Amelia Island, 11th of March 2012
Traditionally held on the second weekend of March, the 17th
edition of the Concours in the north of Florida was held on the
11th of March. Sixteen years ago Bill Warner and his enthusiastic
team founded this event on the east-coast as a counterpart to the
famous Pebble Beach Concours on the other side of the country.
Over the following years the Concours became a premium event
of similar prestige as Pebble and its winner is amongst the
selection for the Louis Vuitton Classic Award that chooses the
best of the show winners at the end of the year.
The concours weekend starts on Friday morning with the
registration of the entrants in no less than 39 different classes.
Beside the common classes sorted by eras and bodystyle the
Amelia Island Concours has a strong connection to race cars with
several special classes and known race driver judges like Derek
Bell, Hurley Haywood, Brian Redman or this years honoured Vic
Elford. Special race car classes included the 60th anniversary of
the Sebring 12 hours and the 50th anniversary of the Daytona 24
hours.
After the registration some selected classes were invited to do a
small tour around Fernandina Beach, this year Shelby Cobras,
MGs that ran in Sebring, Corvettes and not to forget the Ferrari
250 GTO in its 50th year. The iconic Italian sports car is without
doubt the car of the year and there is almost no high class event
that does not feature the GTO. After an impressive line-up at last
years Pebble Beach 10 GTOs found their way to Amelia plus the
250 GT Sperimentale prototype and an 330 LMB, eight of them
lined up in the morning on the driveway of the Ritz Carlton to take
the road south, passing the state parks to take the nearby
Mayport ferry. The other cars drove to the turning point at the
Huguenot park before they were re-joint by the Ferrari for lunch in
downtown Fernandina Beach for a public display.
Beside the tour the event features some seminars including one
on the Cobra vs. Ferrari battle for the World Sports Car
Championship. Other activities are a silent auction for charity or
plenty of opportunities to test drive the latest luxury cars of the
sponsoring brands lined up in front of the hotel.
But Friday and Saturday are primarily dominated by the sales of
the two leading auction houses RM and Gooding&Company who
recognized the significance of the concours and the present
collectors to include this weekend in their premium sales
calender. Especially Gooding added some highlights with the
Drendel Family Collection that achieved several auction records
for the marque from Zuffenhausen, some of the sold racers might
be seen sometime in the future on the lawn.
Sunday is the day of the concours and early in the morning many
of the cars were waiting on the driveway to enter the lawn after the
sunrise. With the time shift to summertime the night before the
first hour was very busy for the volunteers to set up all the cars on
their spot before the judging could begin. As soon as the rush
settled down one could take a look around on the different
classes before the spectators entered the field who were already
waiting in large numbers at the entrance.
As mentioned above the Ferrari vs. Cobra battle was one of this
years themes and the two opponents were lined up face to face
on the both sides of the lake. The Cobra display featured some
significant examples including the very first production Cobra
(CSX2001), a Dragonsnake drag racer (CSX2019) and several
race cars including the ultimate Daytona Coupe version. At the
end of 1963 it became obvious that the open version had some
aerodynamic disadvantages against the Ferrari GTO and so a
coupe was built to compete in the World Sports Car
Championship and bring the desired title, the car was designed
by Amelias lead judge Peter Brock.
As already mentioned the Ferrari GTO display was very
impressive as it showed all important variations of the racer. The
first car on display was the 1961 250 GT Sperimentale that is
generally considered as the GTO prototype to develop the car
from the predecessor. The GTO itself was built in 3 different body
versions and all of them were on display. The 1962/63 version with
the Scaglietti body is without doubt the most famous version and
7 of them could be admired including one of just two 4-litre built.
One of the 250 GTOs was delivered with Pininfarina body
(4713GT) similar to the 330 LMB that was displayed aside. The
field was rounded off by the final 1964 version with restyled body,
the presented car (4091GT) started with the 62-style body version
before it was rebodied for the 1964 season.
At the end of the day the jury including Mauro Forghieri (who
finished the development of the GTO after Bizzarrini left Ferrari)
voted the 4-litre version not just to become Best in Class but also
Best of Show in the competition category as Amelia has two BoS
for road and race cars.
Other single marque classes included Duesenberg (with a rather
small selection after last years feature), MG and Cadillac.
