The pinnacle of originality... SAAC National Concours Judging

The SAAC Concours is where the best of the best Shelby American cars are put under the lens. Judged on originality and presentation, it is the club's way of recognizing the cars that most faithfully represent how they left the factory, and of keeping that standard alive for future generations of owners.

What Is Concours Judging?

A concours is not a typical car show. Rather than voting on which car looks the coolest, trained judges evaluate each entry against a common written standard, examining the car as it was originally built, not how it looked weeks or months after it was put into service. Parts, finishes, markings and details are checked for authenticity, and the car is also assessed on overall condition and presentation.

Classes

Entries are grouped by the guidelines into classes so cars compete against their peers. Current classes include:

•         Cobras

•         Shelbys (GT350 and GT500 Mustangs)

•         Competition Cars

•         Tigers, the Sunbeams engineered by Carroll Shelby

•         Bosses, the Ford street derivatives of the Trans-Am Mustang race cars developed by Shelby American

•         Ford GT, the newest addition, which joined the concours at SAAC-50 in Sonoma as the cars reached eligibility

Cars that have survived in largely unrestored, original condition are valued for exactly that. Survivors are reviewed on authenticity alone and judged differently from restored cars, so that their hard-won originality is preserved and recognized.

SAAC's concours focuses on the cars of Shelby American and their direct relatives. Other Mustangs and Ford-powered cars outside those families are not part of the National concours.

How Cars Are Scored

SAAC uses minimum scoring standards for each award level. This sets a fixed base of perfection that a car must reach to earn an award, instead of ranking cars only against each other. Outstanding examples are recognized at National SAAC events.

Who Can Enter

To compete in the Concours at a National Convention, you must:

•         Be a current SAAC National member

•         Be a registered participant at the convention

•         Pre-register in a Concours division

•         Have your car verified by the SAAC Concours Committee before you register

•         Enter the car in the owner's name (not the restoration shop's)

Cars must be complete and authentic, and are driven onto the concours field.