The Wild Card on My Wrist at the Las Vegas Concours

In a few short years the Las Vegas Concours has, against all dice-rolling odds, become a desirable stop among the traveling circus of global car shows. Building an entertainment oasis in the middle of the desert from nothing was peak American exceptionalism, and it took a similarly brazen act to challenge mainstays like Villa d’Este and Pebble Beach, destination events that have been thriving for decades.

In gloriously eclectic Vegas style, Rolls-Royce and McLaren invited me to attend the concours and bookend the proceedings with two dramatically diverse driving experiences. I brought a Tudor Black Bay 58 along for the ride. Its burgundy dial, introduced in 2025, was inspired by a 1990s Tudor dive-watch prototype that never went into production, and together with the matching bezel and five-link steel bracelet it brought a splash of color to the proceedings. But did this versatile dive watch with a modest 39mm case have what it takes to keep up with the outer fringes of automotive ultraluxury? I strapped up and buckled in to find out.

My outbound ride was the freshly released 2027 Rolls-Royce Spectre Series II, a maximalist EV coupe that tips the scales at over three tons and costs around a half-mil. As graceful as it looks, it takes an awkward backward shuffle to get around the Spectre’s massive, reverse-hinged doors before settling into this land yacht’s ponderous perch. Despite the vehicular pomp and circumstance, my borrowed Black Bay single-handedly undid some of the big-bodied high-roller’s social bravado. “That guy must be a baller,” an onlooker might think, then zoom in on the Tudor on my wrist, a stylistically understated timepiece that rings in at less than Rolls’ $7,300 premium for brindled walnut trim. The onlooker is probably wondering what kind of driver pairs a Spectre with a Tudor, but my little socioeconomic experiment offered me the privilege of finding out. For what it’s worth, my Spectre loaner was spec’d with an MSRP of $510,550.

There’s a bit of brightwork in the cabin between the so-called eyeball vents, door handle trim and key switches that balances the traditional wood veneer, leather, and bare metal accents. The Tudor’s finely polished and satin-brushed surfaces are considerably more understated than the car interior, but nonetheless the timepiece brings a high level of quality, fit and finish that never feels inferior against the Rolls’ stellar cabin appointments.

With the Black Bay on my wrist I left La Jolla for Las Vegas, only to learn that my wife, who had planned on flying from Burbank to meet me in Vegas, was facing flight delays due to weather. With her weekend at risk, I decided to double back to Burbank and pick her up, adding at least three hours to the drive.

The Spectre was a salve for the air travel indignities. Not only is the endless dash-to-axle proportion regal, but swinging its massive passenger door open at the Hollywood Burbank Airport revealed a lavish interior in which porcelain cowhides bask in the glow of the so-called starlight headliner, pinpricks of soft light emanating from above. After a brief stop for food we sped silently into the night.

Spectre claims a 16 percent increase in range over the first edition, for a total EPA estimate of 308 miles. With a door-to-door total distance of 425 miles since my overnight charge in La Jolla, the onboard GPS suggested I stop at the Tesla Supercharger station in Barstow where I could plug in with the new NACS connector. A drive like this is usually a slog. But in the hushed silence of the Roller, bathed under a mini-galaxy of fiber-optic stars while getting back massages from the commodious seats, the drive became a refreshing opportunity to catch up and slow down. The Black Bay was similarly comfortable on my wrist, offering a low-key alternative to the Rolex President and Daytona types we’re used to seeing in such steeds. We arrived at Tesla’s Supercharger in Barstow at 9:59 p.m. and plugged in, the perfect opportunity for me to leave my phone in the car, breathe some fresh air, and check the passing time on the Tudor under the LED lights. Nineteen minutes and 39 bucks later, we were off to the Wynn Las Vegas, arriving at half past midnight with 12 percent charge remaining. After some 10 hours behind the wheel I was certainly ready for bed, though I can’t remember the last time spending so many hours in a car didn’t beat me up.

The Roller was soothing, but perhaps a tad too calming— as I handed it over to the Wynn valet I dropped my phone flat onto the pavement, killing the screen in the process. The convenience of an Apple Store that happened to be across the street meant same-day screen replacement the following morning. Interestingly, the hours without my iPhone might have offered the weekend’s biggest revelation. Being phoneless forced my interaction with the tiny mechanical wonder strapped to my wrist. It didn’t automatically shift with the daylight saving time change, but it did remind me of exactly what I’ve always loved about beautiful cars. That miniaturized movement might as well be a metaphor for every powerplant on the show field, a symbol of doing things the hard, but rewarding way.

Given all that can go wrong with an ultra-high-end car show, the fifth edition of the Vegas Concours still felt more like a wild card than a sure shot, and that rang eerily true when a freak hailstorm showered the show field on the eve of the event. After a phalanx of workers swept the field with air blowers, Mother Nature delivered a picture-perfect sunny day as no fewer than 10 McLaren F1s, 25 Porsche Carrera GTs, 40 Paganis and 17 Bugattis dotted the Wynn golf course. The Black Bay felt natural in this exotic-soaked environment, its honest construction and clear-headed design aligning with less fussy show cars like the Mercedes-Benz Pagoda SL and early Porsche 911. 

