Sydney is gearing up for the seventh spectacular Sydney Harbour Concours d’Elegance. The event will again take place on the atmospheric Cockatoo Island in the middle of the famous harbour, with the cars accessing the event by ferry. Over 40 cars will contest the Concours, the cream of Australian collector cars, plus also a strong international entry. At last year’s sold out event, the post-war best in show was a 1964 Ferrari 250LM, while a 1933 Rolls-Royce Phantom II took the best pre-war car honours.
The 2025 event runs over three days (28 February to 2 March) and attracts a wide range of industry leaders, collectors and enthusiasts to its combination of motoring beauties, luxury and gourmet catering. Friday is the main concours day, while the show cars share the spotlight with supercars on the Saturday and with electric cars on the Sunday. Tickets, which include food, drink, entry, live entertainment, car parades, speeches and talks cost from AUS$400 and are available from here.
Founded by Octane contributor James Nicholls and principally supported by Citizen Kanebridge and La Trobe Financial, Sydney Harbour Concours d’Elegance supports the charity Legacy, which provides support and assistance to the families of fallen Australian soldiers and veterans. It was first run in 2019 at Darling Point before moving to first Swifts then Hyde Park Barracks before making its Cockatoo Island debut in 2024. Cockatoo Island is a unique 44-acre UNESCO World Heritage Site, the largest of the islands in Sydney Harbour, which has various served as an aboriginal fishing base, prison, shipyard and festival venue as well as hosting the concours.
The impressive entry list for 2025 ranges from a 1905 Eugene Brillie 20/24HP to a 2021 Audi R8 Spyder, but here are just a few of Octane’s highlights:
1933 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 GS
This Figoni-bodied beauty was shown at the 1933 Paris Motor Show and won prizes at both the Nice and Monte Carlo concours the following year. Its body was temporarily replaced for racing in which it excelled, winning its class at Le Mans, but it was then returned to its original spec and moved to South Africa, coming into the current custodian’s ownership in 2008. It has since has a body off restoration by RX Autoworks of Vancouver and cleaned up on its 2012 post-restoration debut at Villa d’Este.
1935 Bugatti Type 57 Atalante
This factory built Atalante was Jean Bugatti and Joseph Walter’s initial sporty take on the Type 57 chassis. Based on their ‘Grand Raid’ chassis, 57252 was one of just 33 Type 57s in this two-seater, foxed-head coupé style and it lived a busy life in Europe before moving in the 1950s to first the USA and then the UK. Having been re-restored by Classic Skills of Lomm, it has previously been displayed at both Salon Privé and Rétromobile.
1964 Facel Vega Facel II
Every one of Jean Daninos’s prohibitively expensive hand-built Facels is still an ‘event’ car and many have a celebrity past, whether it be Stirling Moss, Tony Curtis or Ringo Starr. Powered by the same Chrysler V8 used by British company Jensen, which was plying a similar trade across the channel, and famed for its metal dashboard painted to look like wood, the Facel IIs were in production when the company went under in 1964. This rare manual example has only recently arrived in Australia.
1967 Toyota 2000GT
Although underpowered compared to contemporary offerings from European marques, the 2000GT looked every bit the supercar and combined road practicality and track ability in a way few could rival. Having been trailed at Tokyo in 1965, the Satoru Nozaki-penned 150bhp coupé didn’t hit the market for two years with production sub-contracted to Yamaha. This stunning example is making its post-restoration debut on Cockatoo Island.
1967 Lamborghini Miura
The first supercar. Mid-engined via Sant’Agata’s sensational 4-litre V12 mounted transversely, the Bertone styled missile was a giant leap forward from the 350GT and 400GT that marked tractor maker Ferruccio Lamborghini’s first forays into motor manufacture. Sold new to the USA this P400 was recently restored in Italy under the watchful eye of Simon Kidston and appeared at Villa d’Este in 2024.
1982 Lancia 037 Stradale
The 037 ruled the rally stages, it scooped the 1983 manufacturers’ world championship, but the Stradale is an incredibly rare beast, with just 200 required to be built for homologation for Group B. It shared little with the Lancia Beta Monte Carlo that inspired it apart from a vague Pininfarina silhouette, in the 037 crafted out of polyester and glassfibre. Originally owned by weird car polymath Toly Arutunoff, it is outstandingly original and is believed to be the only car of its type in Australia.
