Event
What began in 2010 as a classic car rally among friends has grown into one of Europe's more considered automotive gatherings. The Zoute Grand Prix transforms Knokke-Heist into a five-day event where over 900 cars move past Art Deco villas, through the town centre and along the long sandy beach that defines the resort's character. The founders, brothers Filip and David Bourgoo, started by displaying a single car in front of the Louis Vuitton boutique. Now close to twenty premium manufacturers present their latest models here.
The programme runs four parallel formats. The Zoute Rally takes pre-war and classic machines on a three-day tour through the Belgian countryside. The GT Tour offers modern grand tourers the same treatment. The Iconic Rally, added for cars built between 1976 and 2005, gives Ferrari F40s, Lamborghini Countachs and their contemporaries a dedicated programme. The Concours d'Élégance unfolds on the grounds of Approach Golf, where fifty cars compete for Best of Show across nine categories.
The Gallery is an 11,000-square-metre beach pavilion erected on the sand in front of Albertplein. Inside sit the auction lots for the Zoute Sale by Bonhams, which has become one of their most significant European sales, regularly exceeding €20 million. The manufacturer display area runs alongside, with Belgian and European premieres from Bentley, Ferrari, Rolls-Royce and others presented in the same space.
Knokke-Heist is in the far northwest of Belgium, close to the Dutch border. The train station and coastal tram terminus are within walking distance of the seafront, making arrival without a car straightforward. For those driving, the E40 from Brussels takes around an hour and a half, and the coast road from De Panne to Knokke is a reasonable addition if the weather cooperates.
