Pagani chose the 2025 Concours at Wynn Las Vegas to make the world debut of a new Huayra called the ‘Codalunga Speedster’. The latest Pagani stretches nearly every sculptural shape on the hypercar’s already dramatically elongated bodywork, enhancing its aerodynamic silhouette in tribute to historic racing cars of the 1950s and 1960s. Finished in a semi-matte ocean spray green and of course featuring a twin-turbocharged V12 engine under the eternal tailgate and an artful interior accented by signature exposed shift mechanisms, the car drew a large crowd of concours goers as founder and designer Horacio Pagani himself presented the latest and greatest from his eponymous company.
The fact that Pagani even chose the fourth annual Wynn Concours show as the time to debut the Codalunga Speedster signals the clear shift for this year’s event, which expanded in breadth and scope to appeal to a broader group of car enthusiasts. And not just with more cars, more debuts from more brands and improved amenities, but also with driving options that go beyond the typical Park-and-Show Concours experiences.
“If you think of the Pebble Beach Concours, if you think of Ville d’Este, if you think of Goodwood, we’re not here to compete with anyone,” Wynn COO Brian Gullbrants told duPont Registry. “We want to complement the existing car industry and car culture.”
“This year we have over 600 vehicles, so we have over $1.1 billion worth of quality cars on the field,” Gullbrants boasted. “This is the largest collection of Paganis ever with 44 examples, the largest collection of Veyrons, in fact, 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 Concours cars judged in 10 different classes. But above all it is a place to just come and enjoy the cars and the hospitality and have a great time.”
Together with the new Huayra at the Pagani stand, the huge group of Pagani owners parked in long arcs on the Wynn golf course. Bugatti, meanwhile, also arrived en masse to celebrate twenty years since the iconic Veyron ushered in the era of hypercars in 2005. Bugatti President Christophe Piochon flew to Las Vegas for the Concours and explained why the company sees these types of opportunities 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 today we have the whole generation of modern Bugatti present, from the first Veyrons to the Tourbillon, the Mistral, everything.”
“This is 20 years of Veyron,” added Piochon, “And broadly you could look at a lot of the hypercars and supercars here and say, the Veyron influenced all of them….”
Viewing the hundreds of Lamborghinis almost felt like an entirely separate event, spanning from multiple Miuras to modern Venenos, Revueltos, Sterratos – even a Cummins-swapped LM002 “Rambo Lambo” on display. But all the classics in the Concours’ jury class still took center stage, with the highlight being pre-war Mercedes-Benzes, one of which was a former Best in Show winner of the Pebble Beach Concours, through to Rolls-Royces, Packards and Duesenbergs. The Golden Age of Hollywood was also on display, including a Jaguar XKSS and Porsche Speedster previously owned by Steve McQueen and brought to the Wynn by 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 a strong field.
Of course, motorsports fit into the mix, including a 1988 Porsche 962C from Dempsey Motorsport and several current-era Red Bull Formula 1 cars. McLaren showed off the company’s new Project Endurance prototype, a factory-supported customer racing program that allows twelve days a year of driving in the LDMh class. And a wide range of restomod firms in attendance included Singer, Gunther Werks, Rezvani and HWA, the latter of which brought the fifth prototype of its 190E 2.5-16 Evo II project, the first to arrive in the United States as a proof of concept from AMG co-founder Hans Werner Aufrecht, who himself flew in from Germany to join the festivities. Rolls-Royce also debuted a Phantom Centenary in honor of the 100th anniversary of the world’s most iconic luxury sedan, featuring a gold ‘Spirit of Ecstasy’, along with laser-etched front seat upholstery, a unique Starlight Headliner motif and the most intricate woodwork ever used for the door panels of a Rolls-Royce.
But more important than the spectacular size of the cars on display at the Wynn Concours, the weekend also provided multiple opportunities for participants to drive – and for the public to witness these rolling works of art actually in motion. The usual Wynn Concours parade along the Las Vegas strip kicked off on Sunday morning, along part of the F1 Grand Prix circuit, already in preparation for later in November. Horacio Pagani chose a route for Pagani owners to the 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 circuit, always a notable location on the side of the 15 Freeway as you drive in from Los Angeles.
While certain elements of the Wynn Concours reflect similarities to Pebble Beach, Villa d’Este, Along with other events including Moda Miami, The Bridge and Amelia Island, the convenience factor of Las Vegas really helps make this show something special on the automotive calendar. And the Wynn hopes to purposefully appeal to every generation of car enthusiasts, from the pre-war collector to millennials who love modified “Rad” era cars. Hagerty’s Broad Arrow Auction included a Veyron, a 300 SL Roadster and an Aston Martin DB5. And for those visitors who might want to enjoy a few days of revelry in Vegas, plenty of entertainment venues can certainly match or even surpass the flashy, graceful and performative nature of the concours cars.
Images: Michael Van Runkle
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