Concours d’Elegance Netherlands: Your Chauffeur to Landgoed Marienwaerdt

The Concours d’Elegance is the Netherlands’ premier classic-car concours, organised by Wheels, and the 2026 edition runs from 11 to 13 September at Landgoed Marienwaerdt. A SilverDrive chauffeur takes you door-to-door to the estate in a Mercedes-Maybach, waits through the day among the collector cars, and returns you home the moment you are ready.

The Netherlands’ premier classic-car concours

A concours d’elegance is a gathering where exceptional historic and collector cars are judged not on speed but on presentation, provenance and sheer elegance. The tradition traces back to the carriage promenades of aristocratic Europe, and it survives today as one of the most refined dates in the motoring year. The Dutch event gathers extraordinary machines in a country-estate setting, where lawns and tree-lined avenues stand in for any exhibition hall.

For 2026, the concours takes place from 11 to 13 September at Landgoed Marienwaerdt, a historic estate in the Betuwe. It was held for many years at Paleis Het Loo in Apeldoorn before moving to Marienwaerdt, and the concours now returns to the estate each September. The new setting trades palace formality for the softer grandeur of a working country estate — orchards, avenues and the river Linge close at hand.

Why it draws a discerning audience

The appeal is easy to understand. Where else can you stand within touching distance of coachbuilt pre-war machines, elegant post-war grand tourers and the sort of one-off bodies that usually sit behind museum glass? Owners, judges, dealers and enthusiasts travel from across the Netherlands and beyond, and the mood is closer to a garden party than a motor show. Conversation matters as much as horsepower.

That audience arrives with a certain set of expectations, and transport is part of it. Turning up in a modern chauffeur-driven car is entirely in keeping — a quiet counterpoint to the combustion-era icons on the lawn. If classic machinery is your world, our guide to a chauffeured visit to InterClassics Maastricht covers the other unmissable date on the Dutch collector calendar, and the concours sits alongside the rest of our chauffeured luxury events in the Netherlands.

How a SilverDrive chauffeur handles the day

SilverDrive is a premium chauffeur service founded in Amsterdam by Joshua Faerber, operating across the Netherlands and Europe. We run our own fleet and employ our own vetted, English-speaking and discreet chauffeurs — no broker, and no student driving their own car. For a full day at a rural estate, that difference is the whole point.

Your chauffeur collects you at the door and drives you straight to Marienwaerdt. The price is fixed and agreed in advance, with no meter running and no bill after the fact, so a long day in the countryside never turns into an anxious glance at a fare. Once you arrive, your driver waits and stays on call: walk the lawns for as long as you like, break for lunch, return to the car to warm up or drop off a catalogue, then leave exactly when it suits you. No taxi rank, no rideshare surge, no field to park in.

For guests flying in, we meet arrivals at the Schiphol VIP Centre and Jet Aviation and track flights in real time, so a delayed landing simply moves the pickup — the car is there when you are. We are available 24/7. For collectors carrying something precious, our dedicated service for the secure transport of high-value items travels with the same discretion we bring to every journey. Companies hosting clients across the weekend can fold the visit into their wider corporate transport arrangements.

Choosing your car from the fleet

There is a pleasing symmetry in arriving among the great collector cars in a modern flagship. Because we run an owned fleet, you choose the car rather than take whatever turns up:

• Mercedes-Maybach S-Class — the signature arrival and the most serene way to cross the Betuwe; see the Mercedes-Maybach.
• Mercedes S-Class and E-Class — the same composure in a more understated register.
• BMW i7 and Mercedes EQS — fully electric, for a silent, zero-emission arrival that offsets a field of combustion history.
• Mercedes V-Class — up to seven seats — with the electric EQV for up to five, for friends or family travelling together.
• Mercedes Sprinter and the Setra S 515 HDH coach — up to sixteen and up to fifty-six respectively, ideal for a car club or a company outing.

Getting to Landgoed Marienwaerdt

Marienwaerdt sits in open countryside near Beesd, in the Betuwe region of Gelderland, roughly an hour south of Amsterdam and Schiphol by road and close to the A2 motorway. It is beautiful and, by design, rural — which also means public transport is limited and event-day parking and access can be slow to manage on your own. A chauffeur removes all of that: you are set down near the entrance and collected from the same spot, with no field-parking walk at the end of a long day.

The estate and the countryside around it reward a longer stay, so many guests make a weekend of it. If that appeals, our ideas for a luxury weekend in the Netherlands pair naturally with the concours — arrive on the Friday, take in the cars across the weekend, and let the same chauffeur handle every leg.

Frequently Asked Questions

When and where is the Concours d’Elegance in 2026?

The 2026 edition runs from 11 to 13 September at Landgoed Marienwaerdt, a historic country estate in the Betuwe. The concours moved here from Paleis Het Loo in Apeldoorn and now returns to the estate each September.

How do I get to Landgoed Marienwaerdt, and what about parking?

The estate lies near Beesd in rural Gelderland, roughly an hour south of Amsterdam and Schiphol and close to the A2. Public transport is limited and event parking can mean a walk across fields, so many visitors prefer a chauffeur who sets them down at the entrance and collects them there — no parking to find and no long walk back to the car.

Can I book a SilverDrive chauffeur for the whole day?

Yes. Your chauffeur drives you to Marienwaerdt, waits on call throughout the event, and returns you whenever you choose. The price is fixed and agreed in advance — no meter and no billing afterwards — so a full day in the countryside carries no surprises.

Which car should I choose?

The Mercedes-Maybach S-Class is the signature arrival, with the S-Class and E-Class as refined alternatives. For silent, all-electric travel choose the BMW i7 or Mercedes EQS; for groups, the V-Class seats up to seven and the electric EQV up to five, the Sprinter up to sixteen, and the Setra coach up to fifty-six.

Can you collect guests arriving by private jet?

Yes. We meet arrivals at the Schiphol VIP Centre and Jet Aviation, track flights in real time so a delay simply shifts the pickup, and operate 24/7. A dedicated service is also available for the secure transport of high-value items.