Amelia Island, 11^th of March 2012

Traditionally held on the second weekend of March, the 17^th edition of the Concours in the north of Florida was held on the 11^th 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.

... gallery with 612 images >>>

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 60^th anniversary of the Sebring 12 hours and the 50^th 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 50^th 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