Forty-one years in, the field spread across the fairways at Bayonet Black Horse still does the thing no reboot or rebrand can fake. It makes you stop walking and stare. This year Concorso Italiano adds something the regulars have not seen before, and it goes beyond the cars. We will get to that. First, the field itself, because it is still the reason everyone drives up the coast.
Walk the grass, and you get the full sweep of Italian design in one afternoon. Alfa Romeo and Ferrari anchor it, the way they always have. Lamborghini and Maserati bring the theater. Then come the marques that reward the people who really know their stuff: Lancia, De Tomaso, Bizzarrini, Iso, Abarth, and FIAT, sitting shoulder to shoulder with prewar rarities and cars that rolled off the line last year. As far as standout Italian models/cars go, there will also be the Ferrari Enzo, Totem “LITORALE BRADO” and much more.
That range is the point. You can stand in front of a hand-built coupe from the 1950s, turn around, and be looking at a modern supercar, and both belong. Global Exotics returns too, the corner of the field reserved for the standout machines, and this year it brings real occasions: a reimagined Porsche from the 1950s called the TraumWagen, and the US debut of the Donkervoort P24 RS.
Here is the part longtime attendees will notice. The 2026 edition carries the official patronage of the Automotoclub Storico Italiano, with ASI and FIVA President Alberto Scuro offering remarks, and Italy's presence goes right to the top. Massimo Carnelos, Consul General of Italy in San Francisco, and Davide Corriero, Deputy Consul General, will join the celebration, a reminder that Concorso has become a real bridge between Italy's automotive heritage and the collectors who gather for it each August.
The honorees match the occasion. Donald Osborne receives the La Bella Macchina Award, presented by former Chairman Tom McDowell and past recipient Monica Zanetti, known as Lady F40 and the first woman to work as a mechanic and coachbuilder for Ferrari, traveling in from Italy for it. Adolfo Orsi receives the Doug Magnon Award, handed over by Andrea Soriani, General Manager of Maserati North America, who will also sit as a guest judge for the marque. And Valentino Balboni, Lamborghini's legendary chief test driver, returns to present his namesake award, this year a handcrafted trophy made by an Italian artist to mark the 60th anniversary of the Miura.
Ask anyone who has been coming for twenty or thirty years why they still make the trip, and the cars are rarely the first thing they mention. They talk about the people. The friend they only see on this one Saturday each August. The restorer they have watched grow from a kid with a project to a craftsman with a waiting list. That is the quiet thing Concorso has always gotten right, and it is worth protecting as the show grows.
The 2026 program leans into it. The Rev Institute joins the show with archival pieces on display, a reminder that preserving these stories matters as much as showing the cars off. The field carries real restoration weight too, with cars brought back over ten years or more of patient work. One is a 1959 Maserati 3500 GT Bertone returned to original specification in partnership with Adolfo Orsi and his archival records, a car that has already earned Best of Show at the 2024 Audrain Newport Concours d'Elegance and a Grand Sport Trophy at the 2025 Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance. And the day stays family-friendly, with a fire truck on hand from local nonprofit partner Mid Coast Fire Brigade and the Festa Italia Queen's Court adding to the atmosphere, the kind of thing that hooks the next generation the way a lot of today's regulars first got started.
On the judging side, the marque classes are decided by a field of judges whose experience runs deep, more than 250 years of it between them, with two women joining this year to judge Ferrari and the FIAT, Abarth, and Lancia group. Class winners are the cars in contention for Best in Show, so the top prize is earned on the field rather than handed out. The Chairman's Award raises the bar again. To even compete for it this year, a car has to have already taken Best in Show in a previous year, which turns it into past champions against past champions.
Around those headline honors sit the specialty awards. Meguiar's Best Finish returns, and three additions stand out this year: the Duetto Award presented by Pininfarina CEO, Paolo Dellacha; the ASI Trophy for the best-preserved postwar Italian car, and the Piston Foundation Next Generation Award, chosen by students as part of a new partnership aimed at supporting the next wave of talent in the industry. There is real weight behind every ribbon that gets handed out.
There is a way to do the day in more comfort, too. VIP tickets come with a complimentary drink and gourmet dining, a gift bag from the show's sponsors, a commemorative 2026 Event Book and poster, and access to the VIP lounge. Above that sits the Chairman's Club, limited in number and sponsored by duPont REGISTRY, which adds a cigar lounge, private indoor and outdoor seating with stage views, a premium hosted bar, and breakfast followed by an authentic Italian lunch. It is also where the day's special guests, celebrities, and industry leaders spend their time, so a Chairman's Club ticket puts you in the room with them.
Concorso Italiano runs Saturday, August 15, 2026, from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM at Bayonet Black Horse Golf Course in Seaside, with Monterey Bay as the backdrop. It is one of the anchor events of Monterey Car Week, and it pairs neatly with an evening at the Monterey Motorsports Festival just up the road, so you can turn one Saturday into a full day-to-night run.
