The first car comes ashore
Wednesday
At sunset, escorted by the classic boats, the first car of the week rolls off a boat onto the sand of Juanillo.
Winter, 28 degrees.
In January the cars of Europe sleep under a cover. Here they stand on a lawn above the sea, in a light Europe will not see before June.
- 28°at noon
- 26°the sea
- 18:18sunset on 19 January
- 30,000private acres
Where do you spend the winter?
Zurich 3°Cap Cana 28°
+25°, in January. 7,690 km across the Atlantic, about 10 hours in the air.
Wheels down
At the first privately owned international airport in the world; ten minutes later, the gate of Cap Cana. The sea is 26°, and the sun sets at 18:18.
Which season suits you?
Four moments of the Caribbean winter are open. The one most of you choose becomes the date.
invites you to the first Concours d'Élégance
2028, the season you choose
Gala on Saturday night, black tie, outdoors
Tick a season and the invitation is reprinted with its dates.
Your season
Tick one. The invitation changes with it, and so does every hour of the programme.
Choose the season
First edition. The season is chosen by those who answer.
Step inside a 300 SL
Walk around it. Lift the door. Sit down.
1954
Shown first in New York in February 1954, at the urging of the American importer Max Hoffman. Born from the racing car that finished first and second at Le Mans and in the Carrera Panamericana in 1952. In 1999 an international jury named it the sports car of the century.
The star, made large
A wide grille, a single horizontal bar, and the three-pointed star at its centre, drawn large by Friedrich Geiger.
1,400 coupés, Sindelfingen, 1954–1957
Two bulges, one injection
Beneath the bonnet, a 3-litre straight-six laid over at 45° so the line could stay low. It was the first four-stroke petrol engine in series production with direct fuel injection, by Bosch. The right-hand bulge clears the intake; the left-hand one is there for symmetry.
215 hp at 5,800 rpm
The eyebrows
Above each wheel arch, a brow of bodywork. At the front they turn the rain away from the windscreen; at the rear they answer the front. Mercedes measured it in the wind tunnel more than half a century later.
0.39 its drag coefficient, measured at 200 km/h
Twenty-nine in aluminium
Rudge knock-off wheels were an option, standard only on the cars built in light alloy. There were twenty-nine of them. One sold in 2022 for what was then a record for the model.
29 of 1,400
Wings, by necessity
The doors open to the sky because they had no other way to open. The tubular spaceframe runs high along the sides, too high for an ordinary door. So the hinge moved to the roof, and a legend began.
50 kg the whole spaceframe
The wheel that tilts
To slide over the high sill and in, the driver folds the steering wheel down on its hub. A small lever, and the way is clear.
90° of tilt on the hub
Tartan, in wool
Most were trimmed in cloth: blue-grey tartan on four cars out of five, red-green or green-beige on the rest. Leather cost six hundred marks more.
80% in blue-grey tartan
Packed for the coast
The side windows do not wind down: they lift out and travel in the luggage space. Behind the seats, fitted cases made to measure. A hundred-litre tank, and up to 260 km/h with the right axle.
260 km/h
On the lawn of Cap Cana, the German sports cars have a class of their own. See the classes
The lawn by the sea
The finest cars of the 1920s to the 1970s, by invitation, on a lawn above the sea. Judged in the morning, shown until the sun goes down.
5days on the coast
1919–1973the years of the cars
7classes on the judging sheet
9awards, from the jury, the ladies and the children
The classes of 2028
Judged in the tradition of the great concours: authenticity, quality of restoration, history and elegance.
| Class | Name | The cars |
|---|---|---|
| A | Before the war | 1919–1945, open and closed |
| B | Italian coachwork | Touring, Pininfarina, Zagato, Bertone, Vignale: 1946–1972 |
| C | German sports cars | 300 SL, 356, the first 911s |
| D | Open cars of the Riviera | Spiders and cabriolets made for a coast like this one |
| E | Ferrari Gran Turismo | 1950–1973 |
| F | Preservation | Unrestored cars, wear and all |
| 80 | Anniversary class | Porsche 356, eighty years (1948–2028) |
- Best of ShowThe trophy is carved in larimar by a Dominican artisan.
- Best in ClassOne for each class.
- Preservation AwardFor the car that kept its years.
