25 of the best classic car events in 2025

A classic car fan’s guide to 2025

The classic car world is a broad church, and that’s reflected in the hundreds of big- and small-scale events that take place around the world every year.

There’s plenty to get excited about in 2025: the return of the biennial Le Mans Classic and Roger Albert Clark Rally, the 73rd Pebble Beach concours and a revamped Retro Rides Gathering for fans of modern classics.

As well as old favourites, including the near-130-year-old London to Brighton run, there are new events, too: the first John Haynes Classic will celebrate 40 years since the late author opened his eponymous museum in Somerset, UK.

All these and more feature in our list of some of this year’s top classic car events. Enjoy!

For more inspiration, check out our regularly updated events calendar, here.

1. Rétromobile

When: 5-9 February

Where: Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, Paris, France

This huge Parisian show (a record-breaking 130,000-plus visitors attended last year’s edition) returns for its 49th running in February.

Rétromobile attracts hundreds of manufacturers, clubs, dealers, auction houses, restorers and more to the French capital.

This year, DS Automobiles has teamed up with chandelier and lighting specialist Mathieu to create an eye-catching display that celebrates 70 years of the Citroën DS.

For full details, click here

2. Techno-Classica Essen

When: 9-13 April

Where: Messe Essen, Essen, Germany

Spread across eight halls and two outdoor areas, Techno-Classica Essen – Germany’s flagship indoor classic car show – is back in April.

Lots of marque-specific clubs bring along rare and unusual machines; expect more than 2700 vehicles in total.

There are awards up for grabs, too: the Club Grand Prix for the top enthusiast stands and the FIVA Concours d’Elegance.

Last year, the Best of Show trophy went to a Maserati 5000GT owned by ex-Fiat boss Gianni Agnelli. 

For full details, click here

3. Goodwood Members’ Meeting

When: 12-13 April

Where: Goodwood Motor Circuit, West Sussex, UK

Since its comeback in 2014, the Goodwood Members’ Meeting has kicked off the West Sussex circuit’s racing calendar with an event that recalls the BARC Members’ Meetings that were held there in the 1950s and ’60s.

Smaller and more relaxed than September’s Revival meeting, tickets are only available for Goodwood Road Racing Club (GRRC) or Fellowship members.

Alongside Edwardian cars, ’60s sports-racing prototypes, ’70s tin-tops and more, this year’s gathering will also include a GT3-car shootout, with supercar-based racers from 2006 to 2012.

For full details, click here

4. Drive It Day

When: 27 April

Where: various locations, UK

This annual initiative by the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs encourages enthusiasts to take to the road in their much-loved machines, from cars and ’bikes to tractors and commercial vehicles.

Drive It Day is predominantly a UK-based event, but there’s no stopping classic car owners across the world from getting involved.

However you choose to celebrate – whether it’s with friends, family, your local car club, at an event or a drive on your own – make sure to get a commemorative Drive It Day plate to help raise money for the charity NSPCC Childline.

For full details, click here

5. Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este

When: 23-25 May

Where: Villa d’Este, Cernobbio, Italy

The Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este assembles 50 showstopping classic cars outside a 16th-century villa on the shores of Lake Como.

And if that’s not enough for you, there’s also a larger gathering of concours machines on show at the neighbouring Villa Erba across the weekend.

A 1932 Alfa Romeo 8C-2300 was awarded with the Best of Show trophy at last year’s edition.

For full details, click here

6. Classic Stony

When: 1 June

Where: Stony Stratford, Buckinghamshire, UK

In June, the historic market town of Stony Stratford will be filled with historic vehicles.

Classic Stony is a relaxed, free-to-attend event, but donations to the show’s chosen charity, the Willen Hospice, are welcome.

You can display your pre-1999 vehicle from £5.

If you want to get more involved, the organisers are searching for volunteer marshals to help out on the day.

For full details, click here

7. London Concours

When: 3-5 June

Where: Honourable Artillery Company Headquarters, London, UK

A three-day garden party in the heart of the British capital, London Concours is a city-centre show that packs a lot into a relatively tight space.

Wandering around the Honourable Artillery Company’s site, you’ll find one-off oddballs – the amphibious TVR Scamander and Merlin-engined The Beast were among last year’s curiosities – dotted between the traditional concours classic cars.

Each day has a special theme, too. In 2025, Tuesday 3 June will pay tribute to Aston Martin before Wednesday’s celebration of Mercedes-Benz cars and Thursday’s supercar display.

