Revisiting the timeless allure of classic cars at Udaipur’s Oberoi Concours d’Elegance 2026

The elegance of nearly 120 classic cars and bikes on display at Udaipur's Oberoi Concours d’Elegance 2026, celebrating automotive heritage and timeless beauty.

In an immaculate courtyard where The Oberoi Udaivilas’ gold sun insignia ushers in the harsh mid-day heat of Rajasthan’s spring — a transition from its freezing winters — Sandra Button, chief judge of the The Oberoi Concours d’Elegance, says something significant during a panel discussion.

After having spent time between February 20 and 22 assessing and marking approximately 120 striking vintage and classic cars and bikes owned by well-heeled, well-meaning participants — a slate consisting millionaires, billionaires, and former maharajas from across India — Sandra says: “Approach a car. Let it speak to you.”

Arjun Oberoi, Executive Chairman The Oberoi Group, Simon Kidston, a judge, and Dhanraj Gidwaney, owner of the Bentley that won the Best of Show prize | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Cars cannot speak. But if there is anything I have learnt over an opulent caviar, wine, and cheese-filled Udaipur weekend, cars, particularly of the painstakingly-restored vintage variety, tend to spark a certain unbridled joy. The Rolls-Royce for instance, can be effortlessly suave; and others, a Ferrari or Mustang perhaps, can be endlessly sexy.

Although they may have been purchased before the advent of smart phones (the oldest car at the Cocours dates back to 1905), and the default lens towards life was in sepia, these cars have modern bodies, luscious colours, infinite customisations, and missing parts reverse-engineered from scratch.

At Udaivilas, cars and bikes that once transported presidents, royalty, and racers, dot the lawn and the courtyard of this property overlooking Lake Pichola and the Udaipur City Palace. There is a BMW and Rolls Royce lounge, where participants donning Chanel glasses and dapper suits, engage in long discussions on the engineering that goes behind some of these vehicles’ engines, while politely tabling discussions on business for later.