A. Lange & Söhne is All Set to Drive Up to Next Week’s 2026 Audrain Newport Concours & Motor Week
Image © A. Lange & Söhne
The Garage
A. Lange & Söhne Highlights from the Concours of Excellence Hampton Court Palace
The decidedly regal scene at the Concours of Elegance Hampton Court Palace outside of London provided some royally big news for both classic car fans and lovers of fine timepieces alike. Mix up a refreshing Pimm’s Cup and get the inside scoop here.
The 2026 running of the Concours of Elegance Hampton Court Palace occurred last weekend, and by all accounts it was another resounding success for the important classic show and its now 8-year partner, watchmaker A. Lange & Söhne.
No car is meant to just sit in the garage, The Concours of Elegance is a place where these automotive masterpieces can not only be admired, but also experienced. The same is true of our watches: their special allure only becomes apparent when you hold them in your hands and hear their gentle ticking.
A. Lange & Söhne CEO Wilhelm Schmid of the weekend
The Concours brings these two worlds – classic cars and our mechanical timepiece – together in a unique way. What do they have in common:? Tradition, craftsmanship, and timeless design.
To the timepiece point, certainly one of the show’s highlights was the day-one reveal of not one, but two impressive A. Lange & Söhne novelties: A limited-edition platinum execution of the ground-breaking Triple Split chronograph and both white and pink gold limited editions of the unique 1815 Up/Down timepiece.
However, some of our spies at Hampton Court Palace spotted some telling elements of the watchmaker’s exhibit area that indicated even more going on than these two impressive unveilings; elements that might hint at what is yet to come from the watchmaker as it approaches its final classic car concours of the season at the Audrain Concours & Motor Week in Newport, Rhode Island, in early October.
Lange Time
If you’ve attended a Lange industry or social event, you’ll be familiar with the watchmaker’s tradition of anchoring its exhibition area with a gigantic, eye-catching, artfully constructed model of a Lange timepiece; generally, a model associated with a key novelty from its workshops.
However, even though the Hampton Court-revealed Triple Split was the first chronograph (albeit in a very elevated, complicated form) that the watchmaker has shared with the car-loving public since it started coordinating new releases with its concours partnerships last year, at Hampton Court Palace this year, a three-meter model of the A. Lange & Söhne Datograph chronograph dominated the scene.
First debuted in 1999, 13 groundbreaking models of this stopwatch-equipped timepiece have been created, and its marquee appearance at the show begs the question: Will there be more news down the line on the Datograph specifically? Certainly; the famed chronograph’s association with motoring, especially classic motoring, is undeniable.
Best of Show Folding into the watchmaker’s traditions at these globally important classic car events, CEO Wilhelm Schmid presented coveted awards to some outstanding winners from the field of about 60 extraordinary vehicles, with the Best of Show award going to the owners of a particularly storied 1928 Mercedes-Benz SSK Roadster.
This vehicle was built as a “Rennwagen,” a competition-built variation of the SSK, and was delivered to Argentina, where South American driving legends Julio Berndt and Carlos Zatuszek piloted it to multiple victories in the 1930s. A US owner eventually brought it to North America, and it received accolades at vintage races at Laguna Seca before making its way to its current home in Europe as part of the Rolf Meyer Kollection in Paris.
Schmid also presented the award for the Thirty Under 30 category that honors the next generation of classic car enthusiasts: A 1972 Lamborghini Espada grand-tourer, styled by Marcello Gadini at the Bertone coachbuilder, took that notable prize.
Next Stop, Newport!
As noted, A. Lange & Söhne will be pulling into the Audrain Newport Concours & Motor Week from Thursday, October 1st to Sunday, October 4th for the culmination of its classic car season, and we can’t wait to see what will be in store for us.
To learn more about A. Lange and Söhne’s dedication to and plans around the 2026 classic car concours season, click HERE.
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