For full details, click here

8. 1000 Miglia

When: 17-21 June

Where: Brescia, Italy

Starting and finishing in the Italian town of Brescia, the 1000 Miglia regularity rally retraces some of the original routes used in the Mille Miglia road race, which, in its original form, took place from 1927 to 1957.

The five-day rally explores some of the country’s most stunning regions.

More than 400 cars will participate in the drive from Brescia to Rome and back, and there are plenty of opportunities for spectators to watch the crews in action.

For full details, click here

9. Thruxton Retro

When: 21-22 June

Where: Thruxton Circuit, Hampshire, UK

Thruxton Retro, formerly Thruxton Historic, will celebrate motorsport greats of old in June.

Expect single-seaters, GT racers, Touring Cars and more to battle it out on the challenging 2.4-mile circuit.

Lunchtime parade laps will give classic car owners the opportunity to experience driving their car on track.

Don’t forget to check out the club displays, too.

For full details, click here

10. Le Mans Classic

When: 3-6 July

Where: Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France

After 2023’s record-breaking Le Mans Classic, which celebrated 100 years of the 24-hour enduro, the biennial, four-day spectacle will make a welcome return in 2025.

Rather than the modern race’s non-stop, round-the-clock challenge, the 800-plus cars that compete at the Le Mans Classic are split into six age-related grids and take part in three races during a 24-hour period.

If you’ve never been before, it’s definitely one to add to your bucket list.

For full details, click here

11. Goodwood Festival of Speed

When: 10-13 July

Where: Goodwood Estate, West Sussex, UK

For one weekend every summer, the lane that passes the Duke of Richmond’s 17th-century country house is transformed into a 1.16-mile hillclimb for some of the world’s most stunning cars, both old and new.

This year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed theme, ‘The Winning Formula’, will commemorate 75 years of Formula One.

If you’re going, don’t miss the Cartier Style et Luxe classic car concours and the forest rally stage, too.

For full details, click here

12. Classic Nostalgia

When: 19-20 July

Where: Shelsley Walsh Hill Climb, Worcestershire, UK

Shelsley Walsh Hill Climb is the world’s oldest motorsport venue, and surely one of the most picturesque, too.

Classic Nostalgia is an opportunity to experience the sights and sounds of the track’s past, with competitive runs up the 1000-yard hillclimb.

On 20 July, those arriving in a pre-1985 car can enter the Concours d’Elegance, supported by Classic & Sports Car.

A unique Lanchester LD10 woodie took home Best in Show last year.

For full details, click here

13. Festival of the Unexceptional

When: 26 July

Where: Grimsthorpe Castle, Lincolnshire, UK

Following last year’s 10th-anniversary event, Festival of the Unexceptional will return with another celebration of mundane motoring this summer.

Take a trip down memory lane and reminisce about now-forgotten street furniture of the 1960s, ’70s, ’80s and ’90s.

The 2024 winner of the Concours de l’Ordinaire was a 1982 Toyota Hilux that spent most of its working life on a fruit farm.

For full details, click here

14. Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance

When: 17 August

Where: Pebble Beach Golf Links, California, USA

The Pebble Beach concours began as a support act for the Road Races of the same name.

In 1956, American driver Ernie McAfee was killed in a crash and the closed-road competition was abandoned.

The Concours d’Elegance continues to this day, though, and it attracts collectors and enthusiasts from all over the world.

Last year’s winner was a 1934 Bugatti Type 59 Sports.

Expect plenty more rarefied classics to compete for the 2025 Best of Show accolade.

For full details, click here

15. Retro Rides Gathering

When: 17 August

Where: Prescott Speed Hill Climb, Gloucestershire, UK

Retro Rides Gathering moves to Prescott Speed Hill Climb for 2025.

Born from a close-knit internet forum, this is Retro Rides’ original meet-up, although it’s now also spawned the two-day Retro Rides Weekender in May, which takes over Goodwood Motor Circuit for a weekend.

Bring along your pre-2000 classic car.

Expect everything from hot hatches and modified supercars to hot rods and well-loved workhorses. Whatever you drive, you will feel welcome here.

For full details, click here

16. Silverstone Festival

When: 22-24 August

Where: Silverstone Circuit, Northamptonshire, UK

Silverstone Festival is the Northamptonshire circuit’s annual celebration of historic motorsport – and it’s one of the biggest of its kind in the UK.

On August bank-holiday weekend, the home of the British Grand Prix will be filled with 1966-’85 F1 machines, ’80s tin-top legends, ’60s GT cars and more.

