A new location for the Newport event
The 2026 Audrain Newport Concours d'Elegance took place on 4 October at Fort Adams, a landmark coastal fortification in Rhode Island. A. Lange & Söhne, the event's presenting partner, reports that 185 vehicles competed for honours and that the number of cars on the field reached a record for the gathering. The venue provided a striking alternative to a conventional hotel lawn or exhibition hall.
Fort Adams also has a particular relationship with the sea and the history of Newport, which once hosted the America's Cup. Placing fine automobiles against that setting gives the event appeal beyond the immediate collecting community. Visitors experience historic engineering in an environment with its own architectural and maritime story.
A Delahaye takes the top honour
The Vanderbilt Cup for Best of Show went to a 1938 Delahaye 165 Figoni et Falaschi Cabriolet from the Pearl Collection. The car's coachbuilt form is a demonstration of how automobile design in the interwar period could combine mechanical purpose and expressive artistry. A. Lange & Söhne CEO Wilhelm Schmid presented the award at the event.
Best of Show is a specific concours judgment, not the outcome of a speed competition. Judges typically consider matters such as condition, historical authenticity and presentation within the event's rules. A beautifully preserved machine can earn attention because of the skill involved in maintaining its original design, rather than through any claim that it would outperform a modern sports car.
The value of a changing concours venue
A concours draws cars out of private collections and invites examination by other enthusiasts. Changing the setting can reveal new relationships between vehicles and architecture, particularly when a public historic site becomes part of the event. It may also encourage people to attend who would not travel to a more remote collector gathering.
Organisers must accommodate the particular needs of fragile cars, from transport and weather protection to secure movement between display areas. Those practical demands are often invisible to visitors, but they are part of the professionalism of a major concours. The success of a new venue depends on combining a memorable atmosphere with thoughtful handling of the vehicles.
Why a watchmaker is involved
A. Lange & Söhne has supported the Audrain event for four years and also maintains relationships with significant European concours events, including Villa d'Este and Hampton Court. The company links its watchmaking heritage to automotive craftsmanship, making an argument about sustained attention to detail rather than presenting its watches as components of the displayed cars.
Wilhelm Schmid also presented awards in the Thirty Under Thirty and Timeless Luxury categories, recognising several forms of participation in the collecting world. Younger owners and restorers can help sustain the skills necessary to maintain historic machines. A concours that pays attention to future generations has a stronger long-term purpose than simply assembling the most expensive vehicles.
Chronograph engineering meets coachbuilding
At Fort Adams, Lange showed examples from its chronograph portfolio, including the DATOGRAPH and TRIPLE SPLIT in 950 platinum. The latter can measure intermediate and comparative elapsed times extending to twelve hours, a highly specialised mechanical capability. The watchmaker also offered a live demonstration by an engraver from its Glashütte manufacture.
These displays make technical craft visible to an audience already interested in precision. A hand-engraved balance cock and a carefully restored coachbuilt panel are not identical objects, but both require close control of tools and materials. The connection becomes more interesting when a visitor can examine the work and ask questions rather than merely see a sponsorship logo.
What the 2026 gathering demonstrated
The verified outcome is an October event with 185 competing cars, a new Fort Adams setting, the Delahaye Best of Show and a programme connecting collecting with watchmaking. It would be inaccurate to describe the forthcoming 2027 edition or invent additional prize winners not listed in the source. The event's published results provide sufficient material for an account of the 2026 gathering.
For luxury-motoring readers, Audrain illustrates how heritage vehicles remain relevant through preservation, craftsmanship and public encounters. Their historical stories may be as compelling as their appearance. The event also shows why coastal cities such as Newport can provide an evocative setting for automotive design.
