Amelia Island Concours

THE AMELIA 2023

Dan Scanlan blogs about racing great and Concours honoree Jeff Gordon, and THE AMELIA 2023, formerly known as the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance. What hasn’t changed is the sensory overload triggered by an incredible field of diverse and iconic vehicles.

One of NASCAR’s most iconic drivers walked over to the seven cars being arranged on the grass outside of the Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island, and got a bit amazed. Placed at the back of a Golf Course at Amelia Island fairway were a NASCAR Chevrolet Lumina and Monte Carlo that the now-51-year-old Jeff Gordon, above, had won championships in. Filling in the display were some of his early USAC Sprint cars and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Daytona Prototype car that he co-drove to victory in the 2015 Rolex 24 at Daytona. And amid them, Juan Pablo Montoya’s BMW Williams F1 FW24 car that he did high-speed laps in 2003 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

There was also the No. 67 Outback Steakhouse Pontiac he ran in his first Busch race at 1990’s AC-Delco 200 at North Carolina Motor Speedway (39th-place finish). Calling this a “once in a lifetime” moment, he was amazed – all this for the honoree for the 28th iteration of The Amelia Concours d’Elegance.

“I got to be involved in some of the cars that were selected from Hendrick and from my midget sprint car days, and even the Cadillac prototype that we won the Rolex 24 in,” Gordon said. “But the Outback Steakhouse car – that was the first stock car I ever drove. And the Williams BMW that I did the swap with Juan Pablo Montoya! It is the big highlight in my career. Even though I didn’t get to race that car, just driving it was spectacular. So just having that here is a big surprise.”

The youngest champion in NASCAR’s modern era spent the weekend hanging with fans, including a packed crowd at a March 4 seminar on his career with another NASCAR Hall of Famer – former crew chief, Ray Evernham. Now vice-chairman of Hendrick Motorsports, Gordon has four championships, 93 victories, and three Daytona 500 wins from 1993 to 2015. But the rainbow warrior’s cars were not all that 16,000 fans saw at THE AMELIA 2023 Sunday outing next to the Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island. There were 260 steel, aluminum, carbon fiber and wood creations, among them two Best in Shows.

Best in Show/Concours d’Elegance went to an aircraft-inspired 1935 Avions-Voisin C25 owned by the Mullin Automotive Museum in California. Gabriel and Charles Voisin began building airplanes in 1906. Gabriel focused on military models, then later built cars between 1919 and 1939, among them the Type C25 Aerodyne models in the 1930s. Only four are known to survive, including the museum’s – chassis no. 50010 – the subject of this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BivUGez8Xrs

Its two-tone alloy Art Deco bodywork includes aircraft-style struts between shapely round front fenders and the bonnet, its roof curved so it can slide back over its fastback tail. Inside, wildly patterned cloth seats face an aircraft-style dashboard. After its wild winged radiator mascot led the way to the award area, Merle Mullin accepted it for husband Peter Mullin, who was a bit under the weather back home.

Nose to nose with the Avions-Voisin was the Best in Show/Concours de Sport – a red 1965 250 LM owned by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and the last Ferrari to outright win the 24 Hours of Le Mans.That epic day-long endurance race was one that Ford and Ferrari factory teams had a shot at winning, and the Italian marque was doing well as night fell. But by the end, the fairly petite (94.4-inch wheelbase) 320-horsepower 250 LM of the privateer North American Racing Team won by five laps. It was driven by Masten Gregory, Jochen Rindt and Ed Hugus. For Jason Vansickle, Speedway Museum vehicle curator, it is special to see the Ferrari that won, then win The Amelia.

“It is pretty phenomenal, being the last Ferrari to win outright at Le Mans in 1965,” Vansickle said. “The car was not in contention, and Jochen Rindt was about to leave and go back to Paris. It is very special. This is just one of many prestigious automobiles at the Speedway Museum.”

