(Updated Aug. 17, 2023) – On the third Saturday of September for the past 24 years, the quiet little town of Murphys in the Sierra Foothills awakes to the sound of the engines of vintage cars headed to the Ironstone Concours d’Elegance at the Ironstone winery. From 176 cars in 1996, the Concours has grown to host over 350 automobiles, vintage travel trailers, trucks, motorcycles, and more.

Highlights: The Ironstone Concours d’Elegance takes place on Saturday, September 23, 2023, from 9am to 4pm. Tickets for the Concours cost $25 at the gate.  The Ironstone Concours week kicks off with a “Cars and Stars Auction and Dinner” on Friday, Sept. 22. (Detail Below)

This unique show, which encourages people to bring their daily drivers as well as Pebble-Beach-quality entries, is organized as a benefit for 4-H and FFA. Members of these two organizations are present to welcome the car entrants and guests, show off their projects, and add to the positive ambiance of the event. Many of these young people head off to college and become members of the Northern California agricultural community.

The 2023 Ironstone Concours D’elegance Will Feature Over 350 Classic Automobiles, Vintage Travel Trailers, Trucks, Motorcycles, And More.

In the early 1990s, during the construction of the remarkable Ironstone Amphitheater at Ironstone Vineyards, owners John and Gail Kautz attended the famous Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. There they met Chris Bock, now Pebble’s chief judge.

They returned to Murphys with thoughts of changing their annual youth-in-agriculture fundraising gala into a significant Concours d’Elegance. As their plans developed, they stopped construction of the amphitheater and redesigned the stage to accept the weight of automobiles, particularly heavy classics.

In 1993, the Ironstone Concours d’Elegance held its first show on the last Saturday of September. This tradition has continued for more than two decades. The annual event attracts 300+ antique and classic cars from all over the West, with side displays of vintage trucks, travel trailers, motorcycles, race cars and wooden boats.

Ironstone’s honored vintage & classic marques vary from year to year. Vehicle marques such as Stutz, Packard, Duesenberg, Pierce-Arrow, Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Jaguar, and other legendary classics are regularly featured. Emphasis is likewise given to sports cars, early Fords, classic Thunderbirds and Corvettes, coach-built luxury marques as well as unrestored and original automobiles. The event often hosts honored guests like Wayne Carini, Steve Moal, Arlen Ness, and others who mingle with the crowd and offer first-hand expertise regarding many of the vehicles on the field.

Over 50 Vehicle Car Classes Will Participate And Be Judged In The Ironwood Concourse d’Elegance This Year

The Ironstone Concours d’Elegance is hosted and managed by the non-profit Ironstone Concours Foundation. For years, Concours proceeds have benefited Central and Northern California FFA and 4-H youth activities, including Horse Classics, Guide Dog and Service Dog Programs, Computer Corps, and Citizenship Service Learning.

Within the Concours, you’ll find demonstrations and projects populated by young people from local 4-H and FFA groups. There is usually also a petting corral with farm animals. Additionally, the Ironstone Concours Foundation has pledged generous support to the building fund for the California State FFA headquarters in Galt, California, and makes annual donations to the California State Fair Scholarship Fund and the Calaveras County Fair Scholarship program.

The mission of the Ironstone Concours Foundation is to organize and display historic vehicles — to encourage the appreciation of technology, innovation, design, and culture — and to support the future of agriculture in California through the involvement and sponsorship of the region’s youth.

CAR CLASSES AT THE CONCOURSE  – (​ Vehicle Classes, 2023 Ironstone Concours d’Elegance )

Cars and car class collections that will be participating in the competition concourse and car show are Antique, thru 1915, Vintage, 1916 -1942, American & European Classic Open, American & European Classic Closed, Pierce-Arrow, Packard, Sedan Based Pickups (El Camino & Ranchero, etc.) , Rolls-Royce & Bentley, Vintage Race Cars, Race Cars Pre 1920, Early Rambler to 1960, and Rambler Americans.

