The first German Concours of Elegance – at least the first one to be deserving of the name – is only an hour’s flight from Hamburg, yet travelling through Germany during the summer holidays is inevitably a challenge, as hundreds of thousands of Germans flee the country in search of warmer climes. All the greater, then, that a certain English event organiser holds faith in Germany as it faces the rainiest summer since records began in 1881. It is all thanks to James Brooks-Ward, CEO of Thorough Events, that the top car collector scene meet for a wonderful weekend in Germany in July. Ahead of the event, he commented, “We wanted to create an international German concours that passionate collectors and enthusiasts in Germany could call their own.”
Highlights from the first German Concours of Elegance at Lake Tegernsee
25 years of Datograph
This in itself is enough to rouse one’s curiosity, at least as much as the two innovative timepieces from A. Lange & Söhne, the main sponsor of this event. Lange is celebrating a very special anniversary this year with the introduction of two exceptional chronographs. The company’s long-standing tradition in the field of chronographs was revitalised 25 years ago with the first Datograph, the first watch in a series of 13 models with this intricate function.
Chronographs are not only one of the greatest challenges in precision watchmaking, as anyone who has ever studied the history of their creation knows. To this day, there are only a handful of companies that have developed their own mechanism. A. Lange und Söhne astonished the entire industry 25 years ago with the first Datograph, at a time when neither Rolex nor Patek Philippe had their own calibres in this category.
Gut Kaltenbrunn – without Wilhelm Schmid
Happy to have finally arrived, spectators were greeted by an almost surreal idyll at Gut Kaltenbrunn, run by super restaurateur Michael Käfer. It is also surreal that Lange CEO Wilhelm Schmid, of all people, is unable to be in attendance due to illness. While he is known for his good manners, he no doubt cursed his luck, as he is known for not only a passion for watches, but also automobiles.
Wilhelm Schmid, CEO A. Lange & Söhne
The first real Concours in Germany
As he later admits during a video call at the event (even if the internet goes on strike at first – oh Germany), he was really looking forward to it in more ways than one. Is it really a coincidence that this year of all years, the models that embody the historic link between timekeeping and motorsport like no other Lange & Söhne watches are celebrating their anniversary here in Germany, at the country’s very first Concours of Elegance? Schmid: “It really is a coincidence that it coincides this year. A whole pandemic interfered with the planning. We are completely focused on completing our watches in time for our own anniversaries. If a first Concours of Elegance in Germany coincides with the Datograph anniversary, all the better.”
The first Concours of Elegance at Lake Tegernsee
Schmid’s dreams of driving
Wilhelm Schmid says this with the necessary distance of a CEO who ultimately also wants to sell watches, but with the personal enthusiasm of a car collector who, had it been possible for him, would have personally participated with a car that plays in this league: he would have competed with his AC Ace Bristol, the only survivor of its kind. It was found 15 years ago, before being extensively restored.
Combining two passions: Long-time CEO Wilhelm Schmid sporting a Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon at the wheel of his 1957 Frazer Nash.
The bar is set high – does the Concours at Tegernsee live up to expectations?
It’s almost bizarre: if there is a market for cars at all, it’s probably Germany, and yet no Concours of Elegance has made it into the international collector’s calendar, even though there are undoubtedly great regional events. But Pebble Beach, Monterey Car Week, Villa D’este on Lake Como and, for over a decade now, Hampton Court, are the locations that set the bar – and it’s high. There is no other comparable event in Germany.
12 years of the British Concours
Organised for the first time 12 years ago, the Concours of Elegance in the United Kingdom aimed from the outset to match events such as the Concorso d’Eleganza in Villa d’Este by presenting the finest automobiles in a first-class location. Today, it is also the first Concours in the world to be held in a metropolis of millions. It all started in 2012: in honour of Queen Elizabeth’s 60th anniversary on the throne, 60 very special cars were selected and exhibited in the courtyard of Windsor Castle. The event then took place at St James’s Palace, the Palace of Holyrood House and the Fountain Gardens of Hampton Court Palace, where the company has resided since 2017. Swisswatches reported in detail on last year’s Concours at Hampton Court.