The weekend-long concours event was begun in 1996 by Jacksonville businessman, car collector and magazine photographer Bill Warner. The Hagerty Group acquired the event, now known simply as The Amelia, in mid-2021. Warner remains chairman emeritus as the event continues to annually honor a famous racer and his cars as it also showcases classic marques, antiques and musclecars.McKeel Hagerty said they had record numbers of fans at The Amelia, including 10,000 at its Saturday Cars and Caffeine, RADwood and Concours de LeMons car shows, then many more at Sunday’s concours. “It was incredible with 260 cars, I think the best that have ever been gathered here,” he said. “The two best of show winners – the Ferrari 250 LM and Avions-Voisin – the Avions is one of the most elegant cars ever built. I am just so proud. I’m happy, and the car world is alive and well.”

Fans walking into THE AMELIA 2023 saw 32 classes of cars on display, some honoring the 100th anniversary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans race in France as well as the 120th anniversary of Buick. There were displays of Porsche Fiberglass Racing Spyders, LeMans Corvettes, the Porsche 959, Historic 1950’s Customs and Pre-War European Custom Coachwork.One was a shapely Art Deco classic – famed aviatrix Amelia Earhart’s 1937 Cord 812 Phaeton Convertible. Just added to the National Historic Vehicle registry, she bought the Palm Beach Tan two-door just a few months before leaving on her ill-fated attempt to fly around the world. In fact, she was photographed with it in front of her Lockheed Electra in September 1936. The Cord is the 33^rd vehicle added to the list, kept by the Library of Congress in collaboration with the Hagerty Drivers Foundation, and joining the 1963 Chrysler Turbine Car, the Ford Mustang from the film Bullitt and an infamous street-racing Dodge Challenger known as the Black Ghost.

Parked among the Fiberglass Dreams, which included a 1953 Bosley GT Mark 1 and a 1957 Victress C2 Coupe, was the never-before-seen 1954 Chevrolet Corvette design concept, above. A styling exercise done by General Motors to see what could be done to fire up moribund sales of the fiberglass sports car introduced a year earlier, designers added a new grill, hood scoop, redesigned tail and different kinds of fender vents and logos on the green ragtop’s left and right side. Owner Billy Jay Espich said the car basically disappeared for decades after none of these designs were approved by management.

“It was to give them an option – do you like it here; do you like it there,” he said. “People kind of say, ‘I’ve never seen this car.’ But in almost every coffee table book on Corvettes, there’s black and white studio images dated March 1954, when they debuted it to management.”

Parked in the European Coachwork class was a French-built Ford – The Marano Collection’s 1939 Matford Victoria. The result of a joint venture between Ford and Mathis S.A, an Alsace-based automaker that build cars from 1910 to 1950, the sleek landaulet has a familiar sweeping Ford grille like those designed by its chief designer, ET “Bob” Gregorie. But from its sleek V-8 hood emblem that clicks sideways to open the bonnet to its vibrant red alligator leather interior, owner Ralph Marano said it is the only one in the world.

“It was bodied by Antem in Paris and we found it in Hershey in the car corral in 2010, just a mess. It was all there, though,” Murano said. “It’s got the 60-horsepower Flathead V-8 in there. We just did the whole car. It has Marchal lights. And the strange part about this car, and I’ve never seen it, and I have been in cars my whole life – it has idiot lights on the dashboard for oil and water, in 1930.”

The Amelia had an amazing class of Volkswagen Transporters from a 1962 Halftrack Fox from Germany to the “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” 1967 Type 2, from the film, backed up by the new VW ID Buzz electric van. Right in front of the Buzz was Baltimore muralist Robert “Dr. Bob” Hieronimus and a psychedelic 1963 Volkswagen Microbus.

Painted by “Dr. Bob” when he was 26, it was commissioned by Bob Grimm, a musician in the rock group Light for their trip to the 1969 Woodstock Music and Art Fair. It became a home-away-from-home for many rock stars before being donated to a commune, where it is believed to be long gone. But Canadian documentary filmmaker John Wesley Chisholm had it recreated, part of the work done in St. Augustine, and showed the VW at Woodstock’s 50th anniversary in 2019.

“What’s been fascinating to me is when we explain the meaning of the bus, that’s when the people respond,” Hieronimus said at The Amelia, talking about what the designs meant. “It is about prayer, meditation, and this is the most important —service to others, helping other people and not looking forward to making money off of them.”