This year the Ironstone Concours will be celebrating the Porsche 75th Anniversary – from the first 1948 Porsche 356 to the latest 2024 Porsche Cayenne.  (Source: Porsche.com)

Additional car collection classes include Unrestored, pre WWII, Unrestored, post-WWII, Mini & Micro Cars, American, 1946-1954, American, 1955-1961, Chevrolet, 1955-1957, American, 1962-1973, American Muscle Cars, thru 1973, Chevrolet Corvette, thru 1973, European & British Sports Cars, thru 1973, Mercedes-Benz, thru 1973, Ford Model A, Ford Thunderbird, Vintage Commercial, Vintage Motorcycles, Vintage Trailers, DeTomaso and Amphicar,

HISTORY: BEST OF SHOW PAST SHOW

BEST OF SHOW: 1933 Pierce-Arrow V-12 Le Baron Convertible owener Robert Jacobson from Los Altos, California

BEST OF SHOW 2019
1933 Pierce-Arrow V-12 Le Baron Convertible
Robert Jacobson – Los Altos, California

CONCOURSE CAR SHOW JUDGING

Rather than awarding first, second and third prizes in each class, our judges will be asked to designate a percentage of the cars in each class to receive a ribbon indicating an Award of Merit. From that group, judges will choose one vehicle designated Best of Class. From the Best of Class winners, an overall Best of Show entry will be selected. The Race Car Class will also designate one car to receive the Martin Swig Memorial Award for outstanding contribution to the support of vintage racing.

LOCATION & VENUE

Ironstone Vineyards is a winery that is noted for the production of several leading US wine brands, including Obsession Wines, Leaping Horse Vineyards, Christine Andrew, Stone Valley, and Drifting. As of 2004, Ironstone has been listed as the 17th-largest winery in the United States.

Ironstone Vineyards 
Address: 1894 6 Mile Rd, Murphys, CA 95247
(209) 728-1251

Hours: Opens 11AM Sat
Phone: (209) 728-1251

TICKETS & ADMISSION 

Concours d’Elegance
– Saturday, September 23, 2023 from 9am to 4pm.
-Individual Tickers- $25  (Buy Tickets Here)
-Couple or Family of 2 adults and 2 children – $45
-Children Under 14 – Free
**BUY TICKETS HERE

Patrons’ Pavilion
-$125 per person

Cars & Stars Dinner (Friday, September 22, 2023)
-$75 per person (​SOLD OUT)

Buffet Luncheon (Saturday, September 23, 2023)
-$30 per person

DIRECTIONS TO THE IRONSTONE CONCOURS
Murphys is conveniently located between Lake Tahoe and Yosemite National Park. . The Ironstone Vineyards facility is located just outside the historic gold-rush town of Murphys, California. Murphys lies off Highway 4, in Calaveras County, 75 minutes east of Sacramento and Stockton and approximately 2.5 hours from San Francisco.
​
In Murphys, to get to Ironstone Vineyards and the Concours d’Elegance, follow any of the yellow-highlighted routes on our map, and go to Six Mile Road. Continue about a mile down Six Mile Road to the winery. The computer-mapping address is 1894 Six Mile Road, Murphys CA 95247.

Gourmet delicatessen and wine tasting are available at Ironstone Vineyards.

Ironstone Concours-Map And Directions

Download the event map here.

HOTEL AND LODGING
For lodging in and around Murphys, be sure to make your reservation early for the Ironstone Concours weekend.
​For more information, contact the Calaveras County Visitor Bureau at (209) 736-4237 or (800) 225-3764

CHARITY & DONATIONS

For over 20 years, the non-profit Ironstone Concours Foundation has presented the Ironstone Concours d’Elegance with the idea of attracting the finest examples of vintage and classic automobiles as well as vintage race cars, trucks, trailers, housecars and military vehicles. Proceeds of the event go to promote and support youth in agriculture.  More than $1 million has been raised for local Future Farmers of America (FFA) and 4-H youth activities. The Ironstone Concours Foundation also donates scholarships to the California State Fair and the Calaveras County Fair as well as the FFA Leadership Conference, Guide Dog Programs and Horse Classic.

Donation Form

Advertisements