The Designer Bringing Concours d’Elegance to Singapore – In Conversation with H&B’s Pow Ying Hern

Eight years after the Fullerton Concours proved Singapore’s appetite for automotive art, Pow Ying Hern — Chief Creative Officer and Co-Founder of Hustle & Bustle — is back with a FIVA-sanctioned Concours d’Elegance built inside the newly opened IMBA Theatre. We sat down with him to talk about coachbuilding, credibility, and why the boy who once shouted “Hot!” from his car seat grew up to stage Southeast Asia’s most ambitious automotive event.

There is a particular kind of confidence it takes to stage a Concours d’Elegance in a region with no concours tradition to speak of. Pebble Beach has been running since 1950. Villa d’Este traces its lineage back to the 1920s. Singapore, by contrast, is better known for its F1 night race than for lawns of pre-war coachwork — which is exactly the gap Concours d’Elegance Singapore is stepping into when it opens at IMBA Theatre, Gardens by the Bay, from 13 to 16 August.

The event is organised by H&B (Hustle & Bustle), the Singapore-based immersive storytelling group behind Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience, Dale Chihuly’s Glass in Bloom, and The Botero Show — none of which, on paper, has much to do with matching numbers and concours judging. But H&B isn’t new to this particular stage. In 2018, the group staged the Fullerton Concours d’Elegance to mark the Fullerton Building’s 90th anniversary, and it’s the same instinct — treating a car not as a static object but as a story — that shapes this year’s return.

At the centre of it is Pow Ying Hern, H&B’s Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer. Pow trained in car and transportation design at Domus Academy in Milan and the University of Wales, and briefly worked at the Italian coachbuilder Bertone in 2013 under design director Michael Robinson — the storied house responsible for the Alfa Giulietta Sprint and the Lamborghini Miura. A Red Dot Award winner and Best Art Director recipient at the Singapore Marketing Events Awards, Pow has spent the years since translating that design training into large-scale cultural experiences — most recently as the creative force behind IMBA Theatre itself, the venue this Concours now calls home.

Launched had the opportunity to catch-up with Pow Ying Hern to learn about his inspiration and vision behind the much anticipated return of the Concours d’Elegance in Singapore 2026

A Lifelong Obsession with Cars

Launched: For people who’ve never seen a Concours before, how would you explain it in one sentence?

Pow: At its core, a Concours d’Elegance is not just about admiring rare, shiny, static machines—it’s about celebrating authenticity, period accuracy, restoration mastery, and human stories behind the world’s most extraordinary collector automobiles.

Launched: Was there a specific car, moment, or Concours overseas that made you personally fall in love with this world, before you ever thought about bringing it to Singapore?

Pow: Actually, my love affair started way before any formal Concours, going back to when I was about two years old! My parents thought I was a bit quiet at home—almost mute—until my dad brought me out in a booster seat. I started pointing out the window saying ‘Hot’ (Ford) because I didn’t have my front teeth yet!

But if you talk about the defining moment for car design, it was during my JC years. I saw the 2007 Maserati GranTurismo. Even though the rear design was not my favourite, the way it proportioned a massive wheelbase while keeping those sensuous, sweeping lines to sit four adults—it made me realise how design communicates intent visually.

Then later, when I went to study car design at Domus Academy in Milan and worked briefly at Bertone in 2013 under Michael Robinson, I really breathed the air of legendary coachbuilding—even if it was only for a month, I had studied under one of its design management and the coachbuilder had created legacies including the Alfa Giulietta Sprint and Lamborghini Miura.

Launched: What would you want people to take away and remember from this event — is this about celebrating cars, building a collector community, putting Singapore on the global Concours map, or something else?

Pow: Every extraordinary car carries the imprint of the people who designed it, built it, restored it, and preserved it. For me, it’s all three: celebrating cars as living pieces of cultural heritage and art, bringing our regional collector community together, and cementing Singapore’s position as a premier global destination for luxury lifestyle and automotive culture.

At the end of the day, whether you are a purist or someone who just appreciates beauty, car design connects deeply with human experience. We want people to walk away understanding the romance, the history, and the sheer passion behind these machines.

Launched: Walk us through the journey for someone whose car gets accepted — from the email confirming their entry to the moment it rolls into the show venue. What does that week actually look like for them?

Pow: Once an entry is confirmed by our Selection Committee, the journey is quite intense! These custodians are preparing a piece of history. The week leading up to the show involves meticulous detailing, checking matching numbers, ensuring historical authenticity, and preparing the car for FIVA-level scrutiny.

When the car arrives at IMBA Theatre, it’s not just parked on a carpet—it rolls into a curated, cinematic environment tailored to reflect iconic Grand Touring routes like the Stelvio Pass or Tuscan hills. Owners get to showcase their prized possession not merely as a static vehicle, but set within the visual story and landscape it was engineered to conquer.

Launched: What happens on judging day itself? Who are the judges this year, and what will they be looking for?

Pow: Judging day on 13 August—Preview Day—is when the real rigour happens. Because this is a FIVA Premier Event co-organised with the Malaysia and Singapore Vintage Car Register (MSVCR), the cars are evaluated against strict international standards by an esteemed Concours Selection Committee.

The judges will not be just looking at how clean the car is. They will scrutinise condition, historical significance, technical aspects, aesthetics, rarity, original authenticity, elegance, and overall style.

VIP Preview ticket holders actually get to watch this judging process live in the morning to see what truly separates a fine restoration from a Best-of-Show winner.

Launched: In addition to the prestige, what will participants get out of entering?

Pow: It’s about community, validation, and shared passion. Aside from competing for prestigious Concours awards and the top prize presented by J.P. Morgan Private Bank, participants become part of an active historical preservation movement.