- The Cap Cana TrophyFor the car that travelled furthest.
- Public's ChoiceVoted by every guest.
- Prix des DamesChosen by the ladies alone.
- The Prize of the WaterFor the most beautiful boat.
- The Junior JuryChosen by the children.
- Best-dressed of the weekFor five days of getting it right; given at lunch in the sea.
The jury
Judged in the tradition of the great concours: authenticity, quality of restoration, history and elegance. The jury is drawn from the lawns of Pebble Beach, Villa d'Este, Chantilly and Amelia Island.
- Chief Judge
- Chosen from the juries of the great concours. The name is announced with the date.
- Richard Adatto
- Chief Class Judge at Pebble Beach for more than thirty years and a member of its Selection Committee; juror at Villa d'Este; author on the aerodynamic coachwork of pre-war France.
- Ed Welburn
- Vice President of Global Design at General Motors, 2003–2016; judge at Pebble Beach and Amelia Island.
- Peter Larsen
- Member of the Pebble Beach Selection Committee; judge at Chantilly, Salon Privé, The Amelia and Audrain; historian of the French coachbuilders.
- Jay Ward
- Creative director of Pixar's Cars franchise; judge at Pebble Beach, Villa d'Este, The Amelia and Audrain.
- Julius Kruta
- Head of Tradition at Bugatti, 2003–2018; class judge at Pebble Beach since 2003 and member of its Selection Committee.
- Al McEwan
- Judge at Pebble Beach for more than thirty years, Chief Class Judge for European Classics.
- Paul Sable
- Automotive historian; judge at Pebble Beach, former Chief Judge at Amelia Island, Chief Judge at Hilton Head.
- Hugo Modderman
- Member of the Selection Committee of the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este; specialist in pre-war Lancia and Alfa Romeo.
Awaiting confirmation
Invited · to be confirmed
Invited · to be confirmed
Invited · to be confirmed
Invited · to be confirmed
Invited · to be confirmed
Invited · to be confirmed
Invited · to be confirmed
Invited · to be confirmed
The final jury is announced with the date.
Seven moments
Five days on the Caribbean edge of Cap Cana. Each one keeps a moment you will want to show at home.
Breakfast with the whales
Thursday
Champagne on deck in Samaná Bay, while the humpbacks surface around the boat.
The drive-in by the sea
Thursday night
A screen on the sand, the great racing films, and the cars of the week for seats.
A private concert at Chavón
Friday
The stone amphitheatre Frank Sinatra opened in 1982, lit for one audience. Cigars on the steps.
Best of Show at sunset, then the sky
Saturday
The last car crosses the lawn in gold light; after dinner, the winner is drawn in light above the sea.
The lawn by lantern light
Saturday, midnight
Every car with a lantern beside it, no floodlights, only the sound of the sea.
Lunch in the sea
Sunday
Tables set in the shallows of Juanillo, the water at your knees, before the flight home.
Five days, hour by hour
Four tracks run side by side: the cars, the ladies' programme, golf and sport, the sea. Every day keeps one moment for everyone, marked ◆. The hours follow the light, and the light here sets after six.
◆ the moment of the day, for everyone. Tick what you would not miss: it gathers into Your days, and travels with your answer.
TuesdayThe flight south
Optional, the day before
Together
The flight south
For those who fly themselves: aircraft leave Florida a few minutes apart and land at Punta Cana one after the other. Two hours from Miami. On the apron, a cold coconut; ten minutes later, the gate of Cap Cana.
WednesdayThe first car comes ashore
Day one
Collectors & cars
The cars come in through the Marina
Under cover, and are washed of the crossing.
Together
Arrival by air
Wheels down at the first privately owned international airport in the world; ten minutes later, the gate of Cap Cana.
Collectors & cars
A chacabana, cut to measure
In the tradition of Baní, to be worn on Friday night.
Ladies' programme
The first fitting
A Dominican couturier, a suite above the sea, a length of silk: the dress you will wear on Saturday night is made here, this week.
Ladies' programme
After the flight
with Flavio Acuña · to be confirmed
A physiotherapist's treatment for the long crossing, at the spa on the cliffs or in your villa.
Golf & sport
Nine holes to wake the swing
At Punta Espada.