MG had two classes, one for the road cars and one special
display for the MGA raced in Sebring.
Cadillac featured two classes with custom coachwork before and
after WW2, the pre-war car mainly built on the huge V16 chassis.
The post-war examples included a very baroque version by
Saoutchik, a very extravagant version by Spohn (called “Die
Valkyrie”) and a very stylish Ghia version. The Ghia is one of just
two cars built and was a gift from Princa Ali Khan to Hollywood
actress Rita Hayworth, the car was brought over from the west
coast from the Petersen Collection.
The second Cadillac Series 62 with Ghia body was just a few
meters away in a class that featured cover cars from the
legendary Road&Track magazine, this car belongs to another well
known Californian collection, the Blackhawk Collection from
Danville.
Although there was no own class for Porsche the German Sports
Car Manufacturer was very well presented in Amelia. Beside the
cars from the Drendel Collection at Gooding mentioned earlier
several important race cars were entered in the classes both for
the 24h of Daytona and the 12h of Sebring. The oldest racer was
the RS60 from the period when Porsche was racing successfully
in the 2-litre class, ten years before the 917 went out to win Le
Mans overall. The 917 was represented with two examples of the
short tail version in Gulf and Martini livery plus a long tail version
that found its way from the factory museum in Zuffenhausen. With
Vic Elford being this year honoured race driver the display of his
former race cars included some more Porsches including a short
and long tail 907, a 908 short tail coupe and the beautiful 908/3 in
Gulf livery brought to Amelia by Jerry Seinfeld.
But Vic did not just drive Porsche so the display included a
Chaparral and an Alfa Romeo TT33.
Other cars to be mentioned include the Le Mans winning 1952
Mercedes-Benz 300 SL, the first sports racer after the war to
bring Mercedes-Benz back into the focus on the race tracks and
become the template of the legendary Gullwing. The race car
class saw two spectacular Ferrari, the yellow 275 GTB
Competizione (06885) that followed the GTO and a 512 S.
At the end of the day the judges had to choose the two Best of
Show from the numerous class award winners. After several
special awards the two cars were lined up face to face in front of
the judges tent. As mentioned above the competition award was
received by the Ferrari 330 GTO owned by James Jaeger, the
Elegance award was presented to the 1938 Bugatti 57 Aravis by
Gangloff from the OFF Brothers Collection. After the success of
the Duesenberg last year this time it was a french design again
as the European Coachbuilt class of the pre-war era is always a
strong contender for the BoS. The Bugattis won its class against
strong competition like the Talbot-Lago T150 C-SS with Teardrop
body and will contend for the Louis Vuitton award at the end of
the year.
Text & images Peter Singhof
www.ClassicCarPhotography.de
Amelia Island Concours (2012-03-17)
Class ACC – American Classic Closed (1925-1948) ACC 1929
Cadillac 341 B Town Sedan
ACC 1929 duPont Model G Club Sedan
ACC 1932 REO Royale 8-35 Rumble Seat Coupe
ACC 1936 Cadillac V16 Town Sedan
ACC 1940 Lincoln Continental Coupe
Class ACO – American Classic Open (Pre-1933) ACO 1929
