Rodeo Drive Concours d’Elegance Celebrates Classic Cars—and Dads!

The Rodeo Drive Concours d’Elegance is the best deal a dad could have: three blocks of Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills closed to traffic and packed with classic cars, from lowriders to supercars to grand American classics of the ‘30s that are each themselves a half a block long.

“Celebrating dads and families with a free, world-class car show is what makes this day so special,” said Rodeo Drive Concours founder Bruce Meyer. “We raised the bar with extraordinary cars and fun for everyone thanks to the car owners and our amazing sponsors. It’s a joy to watch our community enjoy the show.”

Even the mayor got into it.

“Having a car show of this caliber on Beverly Hills’ famed Rodeo Drive is unlike anything else in Southern California. Nothing beats the cars and the scenery, and I love that it brings the community together to celebrate Father’s Day,” said Beverly Hills Mayor Lester Friedman.

This year there were about 100 cars and what organizers estimated were 50,000 attendees, many of them dads celebrating Father’s Day in the best way possible.

The Concours got its start over 30 years ago when then-Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo approached Meyer with a request: introduce the new 348 Spider in a memorable way. Meyer, the king organizer of all car events in California, made some calls.

Pretty soon the mayor, the police, and even the fire department were on board. The street was shut down, Ferrari introduced the Spider with Piero Ferrari and Sergio Pininfarina in attendance, a hundred other cars lined the street, and everyone was happy.

The fact that it was on Father’s Day was the start of a tradition. And so there everyone was last Sunday, grinning and ogling the cars.

It wouldn’t be a SoCal car show without Jay Leno, who rolled in driving his McLaren P1. Supercar dealers to the stars O’Gara Coach brought a fleet of its best, including the new Aston Martin Vantage and McLaren Artura Spider.

There was even a movie star in the form of the helicopter from the upcoming movie Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, due in theaters July 3. The Las Vegas Grand Prix brought two F1 cars. And the guy reviving the Meyers Manx, Phillip Sarofim, won Best in Show for his 1979 Porsche 935.

In between were lowriders, Ferraris, more Porsches, Rolls-Royces, Maseratis, Cadillacs, and a Bizzarrini.

At the end of the day Bruce Meyer and the mayor handed over checks for $7,500 to the Beverly Hills Police Officers Association and the Beverly Hills Firefighters Association, non-profit charities raising funds for first responders and their families. The families at the show with dads benefited the most, especially the dads.

Thanks, dad!