The sea
Juanillo, first swim
The sea is 26°.
Ladies' programme
Bachata, before you need it
One hour, bare feet.
The sea
Concours on the water
Wooden runabouts, commuter yachts and classic sailing yachts, judged at the quay of the Marina.
Together
Vernissage on the quay
The artist of the week hangs the first studies of the cars.
Together
◆ The first car comes ashore
The classic boats leave the canal and escort a single boat along the coast to Juanillo. As the sun goes down, its ramp drops into the shallows and the first car of the week rolls onto the sand. Champagne at the water's edge.
Sunset over Juanillo
Together
Opening dinner on the sand
Beside the car that came from the sea, lit from below. The Prize of the Water before the fish.
Together
Fireworks over the Marina
Seen from the beach.
Dress Resort, light colours.
ThursdayBreakfast with the whales
Day two
Together
◆ Breakfast with the whales
A private flight north to Samaná; twelve guests to a boat. Champagne and breakfast on deck in the bay, while the humpbacks who come here to give birth surface around us, at the distance they ask. Back by early afternoon.
Together
◆ Breakfast over the reef
In December, instead of the whales
Champagne and breakfast on deck, anchored above the coral nurseries of this coast; then into the warm December water with the divers who replant it, fragment by fragment.
Ladies' programme
Sound at sunrise
with Flavio Acuña · to be confirmed
On the sand, for those who stay ashore.
Golf & sport
Punta Espada at first light
For those who stay ashore: eight holes along and over the sea.
Collectors & cars
Pre-inspection
In the shade of the Marina, for those who stayed.
Ladies' programme
Larimar, from the mountain
The blue stone found only here: choose it, draw your piece with a Dominican jeweller, wear it on Saturday.
Ladies' programme
The ladies' drive
At the wheel of the cars of the week on Cap Cana's private roads, the owner beside you.
Golf & sport
Los Establos
A ride in the shade of the polo fields.
Together
Polo, pitch-side
The cars drive in single file to Los Establos and park along the field. A match in the late light; at half-time, everyone on the grass to tread in the divots.
Together
A villa evening
Dinner in a private house on the cliffs, the sea below the terrace, the owner at the head of the table.
Collectors & cars
◇ The drive-in by the sea
A screen on the sand at Juanillo, the great racing films of the sixties, the cars of the week parked under the palms with their guests inside. Rum and popcorn through the window.
Ladies' programme
Massage under the moon
with Flavio Acuña · to be confirmed
On the beach, among torches.
Dress Smart casual; for the villa, as the host asks.
FridayA private concert at Chavón
Day three
Ladies' programme
Riding at first light
At Los Establos.
Golf & sport
Teeth of the Dog
Pete Dye's 1971 course at Casa de Campo, by helicopter; back for lunch at Chavón.
Collectors & cars Ladies' programme The sea
Along the coast by sea
From the Marina of Cap Cana to the Marina of Casa de Campo, in the morning calm.
Collectors & cars
Classic Car Forum
Under the stone arches of Altos de Chavón; at noon, the guest of honour from the great years of racing, in conversation.
Ladies' programme
The workshops of Chavón
The school of design the village has kept since 1983, and the artisans of the stone streets.
Collectors & cars Golf & sport The sea
Lunch on the terrace of Altos de Chavón
Above the river.
Ladies' programme
Lunch with the women of the island
A cacao grower, a jeweller, a designer, a captain.
Collectors & cars
The quay of Casa de Campo
Its boats and its boutiques.
Ladies' programme
Cacao, the old way
with Flavio Acuña · to be confirmed
In a courtyard of the village.
Golf & sport
Sporting clays
At the shooting ground of Casa de Campo.
The sea
Hoyo Azul
For those back in Cap Cana.
Collectors & cars Ladies' programme Golf & sport
Cacao and rum, at sunset
Bermúdez since 1852, Brugal since 1888.
Together
Dinner in the village
Between the church and the river.
Together
◆ A private concert at Chavón
The stone amphitheatre Frank Sinatra opened in 1982 is lit for one audience: ours. The artist is announced with the date. Afterwards, on the warm steps, a master roller from the Cibao valley at a table of leaf: the cigar you roll is the one you light.
Dress Chacabana and linen; no tie on this island tonight.