Packard 645 Custom Roadster
ACO 1930 Cadillac 452A V16 Roadster
ACO 1930 Stutz MB/SC
ACO 1932 Marmon Sixteen
ACO 1932 Stutz Bearcat
ACO 1932 Stutz SV16
Class ACO1 – American Classic Open (1933-1937) ACO1 1933
Chrysler CQ
ACO1 1933 Packard Convertible Victoria
ACO1 1934 Packard 1101
ACO1 1934 Packard 1107 Phaeton
ACO1 1935 Lincoln K 304-B
ACO1 1937 Cord 812 Phaeton S/C
Class ACO2 – American Classic Open (1939-1948) ACO2 1938
Lincoln K Convertible Victoria by Brunn
ACO2 1938 Lincoln Model K
ACO2 1938 Packard 1601 Eight Graber Cabriolet
ACO2 1938 Packard V12 Victoria
ACO2 1941 Lincoln Continental Cabriolet
ACO2 1941 Packard Super Eight 180
Class AD – Art Deco
AD 1932 Cadillac LaSalle
AD 1934 Chrysler Airflow Imperial Eight
AD 1934 Packard 1106 LeBaron Sport Coupe
AD 1934 Studebaker Commander Landcruiser
AD 1935 Auburn 851
AD 1935 Hupmobile 5271
AD 1937 Cord 810 Supercharged Phaeton
Class AP – American Production
AP 1942 Buick 56C Convertible
AP 1947 Studebaker Vince Gardner Prototype
AP 1955 Buick Roadmaster 76C
AP 1956 DeSoto Adventurer
AP 1958 Pontiac Bonneville
AP 1960 Imperial Crown Convertible
AP 1961 Chrysler 300F Convertible
Class B – Bentley
B 1949 Bentley Park Ward Convertible
B 1954 Bentley Continental R-Type
B 1954 Bentley R-Type Continental Fastback
B 1956 Bentley S1 Continental Park Ward Convertible
Class CCC – Custom Coachwork Cadillac (1930-1941) CCC
1930 Cadillac 452A Dual-Cowl Phaeton
CCC 1930 Cadillac V16 Phaeton
CCC 1931 Cadillac Model 452 V16
CCC 1934 Cadillac V16 Custom
CCC 1934 Cadillac Victoria Convertible Coupe
CCC 1936 Cadillac 90
CCC 1940 Cadillac Convertible
Class CCC1 – Custom Coachwork Cadillac (1942-1959)
CCC1 1942 Cadillac 60S Dual-Cowl Convertible
CCC1 1948 Cadillac Series 62 Saoutchik Cabriolet
CCC1 1949 Cadillac 62
CCC1 1949 Cadillac Series 75
CCC1 1953 Cadillac Series 62 Coupe by Ghia
CCC1 1954 Cadillac Pinin Farina Convertible
CCC1 1956 Cadillac Die Valkyrie
Class D – Duesenberg
D 1929 Duesenberg J—108 Convertible Coupe
D 1931 Duesenberg Derham Tourster
D 1933 Duesenberg SJ-478
D 1934 Duesenberg J Brunn Riviera Phaeton
Class D24 - 50th Anniversary of Daytona 24h
D24 1960 Lotus 19
D24 1966 Ford GT40 MK II
D24 1969 Porsche 917K
D24 1975 Porsche 911 RSR
D24 1978 Porsche 935
D24 1979 Porsche 935
D24 1982 Porsche 935 JLP3
D24 1991 Toyota Eagle MK-III GTP
D24 1999 Dodge Viper
D24 2001 Chevrolet Corvette C5-R
D24 2006 Porsche-Riley MK XI
Class ECCF – European Custom Coachwork French
ECCF 1930 Tracta "E"
ECCF 1937 Talbot Lago T-150-C SS
ECCF 1938 Bugatti Type 57 Aravis by Gangloff
ECCF 1947 Delahaye 135 MS
ECCF 1951 Hotchkiss-Gregorie
Class EPRE – European Classic Pre-War (1930-1935)
EPRE 1932 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Croydon Drophead Coupe
EPRE 1933 Rolls-Royce Phantom II
EPRE 1934 Jaguar SS1 2.0 Liter
EPRE 1935 Bentley Derby Cabriolet
EPRE 1935 Mercedes-Benz 500K Special Roadster
Class EPRE1 – European Classic Pre-War (1936-1938)
EPRE1 1936 Rolls-Royce Phantom III Drophead Coupe
EPRE1 1937 Horch 853 A Cabriolet
EPRE1 1937 Railton 4-Door Saloon
EPRE1 1938 HRG Airline Coupe
EPRE1 1938 Jaguar SS Coupe
Class F – Ferrari
F 1949 Ferrari 166 Touring Barchetta s/n 0004M
F 1951 Ferrari 212 Export s/n 0086E
F 1953 Ferrari 375 MM Spyder s/n 0382AM
F 1956 Ferrari 250 GT Competizione Berlinetta s/n 0555GT