Lined up in front of the General Motors exhibit, which included the Lyriq and Hummer EVs, were some of Chevrolet’s mightiest 24 Hours of Le Mans Corvette race cars, including the 1994 Callaway and 2001 C5.R.

Nearby, the 120th anniversary of Buick included a 1908 Model 10, a rare 1950 Buick Century with three-speed transmission from the Nicola Bulgari Collection, and the head-turning 1951 LeSabre Concept.

Denzel roadsters lined another part of the show field, tiny roadsters built from 1948 to 1959 by Austrian race driver and engineer Wolfgang Denzel and based on Volkswagen components. Nearby, prewar race cars included a 1937 Miller Gulf Special, one of the legendary race car company’s first four-cylinder, front-engined models with elegant radiator tubing wrapped around its nose. The sleek race cars also used a Coffman Combustion Starter – a large shotgun-style shell filled with the explosive cordite. Clicked into a breech forward in the cockpit, the exploding shell’s high-pressure gas was designed to hit an engine piston and begin rotation so it fired!Curving up and over a golf course knoll were a multi-colored row of 1950s California customs including the iconic 1951 Hirohata Mercury coupe, below, a golden red 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air and a wild green Gene Winfield-customized 1956 Mercury “Jade Idol” built for Leroy Kemmerer.

THE AMELIA 2023 included Hagerty’s expanded Cars & Caffeine cruise-in, a RADwood display of exotics and sports cars of the 1980s and 1990s and a tongue-in-cheek Concours d’Lemons filled with oddball vehicles. The concours’ annual charity donations continued over the weekend, $142,000 pledged to local charities.

Photos: Dan Scanlan

For more information about THE AMELIA 2023 and details about the 2024 Concours, please visit https://www.ameliaconcours.com/

SHOWTIME AT THE AMELIA

Casual fan or gearhead, there was everything from Brass Era to Gurney Eagles; NASCAR’s greatest hits to Ferrari’s 75th anniversary; and almost anything in between at the 27^th iteration of SHOWTIME AT THE AMELIA. Dan Scanlan brings us highlights.

Under The Hagerty Group after it purchased Bill Warner’s Amelia Island Concours in June, an expanded family-themed Cars and Community Cruise-In, a Kid’s Zone, 1980s-1990s RADwood Sports Car Show, and even a Concours d’Lemons were added to the program: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PB7To8_PAN0&list=UUbE-kKHYoZVF2G6Rk12sQ3g&index=4&t=4s

The Amelia saw a number of the Sunday concours cars on a road tour that ended with a free display in historic Fernandina Beach. The Porsche Club of America held a judged March 4 Werks Reunion at a nearby golf course, while Goodings, Bonham and RM Sotheby’s held auctions at the concours. But the crown jewel is the 225-vehicle display on two fairways outside the Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGZKYW6D7bQ&list=UUbE-kKHYoZVF2G6Rk12sQ3g&index=8&t=16s

The National Anthem was sung by rock-and-roller John Oates, above, right, to officially open the show, then fans strolled among rows of rolling sculptures of steel, aluminum, carbon fiber and wood. And by the time it was over, an estimated 22,000 had attended its weekend’s events, Hagerty said. Jacksonville businessman, car collector and racer Bill Warner founded the concours in 1996, and remains chairman emeritus. He showed his own ’32 Ford Roadster in that class and was among the staff and crowds all weekend working as usual. Meanwhile, McKeel Hagerty said he is “absolutely thrilled” at how his first The Amelia went, saying it has been one of his favorites, and that of car people.

“The Amelia is one of the great car events of the world and I have been coming since almost the beginning,” Hagerty said. “… To be able to be the stewards of it now and going forward is a thrill, an honor and we are very pleased with how it’s going. Bill had already stated downsizing it, getting it under 300, so we are at 225. We also wanted to make a bit more room for newer, aspirational cars and we have a lot of great OEMs.”