Concours of Elegance at Hampton Court
Concorso d’Eleganza at Villa d’Este
From the Wittelsbachs to Michael Käfer
Now, Gut Kaltenbrunn. This listed four-sided farmhouse on the northern shore of Lake Tegernsee dates back to the 14th century, and perches near the small town of Gmund am Tegernsee. Not a castle, as such, but an ideally located venue, as soon becomes clear. The estate originally belonged to the Tegernsee monastery (where a great beer is still brewed today, should you want to stop by). In 1821, the Bavarian king acquired the estate and it remained the property of the Wittelsbach family until it was sold in 1975. At least a touch of high nobility still wafts through the former cattle stables.
Käfer Gut Kaltenbrunn at Lake Tegernsee
Cars and watches in perfect harmony
Cars and watches present themselves in perfect harmony, as the pictures accompanying this text show. Not only top collectors have travelled here, but also top vehicles, the beating heart of such an event. In addition, there is a pleasantly flamboyant audience, yet far removed from the joviality of Bavarian lederhosen.
The Le Mans’ 1,971cc six-cylinder engine is just as impressive as the 576-part L132.1 calibre
that powers the triple split.
Meeting with the Concours Director
I meet a long-time friend and the head of Classic Driver, who is also the Concours Director: Jan Philip Rathgen. Among other things, he shows me the first car in the world to feature the Cavallino Rampante, better known as the Ferrari logo. A 1932 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Spyder Zagato. An Alfa with the Ferrari logo? “Back then, Ferrari was a racing team and not yet a car company,” Rathgen good-naturedly explains to me. Together with his British colleague Richard Charlesworth, he guides us throughout the afternoon.
Jan Philip Rathgen (left), CEO Classic Driver and Concours Director and Richard Charlesworth (right), Chairman of the Steering Committee
Fotocredit © Tim Scout Fluid
The participant categories
There are numerous categories that you don’t really need to know if you’re primarily interested in watches, but it’s fun to wander through all these gems and have technical details whispered into your ear that have nothing to do with watches. What’s more, you can not only look at the mechanics here, but experience them up close. It smokes, rattles, and hums, while catalytic converter-free exhaust pipes give you the first (petrol) rush of the day.
Rathgen and his British colleague introduce the participant cars one by one. Three famous Mercedes Benz SL Gullwing cars have arrived to mark the 70th anniversary, and old acquaintances are met along the way. The director then explains to me the somewhat confusing number of winning categories: “In addition to the Best of Show Award, we honour other vehicles for each important decade from 1920 to 1970. Newer vehicles are honoured in the Future Classics category.” His colleague and Chairman Richard Charlesworth will present his own award, the Chairmans Award. In addition to a Ladies’ Concours for women (we briefly recall that Bertha Benz was the first woman to drive the first automobile), A. Lange & Söhne is also responsible for another interesting award: “30 Under Thirty” honours young owners whose only entry requirement is that they are under 30 years old and actually own their vehicle. The main feeling here is that anyone who takes part is already one of life’s winners.
The “Thirty under 30” prize for owners under the age of 30 was awarded to the owner of a perfectly preserved BMW Isetta.
A jury of collectors
Speaking of the conditions of participation: the rules are very simple, as the director explains to me: “There is no traditional jury, but the participants evaluate the vehicles invited by experts themselves. This has proven to be a very solid and above all fair method, as the collectors often know more than any expert jury and can provide much better information. However, the steering committee around Rathgen and Charlesworth ensures that once a vehicle has been shown at the event, it may only be shown again after a decade.
Who will receive the Best of Show Award?
The two gentlemen together also select the Best of Show winner for 2024 on the following day in front of around 2,500 guests: a rare 1939 Lancia Astura Pinin Farina Cabriolet wins the coveted prize and prevails over 80 no less exquisite cars, ranging from classics to modern hypercars.
Fotocredit © Tim Scout Fluid
Winner of the “Best in Show” category: Lancia Astura Pinin Farina Cabriolet from 1939
3.35 million for a 14-year-old car
If you want, you can even buy a car, provided you have the necessary change: this is now possible with Bentley, for example, which is exhibiting new vehicles just like Ferrari. The auction by co-partner RM-Sotheby’s is of course eagerly awaited; the renowned auction house is hosting the first “Tegernsee Auction” on Saturday. On this day, an extremely rare Mercedes Benz SLR McLaren Stirling Moss will go for 3.35 million euros, although it should still be brought in: it shows 45 kilometres on the speedometer (all other auction results here).