F 1957 Ferrari 250 GT Coupe Speciale s/n 0853GT
F 1964 Ferrari 400 SuperAmerica s/n 5131SA
F 1968 Ferrari 330 GTC s/n 11039
Class FGTO – Ferrari 250 GTO
FGTO 1961 Ferrari 250 GT Sperimertale s/n 2643GT
FGTO 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO s/n 3387GT
FGTO 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO s/n 3445GT
FGTO 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO s/n 3647GT
FGTO 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO s/n 3705GT
FGTO 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO s/n 3943GT
FGTO 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO/64 s/n 4091GT
FGTO 1962 Ferrari 330 GTO s/n 3765LM
FGTO 1962 Ferrari 330 LMB s/n 4725SA
FGTO 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO s/n 4293GT
FGTO 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO s/n 4713GT
FGTO 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO s/n 4757GT
Class HC – Horseless Carriage (1895-1915)
HC 1901 Packard C Model
HC 1903 Cadillac Rear Entry Tonneau
HC 1903 Oldsmobile Curved Dash
HC 1904 St. Louis 4 Cylinder
Class HCB – Horseless Carriage (40+ Horsepower)
HCB 1911 Pope Hartford Portola
HCB 1912 Crane 3
HCB 1912 Stutz Bearcat Model A
HCB 1913 Stearns-Knight SK-6
HCB 1916 Stutz Bearcat
Class L – Landaulet
L 1925 Hispano Suiza H6B Landaulet
L 1933/34 Rolls-Royce Phantom II
L 1970 Rolls-Royce Phantom VI
Class MB – Mercedes-Benz
MB 1952 Mercedes-Benz W194
MB 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Coupe
MB 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing
MB 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster
MB 1958 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster
Class RC – Race Cars (Pre-War)
RC 1909 ALCO 6-Cylinder Racer
RC 1929 Riley Brooklands "The Ardent Alligator"
RC 1955 Wetteroth AAA Championship Car
Class RC1 – Race Cars (Post War – 1963)
RC1 1941 Cisitalia 202 SMM Spyder Nuvolari
RC1 1948 HRG Aerodynamic
RC1 1948 Kurtis-Kraft "Snook" Midget
RC1 1951 Connaught L3/SR
RC1 1951 Maserati 200Si
RC1 1952 SIATA 500BC
RC1 1956 Lister-Maserati A6GCS Flat Iron Body
RC1 1956 OSCA M14 TN 1500
RC1 1962 Sunbeam Alpine
Class RC2 – Race Cars (1964-1982)
RC2 1964 Austin-Hea|ey 3000
RC2 1965 Ferrari 275 GTB/C s/n 06885
RC2 1965 Porsche 911
RC2 1966 Ford GT40
RC2 1966 Porsche Carrera 6 s/n 906-158
RC2 1968 Chevrolet Corvette
RC2 1969 Ferrari 512S s/n 1004
RC2 1970 Ford BOSS 502
RC2 1980 Porsche 935 K3
RC2 1982 Porsche 924 GTR
Class RR – Rolls-Royce
RR 1950 Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn DHC
RR 1955 Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn Radford Shooting Brake
RR 1963 Rolls-Royce Phantom V
RR 1964 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III HJ Mulliner Convertible
RR 1965 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III
RR 1965 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III Mulliner Flying Spur
Class RRSG – Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost
RRSG 1911 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost
RRSG 1913 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost
RRSG 1920 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost
Class RT – Cover Cars of Road&Track
RT 1951 LaDawri Conquest
RT 1955 Cadillac Series 62 Ghia Coupe