Harry Yeaggy’s black ‘34 Duesenberg Model J Walker LeGrande Convertible Coupe was Best in Show/Concours d’Elegance, the Cincinnati man calling the win “really unexpected.” Production Duesenberg J’s had 420-cubic inch Straight Eight engines with twin camshafts and dual Winfield carburetors. One of the last Duesenbergs produced, this car was able to top 115 mph and was originally owned by Marjorie Merriweather Post (General Mills founder and the world’s wealthiest woman).

“We actually restored it seven years ago,” said Yeaggy, whose ‘29 Duesenberg J/SJ Convertible won Best of Show here in 2018. “The car spent its whole life within a 2.5-mile radius until I bought it 15 years ago. It is one of three by Walker LeGrande.”

A Cadillac DPi-V.R racecar with a Wayne Taylor Racing chassis was Best in Show/Concours de Sport, purpose-built to compete in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. It has a naturally-aspirated 600 horsepower Cadillac 5.5-liter V-8, and was the overall winner of the 2018 Petit Le Mans with lead driver Jordan Taylor, Renger van der Zande and Ryan Hunter Ray. It also won the 2019 Rolex 24 At Daytona with lead driver and double F1 World Champion Fernando Alonzo, van der Zande, Taylor and Kamui Kobayashi.

Owner Wayne Jackson saying it was “absolutely fantastic” that his winning race car brought home its first non-racing award. “I couldn’t be more ecstatic,” Jackson said. “This is my first concours, and I didn’t appreciate that I had any chance in the world of winning. It is a very, very exciting surprise.” Best of Show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2x8gvyeRo_A&list=UUbE-kKHYoZVF2G6Rk12sQ3g&index=6

Normally held the first weekend in March on fairways at the Golf Club of Amelia Island next to the Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island, this year SHOWTIME AT THE AMELIA celebrated the 60th anniversary of the 24 Hours of Daytona, the 70th anniversary of the 12 Hours of Sebring, Indy 500 Roadsters, Gurney Eagle IndyCars, 90^th anniversary of the 1932 Ford and Ferrari’s 75th birthday. Jim Glickenhaus (left in hat), below, helped his crew dry the morning dew off his stunning ‘66 Ferrari P3/4, below. And this year’s concours’ honoree was race team owner and former driver Chip Ganassi, eight of the cars that his teams competed with throughout his career on display.

Nearby in the Porsche Aluminum Race Car class was one of the first two factory cars entered into the 24 Hours of Le Mans – a ‘49 Porsche 356/2 Gmund SL of Cameron Healy and Suzy Snow of Portland. Literally one of the first Porsches hand-built in the town of Gmünd in Kärnten, it is one of 63 made.

“It was 20^th overall, won its 1100-cc class and beat all the 1500-cc cars,” Healy said. “More than all that, it stood up to the endurance test for this fledgling, struggling company and put them on the world stage. That moment was the beginning of Porsche motorsports since this was its first factory entry. I love the early cars, the shape for one. I also love the history and significance.”

Glowing red and blue in the NASCAR class was John Kyle’s 1972 Cup Series championship-winning Dodge Charger built originally for Richard Petty teammate Buddy Baker. Kyle’s car, an iconic mix of STP red and Petty blue, helped him win the NASCAR championship over Bobby Allison. Richard Petty himself verified it was his when Kyle discovered it years ago.

“In 1972, 50 years ago, that’s when they get the STP sponsorship and Richards transitions from Plymouths to Dodges,” Kyle said. “… Growing up, I would see this on TV, but it was a black and white TV and I thought, that’s a cool-looking car! It got sold to California and got lost for almost 50 years, then I kind of found it.”

Sleeker IndyCars were lined up against the eastern tree line, including 10 epic Dan Gurney AAR Eagles like the No. 88 Bardahl-Pacesetter Homes Special for Jerry Grant to drive in 1966. It is the third Eagle racer now owned by Bobby Rahal, the eagle-beaked open-wheeler’s restoration was done last summer by people who knew and worked with Dan Gurney.

“I don’t know anybody who doesn’t like Dan Gurney,” restorer and veteran Indy Car chief mechanic Don Hoevel said. “… Gurney’s cars in that era were the most beautiful cars you ever saw, and as Bobby likes to say, if it looks great, it probably is great. Fortunate for us, we all knew Dan.”

