Audrain Concours Cars & Coffee 2021

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Beautiful cars, beautiful setting, beautiful people

The 2021 Audrain Concours Cars & Coffee was a smashing success on a gorgeous October day in Newport, Rhode Island. The C&C is set right by the water around the imposing colonial Fort Adams. This Cars & Coffee is like few others. Hundreds of automobiles from the early 1900s to today’s latest exotic cars were in evidence among the huge crowd.

This was a Saturday morning event, one of many events included in the Audrain Concours and Motor Week. The event is organized by Newport’s Audrain Car Museum, headed by Donald Osborne (car expert for Jay Leno’s Garage). The Motor Week includes many exhibition events, talks by renowned experts, road tours around the island, the Cars & Coffee and the wonderful Concours event itself.

If you’ve watched car shows on Motor Trend, you’d recognize many of the Concours participants, and superstars of the car hobby. Jay Leno was very much in evidence, taking many laps in a golf cart around the C&C. Also spotted was famous mustache and auto restoration expert Wayne Carini. I never did spot Donald Osborne though. I imagine he was kind of busy….

An event for the family

There was something for everybody, no matter your particular car delight. Wonderful hot rods, customs and the latest supercars. Rare, odd and spectacular specimens were literally all over the place. Also fun was the fact that many car tours were happening over the course of the C&C. Tour participants paraded onto the Fort Adams grounds throughout the morning and early afternoon. All you had to do was stand along the entry road and wait for something wonderful to show up.

The quality of the cars on display was striking. You could walk right up and take a close look at a priceless car beautifully restored. I saw many cars I’d only seen in photos. There were many that I had never seen before and didn’t know the name of. Particularly appreciated was the slammed suicide-door Lincoln Continental. It appeared pretty much stock but was lowered right to the ground.

The radical version of the latest Ford GT was startling. The alligator seats in one car were astonishing. Early Jaguars and Bentleys were oozing class. The hot-rodded fire truck was amazing.

The event seemed to have that little something that the famed Greenwich Concours lacks. Maybe it’s the fresh air with it’s saltwater scent. Maybe it’s that huge fort surrounded by priceless automobiles. It could be that Jay Leno makes any event bigger.

I want more of whatever it is. I’ll be back next year.

As I was leaving this year’s C&C, a rally Lancia 037 in Totip livery came ripping onto the grounds full-chat, engine screaming in delight.

To see the list of honored automobiles, look here.

For more car mania, click here.