The winners lined up to collect their awards.Matt Bubbers/The Globe and Mail
Loafing around the manicured lawns of a waterfront estate, drink in hand, as the setting sun glistens across some of the world’s most beautiful, rare and interesting cars, it would be easy to imagine this is the concours at Pebble Beach in California, or perhaps Villa d’Este on the shores of Lake Como in Italy.
But no, this is Canada’s very own Cobble Beach Concours d’Elegance and Motoring Festival, taking place near Owen Sound, Ont. on the shores of Georgian Bay. It may not be world famous (yet) but the Cobble Beach show is no less picturesque and significantly more accessible; tickets start at $89 compared to nearly $700 for Pebble. The broad selection of cars and motorbikes, ranging from pre-war through the muscle era to 1980s and ‘90s European machinery to modern supercars – many of which are absolutely worthy of display at Pebble or Villa d’Este – is enough to make even a spoiled automotive writer feel excited about cars all over again.
Rob McLeese, founder of the Cobble Beach Concours, says the show is growing. “We are getting more cars. The thing used to be a one day event, then it went to two days. Now we’re three days. I hope to go to five,” McLeese says, just before we’re interrupted by a man leaning out of the window of a cute little 1963 Fiat 600 D Multipla.
“Unbelievable!” the driver shouts through the open window. “That’s the best [show] we’ve ever been to,” he adds before setting off for home in the Multipla.
McLeese says the show has only broken even once. Nevertheless, the event has raised upwards of $1.1-million for Sunnybrook and Owen Sound hospitals.
“I used to go to Pebble on a regular basis and it took me 12 hours to go each way,” McLeese says. “And yeah, we’re not Pebble, but you get probably about 75 or 80 per cent of what you get at Pebble and we’re two and a half hours from Toronto.”
Without further ado, here are just some of my own peculiar highlights from the 2025 Cobble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Apologies if I missed your favourite, but the heart likes what it likes.
1979 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith II
Stephane Leclerc, Ottawa, Ont.
“This car has one previous owner, so I’m the second owner.” Leclerc said. It was owned by one family in Montreal. “I restored it mechanically. Aesthetically, the car is pretty much the way I got it two years ago. So what I like about the car is – it’s a hate and love story about this car, because it’s always something that needs to be adjusted or fixed. … But, once you have it working right, the trick is to keep driving it. They’re a car that needs to be driven every so often.” When he drives it, he likes to imagine being transported back to 1979.
1979 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith IIMatt Bubbers/The Globe and Mail
Inside a 1979 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith II.Matt Bubbers/The Globe and Mail
1956 New-Map Solyto Break Camping
Kenn and Donna Poore, Sarnia, Ont.
“It was made in Lyon, France,” Kenn Poore says. “It’s a one-cylinder, three wheel car. It was designed for camping. The vehicle weighs 330 pounds. It is a pull-start from inside the car. When you turn the steering wheel, the whole motor turns with the front wheel. The front seats are lawn chairs that just are sitting in two pegs. They pop out, you put your sleeping bags in the back and go camping in this thing. … We’ve owned this one for about three years. My wife and I are micro-car collectors. At one time we were up to 16.”
1956 New-Map Solyto Break CampingMatt Bubbers/The Globe and Mail
1993 BMW 316i Touring ‘Design Edition’
Ben Corwin, Cincinnati, Ohio
“I’ve owned it for a little over two years and had in some 22 states and five countries. For me this has been my road trip car, and preservation project, that, I love,” Corwin says.
1993 BMW 316i Touring ‘Design Edition’Matt Bubbers/The Globe and Mail
Inside a 1993 BMW 316i Touring ‘Design Edition’.Matt Bubbers/The Globe and Mail
1956 Jensen 541
Peter Brook, Barrie, Ont.
Not a classic beauty, but a beauty nonetheless.
1956 Jensen 541Matt Bubbers/The Globe and Mail
1956 Jensen 541Matt Bubbers/The Globe and Mail
1968 Norton/Matchless Hybrid P-11A Desert Racer
Peter McKenna, Georgetown, Ont.
It’s a Matchless motorcycle fitted with a big 750 Norton Atlas engine. Originally these had a 500cc Matchless engine, but it proved to be underpowered racing against bigger Triumphs. Since Matchless and Norton were under the same ownership at the time, the 750 Norton engine was shoehorned in, and the bike started winning races.
1968 Norton/Matchless Hybrid P-11A Desert Racer.Matt Bubbers/The Globe and Mail
1994 Honda NSX Type R
Kerry Liu, Oakville, Ont.
A dream car for the PlayStation generation. Those red seats are just *chef kiss.* The Honda holds its own against the Lamborghini and Porsche beside it.
1994 Honda NSX Type RMatt Bubbers/The Globe and Mail
Red racing seats on the 1994 Honda NSX Type RMatt Bubbers/The Globe and Mail
1995 Mercedes-Benz SL 72 AMG
Coachworks Restoration, Victoria, B.C.
We could debate whether this V12 coupe is peak AMG or not, but it’s certainly in the top 10. The 1992 Mercedes-Benz 560 SEC AMG Widebody in the background would be on that list too.
1995 Mercedes-Benz SL 72 AMGMatt Bubbers/The Globe and Mail
1963 Chevrolet Impala SS 409ci convertible
Tony Lang, Hanover, Ont.
“I like it because it’s a speedster, and I enjoy driving it all the time,” Lang says. With 425 horsepower, he says, “you can squeal the tires in every gear.”
1963 Chevrolet Impala SS 409ci convertibleMatt Bubbers/The Globe and Mail
1987 Jeep Grand Wagoneer
Adam Horodnyk, Toronto, Ont.
Glorious and period-correct, right down to the stickers on the back window. The caramel interior with wool blanket headliner (with matching sun visors) is a whole vibe. It makes you want to head for the West Coast and not look back.
1987 Jeep Grand WagoneerMatt Bubbers/The Globe and Mail
1999 Bentley Continental SC
Tony Burgess, North York, Ont.
Both eccentric in their own ways, this targa-top Bentley and the 1996 Volkswagen Harlequin Golf in the background – owned by Dinu Cebzan from Toronto – would make for an excellent two-car garage.
1999 Bentley Continental SCMatt Bubbers/The Globe and Mail
1959 Chevrolet CERV I
GM Heritage Collection, Warren, Mich.
CERV stands for Chevrolet Engineering Research Vehicle. Consider this mid-engine engineering showpiece the great-great-great grandfather of the current mid-engine Corvette. Oddly beautiful for a racecar, it was never officially raced, although it was driven by greats including Dan Gurney and Stirling Moss.
1959 Chevrolet CERV IMatt Bubbers/The Globe and Mail
1961 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Speciale
Robert Iantorno, Singhampton, Ont.
“It was designed by the great Franco Scaglione for the design house of Bertone,” says Iantorno. “It has a 1,300cc engine, high compression, making 114 horsepower, and apparently it’s good for 126 miles-per-hour. To me, it looks like a drop of blood flying through the air. It is concentrated post-war Italy.”
1961 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint SpecialeMatt Bubbers/The Globe and Mail