There are places where an exceptional car is enough. Then there is Chantilly. Here, it takes a château, André Le Nôtre’s gardens, a touch of haute couture, some very good hats – and the distinctly French conviction that elegance is never just about the object itself.
On 13 September, Chantilly Arts & Élégance Richard Mille returns to the grounds of the Château de Chantilly. For its eighth edition, the estate around 30 kilometres north of Paris will once again bring together some of the international motoring world’s most significant historic cars, concept cars, collectors and designers. Yet to see Chantilly simply as a concours for rare automobiles is to miss the point. The Concours d’Élégance originally meant something rather different from today’s familiar parade of immaculately restored classics. In 1920s Paris, coachbuilders presented their latest creations alongside the leading fashion houses. Cars and haute couture appeared side by side – two disciplines in which line, proportion, material and craftsmanship determined whether a functional object could become an object of desire. Patrick and Sylvanie Peter, together with Richard Mille, revived precisely this tradition when they launched Chantilly Arts & Élégance in 2014.
That connection remains perhaps the event’s most distinctive feature. In the Concours d’Élégance, contemporary concept cars, prototypes and exceptional limited-production models do not appear before the jury alone. Each car is paired with a specially created couture ensemble, and the two are presented together around the central fountain. Automotive design is thus returned to where it once stood historically: right alongside fashion.
The Concours d’État tells a different story. Judges assess around 100 historic cars for authenticity, provenance, condition and quality of restoration. Since 2017, separate Best of Show titles have been awarded to pre-war and post-war cars. The previous edition offered a striking indication of how our ideas of automotive beauty have changed. In 2024, an unrestored 1928 Bugatti Type 35C took Best of Show in the pre-war category. The former works racing car had competed in the Targa Florio and later belonged to racing driver and opera singer Janine Jennky. No attempt had been made to erase its scars through restoration. Its patina is part of its history – and it was precisely that history the judges rewarded.
In 2026, Chantilly broadens the picture even further. Bugatti racing cars meet Delahaye, Pininfarina and Ferrari V12 sports cars; one class celebrates 60 years of the Lamborghini Miura, while another focuses on the GT1 era of the 1990s. The line-up also includes early racing cars from 1906 to 1914, endurance-racing barchettas, original Tour de France Automobile cars, Ford and Shelby, as well as the Renault 5 Turbo. And, of course, there are the concept cars that tell the story not by looking back, but forwards. Yet perhaps the best way to understand Chantilly is to stop looking only at the cars. Behind them lies one of France’s most remarkable ensembles. André Le Nôtre designed the gardens of the Château de Chantilly in the 17th century. The château houses the Musée Condé and the collection of Henri d’Orléans, Duc d’Aumale; the library holds precious illuminated manuscripts, while the monumental Grandes Écuries are home to the Musée du Cheval. Art, architecture, landscape design and equestrian culture do not simply provide a decorative backdrop for the concours. They form part of the same cultural tradition.
Visitors are part of the picture too. Chantilly calls its dress code Chic Campagne. Panama hats are therefore as welcome as linen suits, silk scarves, summer dresses and fascinators. The traditional Déjeuner sur l’Herbe staged by the car clubs is even judged as part of their presentation. It is details like these that make Chantilly more than a concours for exceptional automobiles.
Chantilly treats the automobile neither as a mere machine nor as a static museum piece. A century-old racing car can wear its scars. A concept car can stand alongside couture. A picnic can be part of the competition. And for one Sunday, a château garden becomes a place where the past and future of the automobile sit remarkably easily side by side. Perhaps that is the most appealing definition of a Concours d’Élégance: it is not about who owns the most expensive car. It is about who understands why it is beautiful.
Don’t miss a thing — we’ll keep you up to date!
Sign up for our newsletter.