RT 1955 Paxton Phoenix
RT 1965 Chevrolet Corvair Monza SS Concept
RT 1968 Chevrolet Corvette Astro II Concept
RT 1973 Momo Mirage
RT 1978 Jaguar Group 44 XJ-S
RT 1990 Chevrolet Corvette CERV III Concept
Class S12 - 60th Anniversary of Sebring 12 hours
S12 1954 OSCA Sports Racer MT-4
S12 1957 Maserati 450S s/n 4503
S12 1960 Porsche RS60
S12 1965 Chaparral 2
S12 1968 Porsche 907K
S12 1975 BMW 3.0CSL
S12 1999 BMW V12 LMR
Class SC – Sports Cars (Pre-War)
SC 1927 Amilcar CGSS
SC 1928 Mercedes-Benz S
SC 1930 Alta Romeo 1750 Grand Sport
SC 1934 Ford Model 40 Special Speedster
SC 1934 Lancia Augusta
SC 1937 Jaguar SS100
Class SC1 – Sports and GT Cars (Post War – 1955)
SC1 1951 Allard J2
SC1 1951 Pegaso Z-102
SC1 1952 Lazzarino Sport Prototipo
SC1 1952 Muntz Jet
SC1 1953 Cunningham C-3 Continental Coupe
SC1 1953 Jaguar XK120 Roadster
SC1 1954 Siata 200CS
SC1 1955 AC Ace
Class SC2 – Sports and GT Cars (1956-1962)
SC2 1956 Porsche Speedster 1600 (Super)
SC2 1957 Aston Martin DB 2/4 MK III
SC2 1957 Cyclops II
SC2 1959 Maserati 3500 GT Vignale Spyder Prototype
SC2 1960 Alta Romeo Giulietta Spider Veloce
SC2 1960 Lotus Elite
SC2 1961 Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato
Class SC3 – Sports and GT Cars (1963-1972)
SC3 1963 Lancia Flaminia 3B Coupe
SC3 1967 Fiat Dino Coupe
SC3 1969 Intermeccanica Italia
SC3 1969 Lancia Fulvia HF Competizione
SC3 1970 Maserati Ghibli
SC3 1971 Pontiac Pegasus Concept
SC3 1972 Ferrari 246 GT Dino
Class SCB – Shelby Cobras
SCB 1962 Ford Cobra s/n CSX2001
SCB 1962 Shelby Cobra s/n CSX2017
SCB 1962 Shelby Dragonsnake s/n CSX2019
SCB 1963 Shelby Cougar II s/n CSX2008
SCB 1963 Shelby KD Cobra s/n CSX3001
SCB 1964 AC Cobra s/n CSX2085
SCB 1964 Shelby 289 Cobra s/n CSX2433
SCB 1964 Shelby Cobra s/n CSX2384
SCB 1964 Shelby Cobra USRRC s/n CSX2558
SCB 1964 Shelby Daytona Coupe s/n CSX2299
SCB 1966 Cobra 427SC s/n 3021
Class SCMG – Sports Cars MG
SCMG 1933 MG L1
SCMG 1934 MG PA
SCMG 1936 MG SA 2 1/2—Liter Open Tourer
SCMG 1938 MG SA Ticktord Drophead Foursome
SCMG 1938 MG TA Ticktord Drop Head Coupe
SCMG 1948 MG TC
Class SCV – Styling Studios Corvette
SCV 1954 Chevrolet Corvette
SCV 1957 Chevrolet Corvette SS
SCV 1959 Chevrolet Scaglietti Corvette
SCV 1961 Chevrolet Corvette Mako Shark Concept
SCV 1962 Chevrolet Corvette Styling Car
SCV 1963 Chevrolet Corvette
SCV 1964 Chevrolet Bill Mitchell Styling Corvette
SCV 1964 Chevrolet Bunkie Knudsen Styling Corvette
SCV 1964 Chevrolet Corvette Coupe
SCV 1964 Chevrolet World’s Fair Styling Corvette
SCV 1976 Chevrolet Corvette
Class SD – Special Display (Non-Judged)
SD 1932 Ford Coupe
SD 1932 Ford Roadster
SD 1934 Ford Roadster
SD 1936 Ford Roadster
SD 1967 Gatto Coupe
SD 2002 Torpedo Roadster
Class SMG – Sebring MG
SMG 1957 MGA
SMG 1959 MGA
SMG 1960 MGA
SMG 1960 MGA Twin Cam
SMG 1961 MGA
SMG 1962 MGA
Class V – Vintage (1915-1923)
V 1920 Kissel Silver Special Speedster "Gold Bug"
V 1920 Packard Twin Six 335
V 1921 McFarlan TV6 Touring
V 1923 McFarlan 154 Twin-Valve Six
Class VE – The Cars of Vic Elford
VE 1967 Porsche 911
VE 1968 Porsche 907
VE 1968 Porsche 907 LH
VE 1968 Porsche 908 Short Tail Coupe
VE 1970 Chaparral 2J
VE 1970 Porsche 908/03
VE 1970 Porsche 917 LH
VE 1971 Porsche 917K Martini
VE 1972 Alfa Romeo TT33
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