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The Louis Vuitton Classic events

The Louis Vuitton Classic events include the 'runs' and the 'awards'. The next run is scheduled in China in May 2008. The Concours Award and the Concept Award replaced the concours which used to be organised in such places as Paris, London and New York and are temporarily suspended.

Christian Philippsen, co-founder of the Louis Vuitton Classic, remains the Louis Vuitton ambassador with the automobile community.

"We shall endeavour to keep our new programme true to the spirit and the tradition of quality that gave our events a unique cachet for which such appreciation was shown over the years. The Louis Vuitton Classic changes, but our passion and our commitment are stronger than ever!" said Yves Carcelle, President of Louis Vuitton.

Should you wish more information than is provided below, please write to CP@ChristianPhilippsen.com.

The Louis Vuitton Classic Runs

Following the brilliant Singapore-Kuala Lumpur and Dalian-Beijing experiences in the past, and the recent Budapest-Wien-Praha , the next Louis Vuitton Classic Run will see a return to China in May 2008, ten years after the initial Louis Vuitton journey. As ever, fifty of the greatest classic cars, a few prototypes and a selection of motorcycles, will be gathered, thus keeping the specificity of showing our heritage and, at the same time, looking towards the future.

The Louis Vuitton Classic Awards

Louis Vuitton may have suspended their concours, but they are keen to keep in touch with the automobile enthusiasts. Every year, a special team of judges attribute a Louis Vuitton Classic Concours Award to a car chosen from the Best of Show winners of the most famous concours in the world, including Cavallino Classic (Florida), Amelia Island (Florida), Villa d'Este (Italy), Meadow Brook (Michigan), The Quail and Pebble Beach (both in California) and some carefully selected other events. The first Concours Award was handed over on the occasion of a ceremony in Paris in February 2006. The winner was Sam and Emily Mann's 1937 Delage aerodynamic coupe by Pourtout, Best of Show in the 2005 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. An additional prize for the best concept car was given to Pininfarina for their Maserati Birdcage 75th. In March 2007, the second Concours Award went to Peter Kalikow for his 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California having won the 2006 Ferrari Club of America Field and Driving Concours, whilst the Concept Award went to Citroën and Jean-Pierre Ploué for C-Métisse. The ceremony took place in Geneva during the Salon de l'Automobile.

Historical Note

Christian Philippsen had attended the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in the beginning of the nineteen eighties. He was stunned by what he saw. He went back the next year and was again amazed. But, wasn't a concours d'elegance a French concept? Why should it not come back to France, like a boomerang ? He worked at it and it must have been the right idea at the right time. The first concours took place in the Parc de Bagatelle in Paris in 1988 with the support of the magazine Automobiles Classiques. It was an immediate success and grew better year after year. With the complicity of Louis Vuitton, who became a main sponsor in 1989 and later the owners of the event, the organisers did their best to look after their guests and bring them some French 'art de vivre'. Quite naturally, the concours generated offsprings in England, Switzerland, Italy and in the USA.

A team of judges, co-chaired by Christian Philippsen and Leonardo Fioravanti, included qualified designers (a.o. Fabrizio Giugiaro of Italdesign, Lorenzo Ramaciotti of Pininfarina, Patrick le Quément of Renault) and historians, and awarded several coveted prizes to a selection of the eighty or so touring, GT and racing cars from all eras and from all over the world which had to be authentic and display outstanding coachwork, great engineering or superlative performance to qualify. In addition to displaying cars of the past, the Louis Vuitton Classic was the first concours to also invite 'concept cars', an idea that has been followed by many since.

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