The Concours Club – a private motor sports resort in Miami, Florida, that “blends high-performance driving with unparalleled luxury and impeccable service” – has been on our radar for a while. Recently, we had the pleasure of shooting the very special Ferrari SC40 for Magneto issue 30 at the impressive facility, and so the timing seemed ideal to dig a little deeper.
Constructed alongside the Miami-Opa Locka airport, The Concours Club comprises a restaurant, bar and lounges, the superb Pininfarina-designed Event Campus, a world-class configurable driving circuit, an irrigated skid pad, shared and private vehicle storage, a fleet of factory-built BMW race cars, service and detailing centres, refuelling and charging stations, plus padel and pickleball courts. With dedicated concierge services and a dynamic calendar of cultural, social and automotive events, The Concours Club appears to be as much about luxury hospitality as it is about on-track thrills.
Just how did this fascinating automotive resort come to be? Its president, Aaron Weiss, tells us the initial impetus came entirely from the club’s owner and founder, Neil Gehani: “Neil is a legit car guy who grew up in Detroit checking the mailbox for the latest issue of Autoweek. He’s a very competent driver who has won a whole series of amateur championships, all while running a few incredibly successful businesses.”
Gehani, a formidable real-estate developer based in Chicago, was an early member at the Autobahn Country Club in Joliet, Illinois. There’s no doubt that shipping his cars down to Florida and back to escape the Chicago winters helped germinate a vision for a motor sports country club in the Sunshine State.
Weiss’s own extensive background in race-track management – starting the Palm Beach Driving Club, and serving as president and COO of Moroso Motorsports Park in Florida and executive vice-president of New York’s Monticello Motor Club in New York – placed him in pole position to run with Gehani’s vision.
“I had experience in adding a luxury element and running a race track as a country club, so I knew the space quite well,” Aaron explains. “Neil, however, took it to another level. He very specifically said: ‘I need a location no more than 30 minutes from the city core.’ Typically, in our business, that doesn’t happen.”
As new race tracks tend to require large swathes of real estate, they end up being built on less costly land hours away from city centres. It makes them more viable but also less accessible. Race tracks created from decommissioned airfields are similar in that airfields were never built close to cities, for obvious reasons. Regardless, Gehani insisted.
“I think Neil understood very early on that our utilisation would be different, that we were building a country club and a resort first, and that the location was absolutely critical,” explains Weiss. “When you’re a country club first and foremost, it’s not just about racing cars.”
A mere 18 miles from the city centre, the club’s location really is its signature USP. “Our positioning allows members to stop by for lunch, or to take a business meeting, or to bring friends and family for a few hot laps of the track. It has allowed us to foster an incredibly tight community, with the common denominator being a love of automobilia.”
Weiss pinpoints other unique aspects, too. “I believe we’re the only motor sport facility that operates a full-time restaurant, with hours completely independent from those of the course.” The restaurant, Verge, which incorporates a sumptuously appointed members’ lounge, is steered by five-time Miami Chef of the Year Brad Kilgore. The fare on offer to the club’s ultra-high-net-worth clientele is described as a modern, comforting and inventive interpretation of sophisticated American cuisine. No, that’s not code for ‘deconstructed burger’.
“I believe we’re also still the only motor sport facility in the world staffing a full-time master sommelier.” Weiss is referring to Dan Pilkey, who, as you’d imagine, oversees the club’s wine and spirits programme and pairing selections. He also hosts exclusive tasting experiences and leads the club’s wine-subscription programme. “We have members who come out to attend dinners, collect wine and meet with Dan. Some are doing that far more often than they’re driving on the race track,” says Aaron.
Another key element is what the club calls Auto Lofts. These are quite apart from the facility’s shared storage. As Weiss explains: “They’re so much more than a garage or a storage warehouse; they’re basically personal auto museums.”
Phase one comprised 41 units, each measuring 3200 square feet, which Aaron informs us were all leased out in short order: “The uptake was incredible.” Used purely as display space, they’ll take eight to 12 cars, or as many as 15 if they’re all older, typically smaller classics. Most of the units, though, have been specified with a hybrid configuration – part storage, part service, part hospitality. “I think that’s a very unique usage, but one that really suits the Miami market quite well,” says Weiss.
