Concours

PCA Chesapeake Concours events allow members to compete for the honor of the best presented Porsche. These events are open to all cars, from meticulous restorations to well-maintained daily drivers.

We host multiple concours events throughout the year where members are able to display their cars. Some may be as simple as a casual car show with a People’s Choice award all the way up to our prestigious Chesapeake Challenge Concours. The key element in all of them is the camaraderie among fellow contestants and having fun. We encourage you to enter one of our shows. It is a great way to share your car with other people.

Preparing a Car for Concours

Unlike a cars and coffee — where cars may not have been washed — concours is focused on how well cars have been prepared. Being competitive in concours involves more than a simple wash, wax, and vacuum. You will need to pay attention to many areas of the car.

The windows, trim parts, dashboard, instruments, pedal cluster and seats should all be well-cleaned, though not to the point of being over-polished. Your goal is to present the car as it would have left the factory. A natural look is desired. Plastic surfaces should not look greasy. Tires should not have excessive shine. Our concours events are also casual enough that you will not have to clean to the level that you use Q-tips.

We offer a school this summer for anyone planning to enter a car in our concours events. In addition to cleaning techniques and products, we will cover what judges look for and how they score cars. You will see the actual judging score sheets we use. We will also cover what should not be left in the car. As you could be penalized for leaving items in the car like travel-mugs, tissue boxes and cleaning supplies.

Concours Judging School

This one day class serves as training for PCA members who wish to judge cars in the Chesapeake Challenge Concours. Recommended for judges of all levels. Also for anyone who just wants to see what judging is. Beginners are especially encouraged to attend.

When scoring cars for the Chesapeake Challenge Concours we focus on preparation, cleanliness and overall condition. We do not penalize a car for having stone chips. We also do not deduct for non-originality. As a judge, you do not need to know how cars would have been equipped from the factory.

In this school you will learn how to correctly fill out a score sheet and what notes you should be making on it. You will see how our points system works for scoring cars. You will also learn how to be consistent in your judging of several cars.

We will provide a car or two for judging practice, and will use actual Chesapeake Challenge scoring sheets.

Chesapeake Challenge

The Chesapeake Challenge is our region’s premier concours event. Entrants in the Chesapeake Challenge Concours d’Elegance can choose to participate in a category appropriate for their experience and desire for competition. Ordered from most competitive to least, we offer Full Concours, Street-Prepared and the Display-Class events.

Cars are judged on preparation, cleanliness and overall condition. Cars will not be judged on originality
or stone chip imperfections. To help even out cars within each class we award age points to the older
cars. Each car is compared to the newest one in its class and earns points based on the number of years
by which it is older.

All Porsches in the judged categories start with a perfect score and have points deducted for lack of
cleanliness or lesser condition in specified areas. The best prepared Porsches will be rewarded. This is
not a white glove competition as judges will not touch any part of your car.

Full Concours

The Full Concours category is open to all PCA members and is recommended to those who take cleaning their Porsches very seriously. Many hours are spent detailing these cars to ‘like-new’ condition. Attention to detail keeps you competitive in this class.

Judges will be examining each car’s exterior (including wheels and wheel wells), interior, engine compartment (when accessible), and luggage compartments. Undercarriages are not judged.

To be eligible for the Knowlton P Long / Lufthansa Trophy award you must enter your Porsche in the Full Concours class in addition to competing in the Rally and Tech Quiz.

Street-Prepared Concours

The Street-Prepared category is open to all PCA members and is recommended for those who like to drive their Porsches and maintain their cars with a less intensive approach than Full Concours.

Judges will be examining each car’s exterior and interior. Front surface of wheels and lug nuts are included, while wheel wells are excluded. Engine compartments, the undercarriage, and the luggage compartment are also not judged.

To be eligible for the Chesapeake Trophy, you must enter your Porsche in the Street-Prepared class in addition to competing in the Rally and Tech Quiz.

Display Class (Non-Judged)

The Display class is open to all PCA members and is best suited for those who love their Porsches but do not desire to compete in a concours. These Porsches will not be judged. Together with the concours cars, they will be eligible for the People’s Choice award given to the Porsche that gathers the most votes from the Challenge’s participants.