The Copperstate 1000 is an annual four-day, 1,000-mile, vintage car rally in Arizona. Each year, upwards of 90 vehicles gather for drives through Arizona’s mountains and deserts. Along with the event’s “main attraction” (click here to read Diego Rosenberg’s story and see the cars in attendance) the Copperstate 1000 also creates opportunities for pop-up-style enthusiast events as an ancillary bonus.
The rally was first established in 1990 and is organized by the Men’s Art Council to benefit the Phoenix Art Museum. Bell Lexus North Scottsdale serves as the title sponsor — the website states, “Each year, a new route covers 1,000 miles of beautiful desert terrain, verdant river valley, and alpine landscape throughout the state of Arizona and beyond.” The event is much less a race than a scenic tour.
This year’s Copperstate 1000 was themed around the 100th anniversary of Route 66. Eligibility was limited to 1973-and-older sports, racing, and grand-touring cars (with vehicles from later dates of manufacture were considered on a case-by-case basis). In keeping with the event’s small scale and intended exclusivity, a registration application involves submitting multiple high-resolution photos in order to be considered for participation. It also costs $11,250, which is bound to give a few sticker shock.
A friend of mine attended a send-off event for the rally, held at Tempe Diablo Stadium on Sunday, April 12, 2026. In addition to the participating rally cars which were assembled in preparation for departure, the occasion brought out a large number of collector cars from around the region to the stadium’s parking lot.
Enjoy the below beauties, including this 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 RS.
Porsche 944
Ferrari 348
1970 Oldsmobile 4-4-2
1971 Ford Torino GT
Not to mention, a long lineup of the showroom-worthy classics lining up on the baseball field for departure.
I can imagine the soundtrack was pretty good while all these cars drove past.
Nice 1965 Shelby GT350, the first year for the Shelby Mustang.
And a strong Porsche contingency as always.
The Copperstate 1000 send-off attracted a fine grouping of classics, and we hope all went well for the participating vehicles! By the time the first set of eyes see this article, the cars will already be cooling off from the adventure, so we’re looking forward to seeing some recap photos and hearing all about it.