Plus, when there’s a break from the on-track action, you can enjoy the live music and food festival.

This year, Group C Le Mans cars will compete in a sunset race on Saturday evening.

For full details, click here

17. Concours of Elegance

When: 5-7 September

Where: Hampton Court Palace, Surrey, UK

Hampton Court Palace’s Great Fountain Garden provides a majestic backdrop for the world-class classic cars that fill it at the end of every summer for Concours of Elegance.

This three-day celebration welcomes more than 500 classics to the Grade I-listed royal palace.

A 1937 Rolls-Royce Phantom III Convertible by Inskip was awarded the Best in Show trophy in 2024. Which car will come out on top this year?

For full details, click here

18. The John Haynes Classic

When: 7 September

Where: Haynes Motor Museum, Somerset, UK

The first John Haynes Classic will take place in September.

Named after the museum’s late founder and creator of Haynes manuals, this new event will celebrate classic cars and DiY mechanics.

There will be hundreds of two- and four-wheeled vehicles in the Car Club Arena plus talks, debates and live music in the Live Show Paddock, and workshops in the Discovery Zone.

For full details, click here

19. Goodwood Revival

When: 12-14 September

Where: Goodwood Motor Circuit, West Sussex, UK

Grab your bell-bottom trousers, berets, Bakelite brooches and tweed jackets. It’s time for the Goodwood Revival.

The racing is spectacular. Hundreds of classic cars piloted by star drivers will battle it out across the weekend.

This celebration of pre-1966 motorsport is about much more than the on-track action, though: Goodwood travels back in time with stunning decorations and themed displays.

In 2024, the Revival also became the first event of its kind to mandate sustainable fuels.

For full details, click here

20. Spa Six Hours

When: 25-27 September

Where: Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot, Belgium

Classic cars will take on Belgium’s legendary 4.352-mile circuit in a six-hour endurance race in September.

The Spa Six Hours competition starts on Saturday afternoon and goes on into the evening.

There are various support races across the weekend, plus a track day on 28 September if you’d like to experience the historic circuit in your own car.

For full details, click here

21. October Scramble

When: 5 October

Where: Bicester Heritage, Oxfordshire, UK

Following January’s season-opener and April’s Drive It Day meeting, Bicester Heritage’s third and final Scramble of 2025 will take place in October.

Up to 10,000 enthusiasts gather at the former RAF base and many of the site’s 50-plus classic-car specialists open their doors, too.

Expect everything from 1990s Renault Twingos to pre-war Bugattis.

For full details, click here

22. Classic Expo

When: 17-19 October

Where: Messezentrum Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria

This huge, three-day classic car celebration in Salzburg, Austria, celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2025.

Classic Expo takes over 10 halls of the city’s exhibition centre, welcoming 350 exhibitors, including clubs, dealers and private collectors.

Expect special displays to commemorate some of this year’s motoring milestones, a live stage and an auction.

For full details, click here

23. London to Brighton Veteran Car Run

When: 2 November

Where: from Hyde Park in London to Brighton seafront, UK

Hundreds of pre-1905 vehicles will trundle from Hyde Park in London to Madeira Drive in Brighton for the 129th edition of the London to Brighton run.

It began in 1896, when the Red Flag Act – which forced motorised vehicles to stick to a 4mph speed limit – was scrapped.

If you’re up early, you can see the cars leave the startline from dawn.

Alternatively, you could spot them en route to Brighton or cheer them on as they arrive at Madeira Drive.

For full details, click here

24. Classic Motor Show

When: 7-9 November

Where: The NEC, Birmingham, UK

If you’d rather not be outside in the UK in November, then how about a trip to the Classic Motor Show, the country’s biggest indoor classic car event?

About 300 clubs and more than 3000 classic vehicles are spread across eight huge exhibition halls. There’s plenty to see – be sure to wear comfy shoes!

On top of that, there are live stages, a vast trade area, an autojumble, an auction and more. 

For full details, click here

25. Roger Albert Clark Rally

When: 20-24 November

Where: England, Scotland and Wales, UK

The RAC Rally was a fearsome test for cars, drivers, co-drivers and engineers.

The biennial Roger Albert Clark Rally retraces some of the original event’s routes with 30-plus stages through Scotland, England and Wales.

The five-day challenge will be contested by up to 180 classic rally cars. Monday’s finale will be a 40-mile epic through the Kielder Forest.

For full details, click here

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