Pagani chose the 2025 Concours at Wynn Las Vegas to celebrate the world premiere of a new Huayra called the “Codalunga Speedster.” The latest Pagani expands on nearly every sculptural shape on the hypercar’s already dramatically elongated body and improves the aerodynamic silhouette in homage to historic racing cars of the 1950s and ’60s. Finished in semi-matte Ocean Spray Green, the car naturally featured a twin-turbocharged V12 engine under the eternal tailgate and an interior highlighted by exposed shift linkages. The car drew a crowd of concours attendees as founder and designer Horacio Pagani himself showed off the latest and greatest products from his eponymous company.
The fact that Pagani even chose the fourth annual Wynn Concours show as the time to debut the Codalunga Speedster points to the event’s significant change this year, growing in size and scope to appeal to a broader group of automotive enthusiasts. And not just with more cars, more debuts from more brands and improved features – but also with driving options that go beyond the typical park-and-show concours experiences.
“If you think about the Pebble Beach Concours, Ville d’Este or Goodwood, we’re not here to compete with anyone,” Wynn COO Brian Gullbrants told duPont Registry. “We want to complement the existing automotive industry and automotive culture.”
“This year we have over 600 vehicles, so we have over $1.1 billion in high-quality automobiles in the field,” boasted Gullbrants. “This is the largest collection of Paganis ever with 44, the largest collection of Veyrons and actually the largest collection of Bugattis with almost 70 cars. And we have over 230 different Lamborghinis on display. This is in addition to the 130 judged concours cars in 10 different classes. But most of all, it’s a place to just show up, enjoy the cars and the hospitality and have a great time.”
Along with the new Huayra at the Pagani stand, the huge group of Pagani owners parked in long arcs on the Wynn golf course. Bugatti was also there in force to celebrate two decades since the legendary Veyron ushered in the hypercar era in 2005. Bugatti President Christophe Piochon flew to Las Vegas for the concours and explained why the company sees opportunities like this as essential to the ownership experience.
“When we heard about this event here in Las Vegas, we also started inviting all the customers we have in our global database,” Piochon admitted. “I have to say it was a bit of a surprise for us. It shows how important the community of Bugatti owners is, because they like to get together, they like to show their cars to people, and it’s really great that we have the entire generation of modern Bugattis present today, from the first Veyron to the Tourbillon, the Mistral and everything.”
“That’s 20 years of Veyron,” Piochon added, “And broadly speaking, you could look at a lot of the hypercars and supercars here and say the Veyron influenced them all…”
Seeing the hundreds of Lamborghinis almost felt like a completely separate event, ranging from several Miuras to modern Venenos, Revueltos and Stratatos – even a Cummins swapped LM002 “Rambo Lambo” was on display. But all the classics in the Concours judging class still took center stage, highlighted by pre-war Mercedes-Benzes, one of which is a former Pebble Beach Concours Best in Show winner, to Rolls-Royces, Packards and Duesenbergs. Hollywood’s Golden Era was also well represented, including a Jaguar XKSS and a Porsche Speedster formerly owned by Steve McQueen and brought to the Wynn from the Petersen Automotive Museum. The Pebble-winning Mercedes-Benz 680 S Barker Tourer won Wynn’s Pre-War Best in Show, while a 1951 Ferrari 212 Export won Best in Show Post-War amid the strong field.
Of course, motorsports also fit in, including a 1988 Porsche 962C from Dempsey Motorsport and several Red Bull Formula 1 cars from the current era. McLaren unveiled the company’s new Project Endurance prototype, a factory-backed customer racing program that offers 12 days a year of racing in the LDMh class. Restomod companies in attendance included Singer, Gunther Werks, Rezvani and HWA. The latter brought with them the fifth prototype of their 190E 2.5-16 Evo II project, the first to arrive in the United States as proof of concept by AMG co-founder Hans Werner Aufrecht, who himself flew in from Germany to take part in the celebrations. In honor of the 100th anniversary of the world’s most famous luxury sedan, Rolls-Royce also introduced a Phantom Centenary, featuring a gold “Spirit of Ecstasy” as well as laser-etched front seat upholstery, a unique Starlight headliner motif and the most intricate woodwork ever used on a Rolls-Royce’s door panels.
But almost more important than the spectacular variety of cars on display at the Wynn Concours was that the weekend also provided plenty of opportunities for attendees to drive – and for the public to actually see these rolling works of art in motion. The usual Wynn Concours parade along the Las Vegas Strip boomed Sunday morning along part of the F1 Grand Prix circuit already being prepared for later in November. Horacio Pagani chose a route for Pagani owners to Valley of Fire State Park in the desert north of the city. And a group of intrepid drivers also tried out supercars at the Speed Vegas racetrack, always an eye-catcher on the side of the 15 Freeway when traveling from Los Angeles.
Although certain elements of the Wynn Concours share similarities with Pebble Beach, Villa d’Este, as well as other events such as Moda Miami, The Bridge and Amelia Island, the convenience factor of Las Vegas really helps make this show special on the automotive calendar. And the Wynn specifically hopes to appeal to every generation of automotive enthusiasts, from prewar collectors to millennials who love modified cars from the “rad” era. Hagerty’s Broad Arrow Auction included, among others, a Veyron, a 300 SL Roadster and an Aston Martin DB5. And for those attendees who might want to enjoy a few days of revelry in Vegas, there are plenty of nightlife options that are sure to rival or even surpass the flashy, artistic and performative nature of the concours cars.
Images: Michael Van Runkle