Mercedes Benz SLR McLaren Stirling Moss
The Datograph Up/Down on the wrist
While chilled rosé slowly reddens spectators’ cheeks and the sun makes precious car frames gleam, there is time for a spin with the new Datograph Up/Down. Introduced in 1999, the column-wheel chronograph with flyback function, a precisely jumping minute counter and the Lange-typical large date still epitomises the manufacture’s quest for innovation today. To mark the anniversary, two new models have been added to the Datograph family: the new version of the Datograph Up/Down in white gold with a blue dial could not be a better match for the vehicles on display.
The highlight of the series (so far): the Datograph Lumen
With a glass of well-tempered Laurent Perrier champagne in hand, I talk to the production manager of A. Lange & Söhne, Tino Bobe, about the history of the Datograph. This year, it is crowned by the most complicated watch in this series to date – the Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon Honeygold “Lumen”. Lumen stands for the numerous luminous elements of this super watch, whose displays glow like a car speedometer with a white background at night.
Joern F. Kengelbach (left) and Tino Bobe (right)
Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon Honeygold “Lumen“
A parade of vehicles
One of the best things at the event is the ease with which one may strike up conversation, be it at the parade of vehicles past the beer garden or at the vehicles themselves. Does the Concours Tegernsee stand a chance? Let’s ask the winner himself. Hans Jörg Hubner, owner of the Best in Show winning Lancia Astura Pinin Farina Cabriolet, says: “We were there for both the drive and the event, and it was an exceptional experience on our first visit to the Bavarian Alps – very well organised.” He wishes there were events like this all over Europe to celebrate his passion and his own personal automobile treasure trove.
Fotocredit © Miriam Mayer
Wilhelm Schmid, meanwhile, remains a reserved CEO, especially given he is not actually in attendance: “As a German brand, we are looking at this very closely. So far, all attempts in this country have not been crowned with success. But everything has been done in advance to make the Concours at Tegernsee a success.”
Tegernsee 2025? Yes please!
If the flights operate next year and no one gets ill, there will be nothing standing in the way of a second Concours of Elegance at this location from our side. The combination of extremely professional organisation and British nonchalance was particularly impressive. If anyone is spontaneously interested in getting to know the original: This year’s event in the UK takes place from August 30th to September 1st. Strolling through the courtyard of Henry VIII of England is something one should do at least once in a lifetime, especially when it is turned into the most expensive car park in Europe.
Fotocredit © Tim Scout Fluid
Fotocredit © Miriam Mayer
A “Concours-Edition” from A. Lange & Söhne
And anyone who thinks that with four Concours events (Villa D’Este in Italy, Hampton Court in England, Audrain Newport in the USA and now at Tegernsee in Germany), at which Lange now combines itself with the automobile, that it is not time for a Concours edition from Lange & Söhne, is mistaken. According to Wilhelm Schmid, it will remain with a few, very special watches: “At Villa d’Este, the watch for the Best of Show is a tradition – one that we won’t be introducing at Tegernsee or anywhere else.” Of course, the company will certainly produce individual pieces from time to time, which will then be auctioned off for a good cause. He is right, however, if you look at the many unsuccessful attempts by other brands to get directly involved with car brands. They are too often things that car collectors are often not even remotely interested in.
Why A. Lange & Söhne works well with these cars
Not so with the models from A. Lange & Söhne, which can be spotted on many a wrist during the two days at Lake Tegernsee – including, above all, the legendary Lange 1, which celebrates its 30th anniversary on 25 October this year. Why is that? Perhaps because A. Lange & Söhne and car collectors are not so much united by this event, but by their enthusiasm for aesthetic and mechanical excellence. A. Lange & Söhne does not have to and does not want to change this. Wilhelm Schmid concludes: “We subordinate everything we do to one principle: we want to preserve the way we design, develop and build watches. Everything else can and sometimes even has to be changed so that we never have to change what we have already said.”
Top watch collectors also come to Lake Tegernsee
The view sweeps over the Tegernsee valley and I climb into an exceptional car to say goodbye: the Ferrari 166 MM, produced in 1953 by a car and watch enthusiast. A car that would be worth a story of its own. On the collector’s wrist: an off-catalogue Patek Philippe Nautilus. That, too, is another story. But the appearance of the watch and the car are the proof I needed: the premiere was a success, and the target group at Lake Tegernsee fits like a glove.
