The Royal Automobile Club Concours returns for 2026 with a new auction partner – RM Sotheby’s – and a wide-ranging selection of classes.
The event is due to take place at the club’s Woodcote Park estate in Surrey on Wednesday, July 8. RM Sotheby’s will be hosting its annual UK summer sale there, and you can find more about two of the cars already entered in a moment. The Royal Automobile Club Concours had a successful start in 2025 – you can read Magneto editor David Lillywhite’s take here.
Tickets are available to purchase by RAC members, while members of certain clubs and motoring organisations are invited, too – including the Aston Martin Owners Club, British Racing Drivers’ Club, Brooklands Museum Trust, Lamborghini Club UK, Ferrari Owners’ Club, Guild of Motoring Writers, Motorsport UK and Vintage Sports-Car Club.
The Royal Automobile Club Concours 2026 will include several themed displays reflecting different aspects of motoring history. One focuses on the extravagant Edwardian era, with limousines and landaulettes illustrating the opulence associated with early motoring before World War One. Another display highlights the career of British adventurer and record-breaker Sir Henry Segrave, recognising his achievements in both motor racing and Land Speed Records, as well as his connection to the Royal Automobile Club.
The Royal Automobile Club Concours 2026 programme also marks the centenary of the Royal Automobile Club’s Grand Prix, Britain’s first GP event, which took place at Brooklands in 1926. Alongside this, the historic merger of Mercedes and Benz in the same year will be recognised, marking the formation of the Mercedes-Benz marque.
Two further anniversaries will be acknowledged in a joint display marking 120 years of both Lancia and Lagonda. Finally, a selection of cars from the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust will illustrate 130 years of Daimler’s history in Britain, drawing on vehicles rarely seen outside the collection.
A further Royal Automobile Club Concours 2026 display will focus on shooting brakes, while another centres on contenders for the Woodcote Trophy, bringing together well preserved road-going sports and sports-racing machinery built before 1956. An additional class looks at notable pre-war cars distinguished by distinctive coachwork and decorative mascots. Performance road cars fitted with prominent rear spoilers will also be represented, focusing on factory-built models where aerodynamic aids became a defining feature of the design.
The programme also includes models associated with the Targa Florio, through either participation in the original Sicilian road race or eligibility for modern re-enactments of the event. Another group brings together cars from different eras that share one defining feature: the use of a V12 engine.
RM Sotheby’s has so far announced two cars for the Royal Automobile Club Concours sale. There’s the 1950 Bentley 3-4½ Litre ‘Special’ Tourer in the style of Vanden Plas pictured above, estimated at £180k-£220k, and a 1930 Lagonda 3 Litre Tourer, available at no reserve and estimated at between £60k and £80k. No further details on the cars are available at the time of writing.
More details on the Royal Automobile Club Concours 2026 can be found here.