“Of course, we also do individual car storage for our members, with a full service centre on site as well. Some leave a vehicle with us in shared storage just because it’s a track-day tool rather than a personal museum car.”
Talking of classic cars in storage seems a good time to ask for Aaron’s thoughts on the current market. “I’ve seen a huge resurgence of analogue cars from that 1988 to 1999 window, particularly anything with three pedals. I mean, multiple members buying original NSXs and dumping the new version. F40s are becoming more interesting than trying to get an F80. Measuring a car by its 0-60 time is no longer relevant. To a lot of guys, speed doesn’t matter. They want to feel connected to the car, to have a part in the output. To a large degree, the booming restomod culture speaks to the same exact thing. I think we’re going to continue to see that.”
Asked about the size of The Concours Club community, Aaron says: “Our country club culture is based in both food and family, so all of our memberships also include family usage. Even then it’s still quite small, and our intention is to keep it that way. Operational agility is crucial to us, and one of the best ways to maintain that is to keep the membership small.”
Cars, fine cuisine, wine and family – sounds like heaven to us. It’s a heaven built around the club’s exceptional facilities, but also around a carefully curated set of experiences. It’s here where Aaron’s passion for events – “creating wow moments” – comes into play, from inventively themed dinners (Buenos Aires steakhouse? Yes, please) and Best of the Best wine-tasting evenings, all the way to the club’s signature Concours Cup, which sees members battle it out in factory-built BMW M2 CS Racing cars.
“We run a seven-race series now. Six take place at the club, but the season opens with a travel race. [Austin’s Circuit of the Americas being the most recent example]. Next season, we kick off at the Brickyard, Indianapolis Motor Speedway,” spills Weiss, before quickly checking with his team if that’s good for public release yet. It is.
As Aaron outlines the event prep, you quickly realise these races are no ordinary club meets. The production level is off the charts. With cameras everywhere (operated by the team who capture the auxiliary television footage for the Miami Dolphins, no less), a full build-out AV set with Jumbotrons, an IMSA race director and revered race announcer Greg Creamer, it’s a full broadcast.
Outside of the track action, there’s music, themed food and an open bar for members and their invited guests. Racing simulators, vintage video games, billiard tables and air hockey, plus a kids’ village, add to the vibe. “I believe we’re also the only motor sport facility in the world that owns its own bounce house and inflatable go-kart track,” adds Aaron. “The entire show is there to entertain the whole family, but also to make our drivers feel like heroes when they’re racing. We always include a guest pro driver, too, although they don’t affect the championship.” To date, members have had the opportunity to race against Hélio Castroneves, Felipe Massa and Romain Grosjean. Aaron tells us that he’s lined up Johnny Herbert for the coming season.
Other signature annual events include the Porsche-themed Flat Six Fest – think 40 Ruf cars on the track at the same time, or a downtown Le Mans set built to celebrate the brand’s 19 wins at La Sarthe, complete with huge prints of life-sized fans and a couple of cars with genuine 24 Hours history loaned from the Revs Institute parked in front.
Then there’s Arte Veloce. Built around art and speed, with a focus usually on Italian cars, the event typically takes place on the Thursday night before the Art Basel Miami Beach weekend. The most recent edition featured Dallara in partnership with Jeffrey Einhorn and the team that hosts the legendary The Bridge event every September at the Bridgehampton Race Circuit.
Equally impressive are the club’s activations around the Miami Grand Prix. That whole week is a party, says Aaron. “We build an incredibly decadent multi-floor suite inside Turn 3 every year. We bring our chef, our sommelier and our own announcer. Between 200 and 300 guests attend.”
Weiss admits he’s no fan of a static car show. “Of course our events do have a static element, but we like to include something dynamic, and there has to be a cultural element, too. I had the opportunity to attend the Goodwood Revival, and it was hugely inspirational for me. I really understood the value of cultural immersion, although I’m not sure I could get 800 Americans to show up here in period dress.
“I’m also always cognisant that members can invite friends who’re maybe not car guys, and that one of them could bring a kid along who might look at the cars around here and have the same feeling I had standing on the floor of the Jacob Javits Center, staring in disbelief at the Porsche 959. I’ll never forget that. When I can create that moment for somebody else, I really cherish that opportunity.”
Our thanks to The Concours Club management and to Shamin Abas Associates.
More details on The Concours Club can be found here.