They get to share their car’s story on a global stage, take part in intimate Tyreside Chats, attend the Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony, and join community drives like the Tours d’Elegance treasure hunt and car meets city-wide.

Launched. What does an owner need to do in order to take part, eg. entry fee, insurance, detailing?

Pow: First and foremost, the vehicle must meet the historical and aesthetic criteria set by the Selection Committee and MSVCR, an automotive chapter accredited by FIVA. Owners submit their vehicles for vetting based on provenance, authenticity, and condition.

Once selected, owners manage logistical preparations—proper transit, insurance, and meticulous detailing so the vehicle is presented in prime Concours condition. Details on entry protocols and qualifying criteria are managed directly via our official platform at concourssg.com.

Launched: On the eight-year gap. You last staged the Fullerton Concours back in 2018, and it’s taken until now for a full-scale, standalone Concours d’Elegance to return to Singapore. What made 2026 the right year for its return?

Pow: When Michael Lee and I did the Fullerton Concours back in 2018—which was actually how I joined Hustle & Bustle—it showed us how much appetite there is here for automotive art. But we didn’t want to just repeat the same show.

By 2026, a few things aligned. First, our collector scene in Southeast Asia has matured significantly. Second, with Singapore’s 35-year classic car scheme, iconic models from the late 80’s and early 90’s—like the (Nissan Skyline) R32 GT-R—are becoming eligible classics, bringing in a whole new generation of enthusiasts.

And finally, with the launch of IMBA Theatre at Gardens by the Bay in early 2026, we finally had the perfect space and a strong partner, Dezign Format, to execute a truly immersive, world-first Concours experience.

Launched: On earning credibility in a purist’s world. Concours judging is one of the most tradition-bound rituals in the luxury world — Pebble Beach and Villa d’Este cast long shadows. This event carries FIVA (Fédération Internationale des Véhicules Anciens) Premier status. What did it take to earn that, and how do you build judging credibility for an inaugural event in a region without a deep concours tradition?

Pow: You build credibility in two ways, by yourself, and by partnering with the absolute authorities of historic vehicles. Co-organising with the MSVCR—who have been around since 1955 and are a foundation member of FIVA—ensures that our rules, standards, and judging committees follow strict international protocols.

We aren’t trying to fake tradition; we respect it completely. By bringing international standards and pairing them with transparent, live judging on Preview Day, we show purists that Southeast Asia can host an event that holds its own alongside Villa d’Este or Pebble Beach.

Launched: On the H&B signature touch. Hustle & Bustle’s background isn’t particularly in motorsport, but is in immersive storytelling, eg. Van Gogh, Dale Chihuly, Botero. The schedule mentions an ‘Immersive Grand Touring Experience’ alongside the traditional gallery display. How does an edutainment company reimagine a 100-year-old European format, and where did you decide tradition was non-negotiable?

Pow: To me, the jump from car design to event design is much smaller than it looks—both are fundamentally about how a person experiences something over time!

Tradition was non-negotiable when it came to judging integrity, FIVA standards, and vehicle authenticity. But where we reimagined the format was in the environment. Instead of static cars sitting on lawn grass, we use large-scale projections and digital environments to place these masterpieces against alpine passes and Tuscan roads. We treat cars as kinetic sculpture and narrative art.

Launched: On the cars and the collectors. Southeast Asia’s collector scene is famously discreet — extraordinary garages behind very private doors. What did it take to convince owners to bring these cars out publicly, and is there one entry you fought hardest to secure?

Pow: Asian collectors tend to be very private and collective-minded, so it takes trust. Having MSVCR’s deep-rooted heritage backing us, along with a secure, world-class venue like IMBA Theatre, gives owners the confidence that their vehicles will be treated with utmost respect.

Every car coming in is exciting to me—from a pristine Jaguar E-Type Series 1, to a rare Porsche 930 Slant Nose, to a Mercedes-Benz 500 SEC. Getting collectors to bring out these gems for the public to appreciate is always a labour of love, but when they see the storytelling platform we’ve built, they want to be part of it.

Launched: On the ambition. Singapore has the wealth, the F1 night race, and now a Concours. Pebble Beach took decades to become Pebble Beach. Where do you want this event to sit in the global concours calendar in ten years — and what does Singapore offer that Monterey and Lake Como can’t?

Pow: In ten years, I want Concours d’Elegance Singapore to be the undisputed flagship automotive cultural event in Asia-Pacific.

What Singapore offers that Lake Como or Monterey can’t is our unique position as a hyper-modern global hub, paired with our expertise in phygital, immersive storytelling. Monterey has the coast and Lake Como has the historic villas, but Singapore offers an unparalleled blend of world-class hospitality and urban luxury, with cutting-edge technology and edutainment, right in the heart of Marina Bay. It’s where heritage meets the future.

The Details

Concours d’Elegance Singapore runs from Thursday, 13 August to Sunday, 16 August 2026 at IMBA Theatre, Gardens by the Bay. Preview Day, which takes place on 13 August, from 11am–1pm, offers limited slots with live judging access and the ticketed Gala Dinner & Awards Ceremony in the evening; the exhibition is open to the public from 14 to 16 August, 10am–8pm, with the Tour d’Elegance drive and treasure hunt closing out the weekend on the 16th.

Whether you’re a purist who can tell a matching-numbers restoration at twenty paces, or simply someone who appreciates what happens when a great car is treated as a work of art, this is a weekend worth putting in the diary. Because the best kind of refinement isn’t found on a spec sheet — it’s found in the people who spend a lifetime chasing it, one immaculate detail at a time.

Visit Launched.asia’s ticketing page for more ticketing info here.

This interview was co-written by Nick T. and Malcolm Yeo.