Moving over to the Sebring class, there’s a familiar-looking ‘53 Kurtis 500S, until you look at the flared front wing fenders and quad headlights in the deep grille intake, separated by stylish chrome bars. The King of Kustomizers himself, George Barris, did those wings, owner Jim Weddle says, as the car won California sports car races, and competed with Bill Murphy driving in the 1955 Sebring race.

“It raced with these Barris custom fenders on it. They look like they would give the car lift, but that was apparently not an issue,” the St. Louis man said. “… In the Sebring race, it came in fifth in class and 19^th overall. The co-driver was Sam Hanks, who drove at Indianapolis 13 times and won in 1957.”

The wildest roadster in the Sports and GT Class at SHOWTIME AT THE AMELIA was a shiny just-restored wedge called the ‘66 Cannara 1, owned by Floridian Guy Dirkin, who finished restoration two days earlier. Long before Triumph’s TR7, Fiat’s X1/9 and the Lotus Esprit, Ray Cannara designed this in 1964 while at the Art Center in California and finished it in 1966. There’s a 350-inch Chevy just ahead of the two seats, its chrome air cleaner popping up at the windshield base, with a 1958 Chevrolet front and rear suspension.

“This is a front, mid-engine car. We moved the engine forward slightly,” Dirkin said. “The carburetor used to be where the mirror is, inside the passenger compartment. To make this car wedge-shaped, the engine had to be significantly far back.”

A perfect representative of the 90^th anniversary of the 1932 Ford Class was Kim and Mitch McCullough’s Pacific Gun Sight Special: https://carguychronicles.com/32-ford-old-schools-best-school/

It was built in 1946 by WW II vet Roy “Mack” MacKinney, and restored as it was raced by Leo Juri at the 1952 Bonneville Speed Trials. Named after the Pacific Gun Sight Company where Juri worked, the two-inch chopped High Boy roadster had no headlights or windshield, as it ran on the salt flats powered by a Flathead V-8 with Offy heads and Eddie Meyer intake with dual Strombergs.

“We know the continuous ownership history since 1946, so that’s awesome to have that provenance,” Kim said. “… We consider the ‘32s all donor cars for a lot of people having fun. Not everyone has a Flathead. We have a Flathead, plus the original four-carb setup that it ran at Bonneville.”

The Amelia Island Concours has always been known for showing interesting cars of our automotive past, and a big feature was the short-lived three-wheeled cars of the Davis Motorcar Company. The post-World War II idea of used car salesman Gary Davis, who saw the bullet-shaped trike with Hercules 60-horsepower, four-cylinder industrial engine, Studebaker wheels and a claimed four-person bench seat as the perfect answer for car-starved America in the late-1940s, early 1950s!

Jeff Lane of Nashville’s Lane Motor Museum brought the prototype ‘48 Davis Divan, nicknamed “Baby,” and a second one, survivors of only 13 ever made before Davis was convicted of fraud and grand theft in 1950. Five Davis Divans were at SHOWTIME AT THE AMELIA, plus the last gasp of the company – owner Bruce Feuerstein’s ungainly-looking ‘49 Davis 494X-P. Imagine a Jeep with a single front wheel! “He felt, why not throw a Jeep body on it, and maybe the government will pick it up,” Lane said. “Maybe the government will pay me for 200 up front before I build them?”

The concours’ annual charity donations continued over the weekend, a signed photo of Ganassi with his many racing trophies earning $22,000 for Spina Bifida of Jacksonville at a Saturday live auction. Another $17,000 was raised there for The Amelia’s charities, adding to the more than $4.4 million donated in the past 26 years to others like Community Hospice and Palliative Care.

SHOWTIME AT THE AMELIA returns on March 2-5, 2023. For more information, please visit https://www.ameliaconcours.com/

CHIP GANASSI: THE AMELIA’S 2022 HONOREE!

The 27^th Annual Amelia Island Concours will celebrate the career of racer and racing legend, CHIP GANASSI: THE AMELIA’S 2022 HONOREE!