Return to Cap Cana by helicopter or by car.
SaturdayBest of Show at sunset, then the sky
Day four
Collectors & cars
The parade at dawn
The cars leave the Marina in single file along Cap Cana's private roads, headlamps on, and reach the lawn as the sun clears the sea.
Ladies' programme
Sunrise yoga on the lawn
with Flavio Acuña · to be confirmed
Before the cars arrive.
Collectors & cars
The cars take their places
On the lawn above the sea. The artist of the week sets up the easel.
Ladies' programme
The last fitting
The dress made on the island comes back to you, finished.
Collectors & cars
Judging, class by class
The sea
A morning sail off Juanillo
Ladies' programme
Cacao, from the bean
Tonight's dessert, made with your hands.
Collectors & cars
The Junior Jury
Children judge with their own score cards.
Ladies' programme
Prix des Dames
The ladies choose, by secret ballot, the car they would most like to be driven home in.
Together
Lunch under the palms
Ladies' programme
Fashion among the cars
Dominican couture walks between the classes, each look beside the car its designer chose.
Together
Dress for the evening
The lawn changes into black tie before the sun goes down.
Collectors & cars
The lawn from the air
A short helicopter flight over the cars set out on the grass, for those who want to see the whole of it.
Ladies' programme
The portrait
In the dress made on the island, the larimar at your throat, beside the car of your choice, in the gold light.
Together
◆ Best of Show, at sunset
The last car crosses the lawn as the light turns gold. The trophy is carved in larimar.
Together
The gala. Black tie, open sky.
Between two courses, the works the artist painted this week are sold, one by one, for the sea. Before dessert, the Public's Choice and the Prix des Dames.
Together
◆ The sky over the sea
Several hundred lights rise from the water's edge and draw, above the dark sea, the car that won today; then the tail of a whale, diving.
Collectors & cars
Bachata
The band turns to the music of this island.
Together
◇ The lawn by lantern light
The floodlights go out. A lantern beside every car, the sea in the dark below. Walk among them before midnight.
Dress Day elegance until four; black tie from the Best of Show.
SundayLunch in the sea
Day five
The sea
Marlin at first light
Catch and release from the Marina. In February and March.
Collectors & cars
Cars & Caffeine
On the Marina at sunrise.
Ladies' programme
A last ride
At Los Establos.
Golf & sport
The last nine
At Punta Espada.
Collectors & cars
The winners' lap
Once along the Marina.
Ladies' programme
The last treatment
with Flavio Acuña · to be confirmed
Before the flight.
Collectors & cars
The winter garage
Some cars stay for the season, covered, until their owners come back to the sun.
Together
◆ Lunch in the sea
Tables set in the shallows of Juanillo, the water at your knees, the fish of the morning on the plates. Between courses, each table votes the season of the second edition; the date is read out before the coffee.
Together
Departures by private aviation
Or the week goes on.
Dress Barefoot.
Times follow the light and are confirmed with the date.
The artist of the week
One painter lives the week with us. On Wednesday the studies are hung on the quay; from then on the easel follows the cars: the Marina at dawn, the boats in the canal, the stone village, and on Saturday the lawn itself, while the judges are still deciding.
At the gala, between two courses, the works of the week are sold, one by one, for the sea that brought you here: in the whale season, to those who protect the humpbacks of Samaná Bay; in December, to those who replant the coral of this coast. The artist, and the cause, are named with the date.
Dress, night by night
- Wednesday · the sand
- Resort, light colours
- Thursday · the villa, the drive-in
- As the host asks
- Friday · Chavón
- Chacabana and linen; no tie
- Saturday · the lawn
- Day elegance until four; black tie from the Best of Show
- Sunday · the sea
- Barefoot
For the children
- The Junior Jury
- Saturday morning, their own score cards and their own prize.
- A sailing school
- Mornings in the shallows of Juanillo.
- The drawing prize
- The best drawing of a car hangs beside the artist's studies.
- The drive-in
- Thursday night, from the back seat.
Stay longer
Three days of golf
Punta Espada, Teeth of the Dog and Corales: three of the great courses of the Caribbean in three mornings.
Saona
A national park since 1975, an island with no road to it, by private catamaran.
