Vail Concours 2026 Returns with Over 100 Collector Cars in Lionshead Village (Sept. 18-20, 2026)
The Vail Concours 2026 returns to Vail, Colorado, from September 18–20, 2026, offering a three-day program tailored for serious car collectors. This annual event emphasizes provenance, condition, and the driving experience. This marks the 17th annual show, with advance registration required for participants, and spectators welcome to the main concours on Sunday at no charge. The stunning alpine backdrop of Lionshead Village provides a truly memorable setting for over 100 collector cars to be displayed.
The event’s official site describes it as built around a weekend of driving, gathering, and display. The beautiful mountain scenery enhances the experience, allowing motoring enthusiasts to enjoy a range of metal up close.
Featured Cars
The 2026 event showcases a broad collection of vehicles, rather than focusing on a single marquee. This approach benefits car collectors and automobile connoisseurs, providing a diverse selection of vehicles to study in one location. The official class structure includes pre-war cars, American classics, American sports cars, European classics, European sports cars through 1976, and European sports cars from 1977 to present.
The 2025 15th Annual Vail Concours & Car Show takes place in Vail, Colorado over a three-day weekend that attracts thousands of car enthusiasts for a fun-filled car-theme weekend. The Car Show features over 100 classic cars, plus a Scenic Car Tour, Texas Style BBQ, Cars & Coffee, and Classic Car Concours.
Joining the lineup are Asian classics and sports cars, muscle cars, super cars, hot rods, and motorcycles. Five particularly important categories for car collectors are pre-World War II cars, American classic cars, European classic sedans, European sports cars, and super cars.
The show also explicitly welcomes display-only entries. This typically results in a richer mix of documented survivors, carefully restored cars, and late-model exotics on the same lawn for autophiles to admire.
For those tracking notable machines likely to be featured, official examples cited for judging classes include the Ford Galaxie 500, Chevrolet Impala, Corvette, Pontiac GTO, Mustang, Camaro SS, and various BMW and Mercedes-Benz sedans. While these are illustrative examples and not a confirmed exhibitor list, they indicate the type of provenance-friendly collection the organizers are curating for 2026.
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Event Highlights
The weekend kicks off on Friday, September 18, with an advance-registration road tour, followed by evening social programming for participants. The official events page states the show is designed around a weekend of driving, gathering, and display, with specific times and locations provided directly to registered entrants.
The Vail Concours and Car Show will celebrate its 14th annual three-day car show in Lionshead Village, Colorado
Saturday, September 19, is geared towards the general public and car enthusiasts, with the casual Cars & Coffee format bridging the gap between the opening tour and the main concours. This setting allows auto fanatics to view auction-grade cars without a restrictive atmosphere, and where passionate owners will gladly discuss chassis numbers, options, and restoration intricacies.
Most notably, Sunday, September 20, is the headline Vail Concours, where collector cars will fill Lionshead Village and the Vail Mountain Lionshead Base area near the Eagle Bahn Gondola. The official event description confirms that spectators can circulate freely, while registered cars are judged in classes assigned by the Chief Judge.
Guest Hosts & Celebrities
The current event page confirms a Chief Judge who is responsible for assigning each entry to its appropriate class, but the individual’s name is not publicly listed. As of now, there is no verified 2026 list of honorary judges, celebrity hosts, or other high-profile automotive personalities posted on the official event pages reviewed.
However, for seasoned collectors, this is not considered a disadvantage. Significantly, it means the focus remains squarely on the cars themselves, their historical documentation, and the expertise of those who genuinely evaluate originality, restoration quality, and historical relevance.
The Venue
The Vail Concours utilizes Lionshead Village and the surrounding Vail Mountain base area as its impressive stage. This location provides the vehicles with a pristine alpine backdrop and a walkable layout, which works exceptionally well for close inspection. The setting is compact enough to allow for thorough viewing, yet spacious enough for owners to park their cars in a manner that encourages genuine conversation among motoring enthusiasts. For collectors, the venue is crucial: it prioritizes the vehicles and maintains a relaxed atmosphere.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS BY DAY
Friday, September 18
The activities begin with the Barrett-Jackson-sponsored mountain road tour, which is one of the weekend’s primary attractions for piston-heads who enjoy driving their cars. The route is described as a scenic journey from Vail into the surrounding Colorado mountains, including a catered picnic lunch and a return to Vail via a different path.
Later that evening, the Cars & Cocktails dinner provides participants with an opportunity to exchange insights on restorations, concours preparations, and the practicalities of maintaining rare machinery at altitude. The official description highlights an evening of food, drinks, dancing, lawn games, and live music for all auto fanatics.
Saturday, September 19
This day is designated as a relaxed show-and-shine event, with Cars & Coffee bringing together antique cars, vintage cars, brass-era pieces, muscle cars, exotics, supercars, and hypercars. This is an ideal day for gearheads to examine details closely, including trim correctness, paint quality, interior originality, and whether a car truly presents as a survivor or a meticulously performed restoration.
Sunday, September 20
This is the concours itself, with over 100 collector cars expected throughout the village. The judging format emphasizes appearance, design, and condition, which will appeal to automobile connoisseurs who value impeccable presentation and well-documented ownership histories.
Event Details
- Road Tour — Friday, September 18, 2026 — Time: Morning to afternoon — Tickets: Advance registration required — Location: Downtown Vail and surrounding Colorado route.
- Cars & Cocktails / Participant Dinner — Friday, September 18, 2026 — Time: Evening — Tickets: Included for registered participants; advance registration required — Location: Vail area venue, location emailed to registrants.
- Cars & Coffee — Saturday, September 19, 2026 — Time: Morning through mid-afternoon — Tickets: Public admission free — Location: Vail Mountain base area / Lionshead area.
- Vail Concours — Sunday, September 20, 2026 — Time: 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM for spectators — Tickets: Public admission free; no registration required for spectators — Location: Lionshead Village and Vail Mountain Lionshead Base area near the Eagle Bahn Gondola.
- Participant Registration — September 18–20, 2026 — Time: Per event schedule — Tickets: Advance registration required for all participant events — Location: Event-specific.
Event Summary
Vail Concours 2026 | Lionshead Village, Vail, Colorado | Automotive Concours and Collector Car Event
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About
The Vail Automotive Classic Car Show and Concours is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Your donations are tax-deductible and support local non-profit community organizations that directly benefit local residents and workers. Donations are gratefully accepted at the mailing address below or via credit card using the link. Donation options are accessible via “Buy Tickets”.
Note: The official 2026 event pages verified here do not publicly list a specific Marque of the Year, named celebrity hosts, or a published ticket price for spectators, and the schedule is stated to be subject to change.
Official event days verified for 2026: September 18–20, 2026.