The founder of Chip Ganassi Racing has touched every major form of North American motorsport plus the ultimate international road race, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Ganassi’s legacy extends far beyond being an accomplished driver, he is a decorated race team owner who has fielded highly successful teams in INDYCAR, NASCAR, the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and Extreme E competition.

Ganassi made his racing debut in the 1981 Robert Bosch Super Vee Championship. In 1982, Ganassi graduated with a finance degree from Duquesne University and started his first Indianapolis 500 in Mario Andretti’s year-old ‘81 Wildcat/Cosworth. He was the fastest of a star-studded rookie class qualifying ahead of future “500” winners Bobby Rahal and Danny Sullivan. A year later Ganassi logged two podium finishes and was voted Most Improved Driver, ultimately ranking ninth in the INDYCAR Championship. Ganassi retired from the Indy car cockpit following a brutal high-speed accident at Michigan International Raceway in 1984. His final race was the 1987 24 Hours of Le Mans.

In 1990, CHIP GANASSI: THE AMELIA’S 2022 HONOREE! founded Chip Ganassi Racing, the only team to win the crown jewels of North American racing: the Daytona 500, the Indianapolis 500, NASCAR’s Brickyard 400, and the 24 Hours of Daytona, in a 12-month span. Chip Ganassi Racing’s incredible success on the track includes eight victories in the 24 Hours of Daytona (2006-2008, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2018), four consecutive INDYCAR Championships twice (1996 through 1999 and 2008 through 2011) and four Indianapolis 500 victories (2000, 2008, 2010, 2012) including a one-two finish in 2012.

Ganassi returned to Le Mans in 2016, this time as an owner. Ford Chip Ganassi Racing did not disappoint, scoring another historic Le Mans Ford victory, first, third and fourth in GTE LM Pro, leading all but 26 laps from the pole on the team’s first Le Mans attempt. The landmark victory came on the 50th anniversary of Ford’s historic 1-2-3 finish in 1966. He is also well known for his charitable work for St Jude Children’s Hospital. In 2011 Chip received an honorary Doctorate from Carnegie Mellon University in his hometown Pittsburgh. In 2016, the year of the Le Mans victory for Ford, Chip was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America.

“Honoring a hero from the racing community is an important component of The Amelia DNA. From the inaugural honoree, Sir Stirling Moss, to the recent celebration of Lyn St. James, The Amelia has anchored the celebration of the automobile to the incredible people who have devoted their lives as ambassadors for driving,” said McKeel Hagerty, CEO of Hagerty. “We are thrilled that Chip Ganassi accepted our invitation. His racing legacy represents Hagerty’s love of driving and passion for the wellness of others.”

For more information about The Amelia Concours, please visit https://www.ameliaconcours.com/

SHOWTIME: 2021 AMELIA ISLAND CONCOURS

‘Expect the unexpected’ is why people from here and abroad flock annually to Bill Warner’s spectacle in the sunshine. Dan Scanlan brings us the best of the best from SHOWTIME: 2021 AMELIA ISLAND CONCOURS, complete with photos and videos.

There was grace with pace last week at the 26th Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance. For pace, how about 3 Dog Garage’s ‘85 Roush Ford Mustang IMSA racer in the Cars of Lyn St. James Class? She thundered onto the show field in that Mustang that secured her first Daytona 24-hour class win in 1987, with co-drivers Bill Elliott and Tom Gloy. After some gentle grassy burnouts, she stopped next to Concours founder/chairman Bill Warner, right, and whooped, “That was so much fun, could I do another lap?”

Car owner Ross Myers was just as happy that St. James, who he called a “phenomenal figure” in racing, got to drive it. “When she started, it was a man’s deal, and I admire her so much because she is so feisty and she never gave up,” he said. “If she got in a seat, she could go fast. When people gave her a chance, it did not matter if it was IMSA GT, IndyCar, land speed, she would give it her absolute best and she was fast.”