In the water with the whales
A week on the Silver Bank, where only three boats are permitted. Late January to early April.
Blue marlin
Deep-sea fishing from the Marina.
The tobacco country
Two days among the farms and rolling rooms of the Cibao valley.
Colonial Santo Domingo
A UNESCO World Heritage city since 1990. By helicopter, for the day.
The ladies' programme
Across five days, for anyone who did not cross the ocean for a carburettor. Some of it ends on the lawn on Saturday night.
-
A dress made on the island
Wednesday · Saturday
A Dominican couturier, a first fitting on Wednesday, a last one on Saturday, worn at the gala.
-
Larimar, from the mountain
Thursday · Saturday
The blue stone found only here. Choose the stone, draw your piece with a Dominican jeweller, wear it on Saturday.
-
The ladies' drive
Thursday
At the wheel of the cars of the week, on Cap Cana's private roads, the owner beside you.
-
Lunch with the women of the island
Friday
A cacao grower, a jeweller, a designer, a captain, at one table in the stone village.
-
Prix des Dames
Saturday
Your own prize, by secret ballot on the lawn, announced at the gala.
-
The portrait
Saturday
In your dress, beside the car of your choice, in the gold light. One print, sent home.
Wellness, with Flavio Acuña
to be confirmed
A physiotherapist with more than thirty years in wellness, two decades of them on this coast, and the hands behind one of the best-known spas of Punta Cana. His thread runs through the week: the long flight taken out of your shoulders on the first afternoon, sound at sunrise, cacao the old way in the stone village, and a massage under the moon on the sand.
At a glance
- A dress made on the islandA Dominican couturier, a first fitting on Wednesday, a last one on Saturday, worn at the gala.Wed · Sat
- Wellness, with Flavio Acuña to be confirmedAfter the flight, sound at sunrise, a massage under the moon, cacao the old way, yoga on the lawn, a last treatment.every day
- Larimar, from the mountainChoose the stone, draw your piece, wear it on Saturday.Thu · Sat
- The ladies' driveAt the wheel of the cars of the week, the owner beside you.Thu
- Prix des DamesYour own prize, by secret ballot, announced at the gala.Sat
- The portraitIn your dress, beside the car of your choice, in the gold light.Sat
- Lunch with the women of the islandA cacao grower, a jeweller, a designer, a captain.Fri
- Riding at first lightLos Establos.Fri · Sun
- The workshops of ChavónThe school of design and the artisans of the village.Fri
- Cacao, from the beanThe gala dessert, made by your hands.Sat
- Fashion among the carsDominican couture, each look beside its car.Sat
- Bachata, before you need itOne hour, bare feet.Wed
The coast, from the air.
Ten places, one coast. Scroll, and fly.
-
Wheels down
The private airport that opened a coast.
It began with a runway in the jungle. Today the jets of Madrid, Frankfurt and Paris land here, and the private aircraft taxi to their own terminal. Cap Cana is ten minutes away.
1983the first privately owned international airport in the world
-
The Marina
A canal cut into the land, and the sea let in.
The yachts come in from the Atlantic along a canal dredged inland. Here the cars arrive, and here the week begins and ends.
150+berths, for yachts up to 250 feet
-
Juanillo
The beach inside the gates.
White sand, palms leaning to the water, and the farewell table waiting on the last morning. Inside the gates, and open to the sea.
3 milesof white sand beaches inside Cap Cana
-
The lawn and the cliffs
Where the concours stands.
A lawn running to the sea, villas set into the rock, a spa over the water at the foot of the cliff. On Saturday the cars of the concours stand here until the sun goes down.
30,000acres of private land: Cap Cana
-
Punta Espada
Golf played against the sea.
Jack Nicklaus drew it along the cliffs and opened it in 2006. Eight holes run along the water, or over it.
No. 1in the Caribbean and Mexico for Golfweek, from 2009
-
Los Establos and Hoyo Azul
Horses in the morning, a blue spring in the afternoon.
Two polo fields and stables at the edge of the forest. A little further, a spring of turquoise water at the foot of a limestone wall.
75 mthe cliff above Hoyo Azul
-
Altos de Chavón
A Mediterranean village, built by hand, above a jungle river.