The string of grail McLaren F1s flanked by a slew of GT1 racecars became the belles of the ball. Vintage was also well represented though perhaps not as buzzy as the hypercars, with the pre-war Best of Show award going to the Nethercutt Collection’s 1933 Hispano-Suiza J12. The post-war prize went to Thomas Peck’s 1954 Ferrari 375 MM Ghia, with outliers like The Caretaker’s Collection’s Luigi Colani Collection mixing things up to whimsical effect.

Notable hypercar unveils included the global debut of the Cavën Atelier HOMMAGE 26, which repurposes 25 first-gen Lamborghini Gallardos to recreate the 1995 Calà concept car which was designed by Fabrizio Giugiaro. The Italian designer gave me a walkaround of the unique features and flush details that differentiated his original concept when it bowed back in the day. “We reinterpreted the Gallardo in a new direction, without losing the spirit of the main lines,” he explained, adding that smoother surfacing yielded better aerodynamics. Creative Director Blazej Zulawski said he tested the new carbon fiber-bodied prototype at the Ascari Circuit in southern Spain “with a fire extinguisher between my legs.” He attested that the novel rear window operates at speed, enabling the 5.0-liter, 8,500 rpm V10’s sounds to flood the cabin even more completely.

Czinger leveraged the weekend as an opportunity for a customer track day at the Spring Mountain circuit and two new client car deliveries. Featured on the show stand was its new 21C Spyder, an open-air reiteration of the Los Angeles-built hypercar that features its proprietary BioLogic manufacturing technique that uses algorithmic generative design and additive manufacturing to optimize weight and structural rigidity. CEO and co-founder Lukas Czinger said, “We started the car business after we developed the technology in the manufacturing business; it wasn’t that we just dreamed up a car, it was that we had a whole new process for engineering and building a car.” 

Boutique builder Eccentrica showed off its Lamborghini Diablo restomod finished in a slick exposed carbon fiber body. The restomod boasts 100 fewer pounds of weight and 55 more horsepower. While its latest roadster model was not on hand, co-founder and Executive Director Andrea Colombo said the display car represents the depths of engineering required to meet today’s homologation standards. The tightening rules about Montana registrations led the client, who’s based in Los Angeles, to create a car that met California’s stringent smog standards.

Bugatti operates on a larger, yet still intimate scale, and Chief Commercial Officer Hendrik Malinowski said he views the Vegas Concours as a fitting backdrop for clients and fans.

“[Bugatti] is French luxury and it’s about the experiences; it’s small, it’s rare, it’s unique. Ours is a community of like-minded people. They have arrived, and they have nothing to prove. They want to be relaxed and mingle with like-minded people and drive their cars.” Last year’s concours saw a record assembly of 47 Veyrons on the occasion of the model’s 20th anniversary. This year’s show stand featured the Destrier, a stunning one-off that shows what happens when bespoke design meets a rumored $20+ million budget. 

McLaren dropped cover on the McL 6GT, the upcoming supercar that pays homage to Bruce McLaren’s road car and boasts a manual transmission, the brand’s first since 1992’s F1. Jonathan Simms, Head of McLaren Special Operations, emphasized that the brand experience has always been about people. “McLaren is all about driving the cars, enjoying the cars, and the sense of community around them. That’s what we love about how our clients engage with the brand and how they use the cars.”

To that point, I set an early alarm to immerse in the client experience with a group of enthusiastic owners. I was assigned a McLaren Senna for the drive to Hoover Dam, and settling into the spoilered supercar took me way back to 2018 when I piloted it at the media launch at the Estoril Circuit. Pulling out of the Wynn in pre-dawn light with a cavalcade of exotica including the wild P1 GTR, Sabre and Elva felt momentous. 

The sprawling desert and gold-rimmed sky were epic visuals; even punchier were the Senna’s lively dynamics, from its high-revving twin-turbocharged V8 to its lower door windows which offer a motorcycle-like view of the road. My return drive in a 765LT Spider offered a different kind of novelty, with its aggressive throttle response and tight handling. Though the Senna feels more special, the 765 maintains a massive street presence thanks to its aggressively sculpted curves, vents, and intakes. In this high-performing environment the Tudor’s tool-watch role predominates, its clear at-a-glance instrumentation complementing the functionality of the McLaren’s workspace. 

Switching to a Rolls-Royce Cullinan for the drive back to LA bookended the weekend with a V12-powered alternative to the torquey, low-slung Spectre that kicked off the journey. The Cullinan’s more upright cabin split the difference between the space-age McLarens and the wood- and leather-lined Spectre, offering a more livable, accommodating space for five passengers and luggage. In this environment the Black Bay proved its status as a watch versatile enough to tie together the fascinating throughlines of my weekend in Vegas. It is these unexpected juxtapositions and embrace of variety (classics, concepts and hypercars) that make the Vegas Concours a meaningful alternative to the world’s usual car events.

The purpose of Go Do Something is to wear a watch through a real experience and see how it holds up. The watch was loaned by Tudor for this column.