Ferrari and Cadillac Will Be Honored at the 69th Hillsborough Concours

The Hillsborough Concours d’Elegance signals the start of a busy summer concours season with its annual show, happening this year on Sunday, June 22, in Burlingame, Calif. With 69 years under its belt, The Hillsborough—founded in 1956—holds the distinction of being the world’s oldest continuous concours. It’s also one of the most beautiful venues—with more than 200 cars set on the luxuriant green carpet of the Crystal Springs Golf Course—a tranquil setting and a welcome respite from the usual concours crowds pressed elbow-to-elbow and driven more to see and be seen.

Ferrari is a featured marque at this year’s event, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Ferrari 308/328 series, cars that look as fresh today as when the first 308 GTB rolled out of the Maranello factory in 1975. By the time the last 328 was made in 1989, Pininfarina’s styling masterpiece was a household name and a co-star in Hollywood’s Magnum, P.I. television series. Another Prancing Horse highlight is a rare 1967 Ferrari 365 California Spyder, shown publicly only twice in the past 40 years. One of only 14 built, it was a forward-thinking creation by Pininfarina’s Tom Tjaarda, better known as the designer of the De Tomaso Pantera.

Another model being showcased, one that goes back 40 years further, is Volkswagen’s Beetle—more properly Käfer, as the Germans call their beloved automotive insect. Throughout its 90 years, VW stayed true to the original vision of Ferdinand Porsche and Erwin Komenda. The first two VW prototypes were born in 1935, and the car was rolling out of the Wolfsburg factory starting in 1938. By the time production ceased in 2003, more than 21.5 million examples had been hatched from factories around the world. Once as common as the real creature, a VW on the road today is a relatively rare sight, and Hillsborough affords an opportunity to appreciate the once-ubiquitous bug in a new light. The Volkswagen Bus is featured as well, celebrating a “mere” 75 years as everyone’s favorite vehicle from the Flower Power era.

Closer to home, Cadillac will be a featured class, with many prewar and postwar cars on display. Founded in 1902 and one of the oldest brands in the world, Cadillac was also the first car built to exacting standards of fit that allowed parts to be easily interchanged or replaced. Thus, “The Standard of the World” was born. On the lawn will be some of the finest finned land-yachts of the 1950s and early 1960s, always fun to see alongside more modestly proportioned automotive fare.

Turbocharged cars from many manufacturers are set to be featured too, and while today, turbocharging has largely replaced naturally aspirated induction, it wasn’t until Oldsmobile’s 1962 Jetfire that a turbo was used on a production automobile. Chevy’s Corvair and Saab’s 99 were early adopters too, and by 1975, Porsche made turbos famous with its first 930. This year’s Hillsborough Concours will also showcase 24 judged classes of marques from Europe, America, and Japan.

As has become a tradition, the weekend’s festivities begin on the Friday before, with the “Start Your Engines” kick-off party, featuring classic automobiles and held at a private car club located in one of Burlingame’s most historic buildings. Saturday’s annual Hillsborough Tour d’Elegance road rally, led by a police escort, travels scenic Bay Area back roads, stopping for lunch at a private estate.

Partnering with the town of Hillsborough, the concours raises proceeds for Ability Path, assisting those with developmental disabilities; The Guardsmen, helping the advancement of at-risk youth through outdoor programs and scholarships; and the Hillsborough Schools Foundation, supporting the community’s public-education system.

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Click here for more preview photos of the 2025 Hillsborough Concours.