Begun in 1976 and built stone by stone, with a church, a school of design and an amphitheatre that Frank Sinatra opened in 1982. The Chavón river runs below.
5,000seats in the stone amphitheatre
-
Casa de Campo
Old money, a Portofino quay, and the Teeth of the Dog.
Seven thousand acres laid out in the 1970s, with polo, a shooting ground and a marina in the style of the Ligurian coast. Pete Dye's course is the one in the Caribbean that has stayed on the world's top-100 lists.
1971Teeth of the Dog opens
-
Saona
An island with no road to it.
Inside a national park since 1975: palms, a natural pool in the shallows, two fishing villages. You arrive by catamaran, or not at all.
110 km²of protected island
-
The whales
Every winter, the North Atlantic comes here to give birth.
Each January the humpbacks arrive from the north, sing, court and calve on the Silver Bank and in Samaná Bay. A morning among them is the quietest hour of the week.
6,000+humpbacks in the season
Stop 1 of 10
Choose the season
Behind one gate
Cap Cana is not a town. It is a private estate on the eastern tip of the island, with one perimeter and its own rules.
One perimeter
A privately governed, gated estate: controlled entry points, patrols day and night, its own medical and fire services.
The cars never leave it
From the Marina to the lawn to the polo field, every kilometre the cars drive is a private road inside the gate. Beyond it (Altos de Chavón, Casa de Campo, Samaná) guests travel by sea, by helicopter or by private aircraft.
A guarded parc fermé
The cars sleep under cover at the Marina, insured and watched around the clock, from the day they come ashore to the day they leave.
Twenty minutes from a private airport
Punta Cana International, the first privately owned international airport in the world; private aviation lands at the same field.
A doctor on the lawn
A physician is with the concours all week; private hospitals in Punta Cana are half an hour away.
In perspective
The U.S. State Department gives the Dominican Republic the same travel advisory level it gives France.
The coast they chose
- Oscar de la Rentakept his houses on this coast: first at Casa de Campo, then at Punta Cana, with coral colonnades and colonial verandas.
- Julio Iglesiasdrew his own house here and built it over four years.
- Mikhail Baryshnikovsaid the coast reminded him of St Barth's twenty-five years before.
- Frank Sinatraopened the stone amphitheatre at Altos de Chavón in 1982; Elton John and Andrea Bocelli have sung there since.
- A former American presidenthas spent New Year and Easter on this coast.
- Fred Couplesshot 62 on the cliffs of Punta Espada.
- A Spanish champion golferplays Punta Espada, on the cliffs of Cap Cana. The Europeans have begun to stay.
Some come for a week. Some stay for the season. Some stay for life.
Black tie, open sky.
Saturday night, outdoors, on the lawn where the cars stood all day. It was 28 degrees at noon; now the air is soft, the sea is a sound in the dark, and the cars of the day are lit along the tables. The Public's Choice before dessert. Then the bachata. In Europe it is still winter.
The gala
Saturday night
20:00, black tie, outdoors
Between two courses, the paintings of the week are sold for the sea. Before dessert, the Public's Choice and the Prix des Dames.
Getting there
Your answer decides the date
The reply card. Answering commits you to nothing.
Thank you.
The date will be announced before the summer of 2027, to you first.
A few questions
Is this the first edition?
Yes. 2028 is the first.
When will the date be fixed?
Before the summer of 2027, from the answers. You will be told first.
Can I come without a car?
Yes, as a guest: every day, the gala included.
Is there a programme for partners who do not follow the cars?
Yes, every day, in parallel: the spa on the cliffs, riding, the sea, the fashion preview, the chef's table, and the boutiques of Casa de Campo.
How does my car get there?
By sea from Europe or from Florida; temporary import is arranged.
Is Cap Cana safe?
Cap Cana is a private, gated estate with controlled entry and its own security, medical and fire services, around the clock. The cars never drive on a public road, and every journey beyond the gate is by sea or by air.
Will the cars drive on public roads?
No. Every drive is on Cap Cana's private roads; everything else is by sea or by air.
Which cars are eligible?
Cars built from 1919 to 1973, selected by the committee, with a few later cars by invitation.
Who are the judges?
The jury is invited from the great concours and is confirmed with the date.
What does it cost?
Entry and guest fees are announced with the date. Answering commits you to nothing.