Photo Credit: We Are CuratedThe Miami Concours d’Elegance will be returning to the ultra-fashionable Miami Design District during the Second Annual Watches & Wonders Miami weekend. Haute Living caught up with the men behind the illustrious affair, bringing forward some of the most coveted automobiles in the world—John Temerian and Ronnie Vogel. Here, the automotive connoisseurs give us a sneak-peek into the swanky affair and what we can expect from this year’s event.
Tell us about the upcoming Miami Concours. How did this idea come about and how does Watches & Wonders serve as the ideal time to do it?
JT: We originally launched the Miami Beach Concours during the Miami Beach 100 Year Anniversary. The event grew into an incredible platform not only for the community but also for the automotive world. While we loved Miami Beach, we were looking for the ultimate destination for a regional Concours and decided it could be the Miami Design District. Our goal was to create an environment more than an automotive event, a multifaceted experience for families and enthusiasts and we were presented with the idea of hosting our event during the first Watches & Wonders in the MDD. The concept of merging timepieces and collector cars worked incredibly well and the response last year was overwhelming. The event attracted over 8,000 people in attendance and over 100 cars and collectors from around the country.
Photo Credit: We Are Curated
How will last year’s event compare to this year? Are there any new editions coming? What will change and what will stay the same?
JT: We’re really taking the event to a whole new level—we created a board of incredibly qualified Concours judges, we are honoring Horacio Pagani, the founder of Pagani Automobili and we are also bringing in a new concept of really treating the cars as art. Displaying only the best of the best cars on Red Carpet throughout the Miami Design District. We’ve spent almost a year curating the cars for this year’s event.
Photo Credit: We Are Curated
What are some of the automobiles being displayed?
JT: We will have a Concours-winning Lamborghini 350 GT, one of the first Lamborghinis produced in 1965. Then we will also have one of the most significant and valuable American racing cars—the 1965 Ford Gt40 Prototype Roadster. Other examples have sold between $7-10 million. It’s a huge part of Ford history and racing history.
RV: I have a Ferrari 335—the car was just offered $73 million. It’s a pretty significant vintage Ferrari racecar from 1957.
Photo Credit: We Are Curated
How did you guys go about selecting these cars for the show?
JT: It’s really through both of our personal relationships—reaching out to collectors and creating a conversation about what makes a statement—both historically and display-wise. We spend months working on this and talking to our board and talking to the judges. And really one by one each car is a discussion and we determine how it fits into the event and why.
Photo Credit: We Are Curated
Are there any other levels of luxury incorporated aside from the cars? Are you going to be bringing in any watch partners?
JT: We are excited that Chopard will be a presenting sponsor at the event, which is significant because of their deep history in the motorsports world. They currently sponsor the Rennsport Reunion and the Mille Miglia and they are one of the more important watch brands in the automotive space, especially for vintage racing automobiles. Then we also have some other great partners including Lamborghini Miami, who serves as the Pagani dealer. We will be bringing in Horacio Pagani, as we mentioned. We’ll actually do a twenty-year celebration of Zonda, which is the first Pagani production car. Chopard will bring the Porsche 919 racing car, something that rarely shown in public. It’s a flagship for Porsche and also is sponsored by Chopard, so it’s a tie between the brands that works perfectly.
Photo Credit: We Are Curated
Do you see yourselves continuing this Concours in years to come or even in other locations?
JT: It’s a good question; it’s a massive undertaking. We have actually been approached by a few other people saying “let’s do this in other places”. I think for us, it’s about watching Miami grow and then growing this in other locations that match and fit exactly the DNA of the event. Next year, we’ll definitely bring even more racing components to the event.
On Friday, February 12th, Haute Living will be partnering in the exclusive kick-off event for the Miami Concours, with a special VIP reception. This event is by invitation only.
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