Hilton Head Island Motoring Festival & Concours d'Elegance

Why You Should Visit Hilton Head Island in the Fall

"Hilton Head Island's Concours d'Elegance and Motoring Festival, an upscale car show featuring vintage planes, and more than 200 motorcycles and sophisticated, old school cars. The events surrounding Concours span three days on the island. On Friday, head to the island's airport, the location of the first event: Flights & Fancy. Wander around the tarmac and hangars, where old fashioned Bentleys befitting the Great Gatsby are interspersed with vintage biplanes. In addition to being a party with its own aviation-themed cocktails (like the Amelia Earhart, a gin and citrus potable), the event serves as an interactive history lesson. Guests walk among propeller planes used on missions in World War II and in the Vietnam War—not to mention a Gulfstream private jet is usually on hand for visitors to walk through and sit in the cockpit. Be sure to check out the airport's runway. It's a race track for the night for professional Porsche drivers who will zoom visitors across the airstrip in the powerful cars at nearly 150 miles per hour. On Saturday and Sunday, it's the cars' time to shine. There's plenty that will appeal to visitors who aren't gear-heads: This year's list included candy colored Cadillacs that evoke the streets of Havana, jaunty sports cars from the 1960s with a James Bond flair, and even the iconic red Ferrari from Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Walk through the lines of gleaming cars, speak to the friendly and knowledgeable owners, and enjoy the event's genteel air."