Two hours north of Toronto, (near Owen Sound) the classic automotive world’s most prestigious award will be handed out in Canada for the first (and only) time.

The Lee Iacocca Award is coming to Cobble Beach Concours d’Elegance this September 

Toronto – April 28… In 2006, to little fanfare, The Lee Iacocca Award was presented at a local Mustang Show in Van Nuys, CA. The award’s namesake (a famous businessman known for engineering the Ford Mustang and reviving the Chrysler Corporation in the 80s), together with then Tonight Show host Jay Leno, was on hand to present the award to Craig Cunningham, president of the club hosting the show. There was no press, and only one photo was taken.

Fast-forward ten years and The Lee Iacocca Award is widely recognized as the pinnacle achievement within the classic car world, having been presented to nearly 200 of its most respected men and woman. At the end of this year, The Lee Iacocca Award will be retired, solidifying its legacy as an exclusive honour designed to recognize only the cream of the classic collector world’s crop.

This impending retirement means when The Lee Iacocca Award is presented this September at the third annual Cobble Beach Concours d’Elegance, it will mark the first and last time the famous, sought-after award has ever been handed out on foreign soil.

“We are absolutely, over-the-top excited that the Cobble Beach Concours d’Elegance will get the honour of being not only the first Canadian show to present The Lee Iacocca Award, but the first show ever outside the United States. The fact we have been bestowed with this responsibility in the award’s final year speaks to how rare of an occasion this is. We’re very lucky, and grateful,” says Cobble Beach founder and Concours d’Elegance judge Rob McLeese.

Now in it’s third year at Cobble Beach (a 10 minute drive from Owen Sound, on the coast of Georgian Bay) the Concours d’Elegance is the most prestigious classic-car show in Canada. Hailed by media and the public, the Cobble Beach Concours d’Elegance hosts the highest caliber of Judges and Participants, as well as the most concentrated collection of rare, pristine automotive art found anywhere in Canada.

On September 12 and 13, over 100 classics, hand selected from private collections across North America will compete, celebrating a tradition of excellence dating back to 17th century French high-society. In effort to keep the latest iteration of the show fresh and new, this year’s Concours will see the introduction of two new competition classes (Vincent motorcycles and vintage pickup trucks) as Cobble Beach continues to innovate. There will also be an unjudged, display only class of vintage boats, with the boats appearing on their trailers.

Last year’s popular museum class will return, once again featuring some of the most historically rich vehicles in North America. The free seminars scheduled for day one of the Concours will also be returning, after filling the room during their debut last year.

“Cobble Beach is immensely proud of what we have achieved in these three short years. We started with great ambitions to be listed among the best Concours d ’Elegances in the world. Each year we raise the bar in the hopes of achieving that goal,” says McLeese.

Proceeds raised by Cobble Beach Concours d’Elegance will go to the Sunnybrook Hospital Foundation to fund a state-of-the-art helipad on the rooftop of the Toronto hospital.

“We have raised over $100,000 for the Sunnybrook Foundation so far and we want to keep building on that number. The Sunnybrook Helipad will directly affect County of Grey residents, providing trauma cases faster access to medical support and ultimately saving lives.”

With The Lee Iacocca Award, the Cobble Beach Concours d’Elegance is poised to draw its largest crowd to date. As for who will be the recipient of the first and only Lee Iacocca award to be handed out in Canada, you will have to make the drive out to the shores of Georgian Bay this September to find out. Luckily tickets are now on sale.

For exhibitor information, to purchase tickets and for more details on the Cobble Beach Concours d’Elegance visit www.cobblebeachconcours.com or 416-366-4820 x 228.

For more information about Cobble Beach Golf Links Resort Community call 1-877-781-0149 or visit www.cobblebeach.com. The Cobble Beach Sales & Discovery Centre, open 7days/week from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. is located at 221 McLeese Drive, Kemble ON N0H 1S0 T.226-664-0064.

For more information on The Lee Iacocca Award visit www.iacoccaaward.com

For more information and interviews, media visits or images please contact publicist.

Media Contact:
kg&a inc.
416-537-0954

Vakis Boutsalis
vakis@kimgraham.ca
416-578-1741

Source:
Rob McLeese,
President, Cobble Beach

Cobble Beach Concours d’Elegance Gallery

Photography by Lucas Scarfone