First the big news: Yes, Audrain regular Jay Leno invited former US President (and noted Corvette enthusiast) Joe Biden to the 2026 edition of the Audrain Newport Concours & Motor Week, presented by A. Lange & Söhne, last weekend.

In fact, this year’s event focused on Corvette heritage, and Biden brought his vintage Corvette Sting Ray Convertible to exhibit; it won a special Spirit of Audrain Award, too. To spectators, however, the surprise appearance read as fairly low-key, and Biden himself came off as just another enthusiastic car guy at the end of the day.

Focus on Chronography

As we mentioned in our Lange/Audrain preview story ahead of the show, the main stage for the concours relocated to the historic, 227-year-old Fort Adams State Park this year, giving show planners more real estate and the event a deeper sense of historic gravitas.

For watchmaker A. Lange & Söhne, celebrating its fourth year as a show partner, this meant hosting VIPs and mounting exhibits within the walls of the naval fortress, creating an aptly evocative, arched-ceiling “wine cellar” kind of effect for attendees right behind the main concours reviewing platform.

While there was no official novelty release for this show, the watchmaker’s exhibit focused on its expertise in chronographs (a perfectly aligned watch focus for motoring). Could this activation (along with a large-scale model of Lange’s Datograph chronograph in the VIP area) be a hint at something to come? Only time will tell (no pun intended).

However, for even more chronographic goodness, Lange’s Director of Product Development, Anthony De Haas, gave attending watch media a hands-on look at the spectacular, vastly complicated Triple Split chronograph the watchmaker debuted at the Concours of Excellence Hampton Court Palace in the UK earlier this summer.

Along with a hands-on review of the two 1815 Up/Down timepieces that also debuted at the UK concours, seeing these masterpieces in the metal only elevates their extraordinary craftsmanship and horological elan.

In other show highlights, De Haas joined entertainment legend/car fan Jay Leno for a live automotive podcast from the show grounds. Later, Lange CEO Wilhelm Schmid and General Motors’ SVP of Global Design Bryan Nesbitt held a lively session moderated by Audrain’s Consulting Director Donald Osbourne about the intersections between the watch and automotive industries in terms of style and brand identity.

Both of these events drew compelling lines between the love of classic cars and fine timepieces.

Best of Show(s)

Another new event for Audrain this year was its separate Supercar Concours, which happened along the state park’s shoreline outside Fort Adams. While this cutting-edge direction may be a bit controversial for classic car purists, the inaugural winner of this prize, a 1993 McLaren F1 XP4 prototype owned by investment banker and racing team owner Rob Kauffman, proves automotive beauty is indeed timeless.

Of course, Audrian’s classic car concours, held on the grounds of the fort itself, was the true main show. Of the record-setting 185 classic cars from this year’s competition, the Best of Show “Vanderbilt Cup” went to this rare, perfectly preserved 1938 Delahaye 165 Fignori et Falaschi Cabriolet from the Pearl Collection of Swiss collector Fritz Burkard. The judges just couldn’t resist this splendid automobile’s dramatic curves.

Lange CEO Schmid was honored to present this award to the winning owner, along with the special “30 Under 30” and “Timeless Luxury” trophies.

That is a perfect summation, not only of Audrain, but of A. Lange & Söhne’s partnership season with important global concours events like Italy’s Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este and the already-mentioned Concourse of Excellence Hampton Court Palace. Here’s to next year!

To learn more about A. Lange & Söhne’s special commitment to classic cars, visit this dedicated page.