celebrated artists and artisans boundless freedom of expression. Everything was put into the melting-pot to achieve one end – the realisation of a dream. The vital step for organisers of such events was to choose a venue famous for its air of leisurely hedonism, such as Longchamp, Deauville, Cannes, La Baule, Vichy, Nice or Enghien, where costly automobiles, their elegant silhouettes crafted by the great names of contemporary coachwork, could parade. To enhance the atmosphere, these exotic creations were presented by pretty ladies, mostly recruited from fashionable society, dressed in the latest fashion by the leading Parisian couturiers in an attempt to achieve the best possible symbiosis with the machines that they accompanied. Without wishing to diminish the important role played in the spectacle by these ladies, it was of course the aristocratic automobiles that the eager spectators had come to admire. This book offers a delicious journey back in time to witness the golden age of the concours d’élégance. Over fifty coachbuilders are represented in the photographs and an index is provided.