For grace, there was Calvin and Janet High’s ‘30 Ruxton Roadster in American Classic 1920-1930; the ‘31 Marmon Sixteen of Donald Bernstein and Patricia Taylor in American Classic 1931-1932; and Gregory Ornazian’s ‘29 Duesenberg J-239 Convertible Coupe in American Classic 1933-1948.

The 2020 Concours was the last big public event in Florida before the world shut down due to COVID-19. This year’s event was the first big concours held, moved from March to May in the hopes that more people would be vaccinated. Held under sunny hot skies, the concours saw a crowded show field on fairways at the Golf Club of Amelia Island next to the Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island.

Grace and Pace came together at the end, as seen in Charles and Jill Mitchell’s elegant ‘26 Hispano-Suiza H6B Cabriolet, crowned Best in Show Concours d’Elegance. Bought new by the King of Tunisia, it was re-bodied in 1932 in its current design at France’s Henri Chapron Works. “It’s just elegant, it’s raw elegance. It feels great,” Charles Mitchell said. “This is our first show ever!” Low and mean is the best way to describe James Bartel’s black knee-high ‘74 Shadow DN4 Can-Am racecar winner of Best in Show Concours de Sport. A championship-winning racer driven by Jackie Oliver, he said he was overwhelmed to win. “I never expected a contemporary race car to win at Amelia, just didn’t expect it,” Bartel said, holding his award. “There is nothing pretty about it. It is all a sinister, mean, serious car.”

One corner of the display of 240 classics was devoted to eight Shadow Can-Am racecars as well as open wheelers. Racer Don Nichols conceived the Shadows as highly aerodynamic, with “flat-out speed,” Bartel said. The Shadows on display included a ‘70 MKI, ‘71 MKII, ‘72 MKIII, ‘73 DN2 and ‘74 DN4 Can-Am cars. There was also a ‘76 Shadow DN6B F5000 and Formula One car. But it all began with the knee-high ‘70 Shadow MKI prototype with such advanced thinking from Nichols and designer Trevor Harris as front and rear pop-up air brakes and wind-cheating venturi channels that wrap around rear wheels. Test driver George Follmer had to lie almost prone with a small steering wheel between his knees.

“They envisioned having a car that was aerodynamic and just flat-out fast like nobody else,” Bartel said. “… They never got to try the active aero because it was outlawed. They started in 1968, and were finishing it in the middle of 1969 when the FIA said no moveable aero.”The car will be displayed next year at Daytona’s Motorsports Hall of Fame of America, the air brakes popping up on demand for fans.

Some past favorites made appearances again, such as Andre Dubonnet’s sleek ‘38 Hispano-Suiza Xenia. The sixth-annual Amelia Concours Best of Show award winner, headlined a featured class of 10 “Hissos” that included a ‘12 Alfonso XIII LWB Torpedo Sport and T-15 Alfonso XIII, and one of the last of the elegant line – a ‘37 J12 Berline Le Tourneaur et Marchand coupe with a 575-cubic-inch 12-cylinder engine. One of the most expensive cars of the time, it’s now in the National Auto Museum, from the George Harrah collection.

One car that turned a lot of heads was the Tasco Special, Gordon Buehrig’s design study prototype featuring the first application of T-Tops, and powered by a unique dual-carb Ford Flathead V-8 with Ardun OHV conversion heads, engineered and manufactured by Zora and his brother Yuri, Arkus-Duntov at their small shop in Queens, NY. That was before Zora became Corvette Chief Engineer.

The Chevy Thunder Class honored the history-making cars that have won 11 Indy 500s, 24 Daytona 500s, plus the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and included a glowing blue ‘58 Meister Brauser Scarab, Smokey Yunick’s (re-created) ‘55 Chevrolet 150 stock car, ‘76 Chevrolet Greenwood Corvette and Dale Earhart’s ‘98 Chevrolet Monte Carlo Daytona 500 winner, plus his ‘01 Rolex 24 at Daytona’s fourth-place Corvette C5R-004.

Another winged warrior there also had radiators in its wing, parked in the Chevy Thunder display next to a ‘73 Lola T330/F5000 and ‘71 McLaren M8F Can-Am racer. The only one of its kind, Roy Woods modified the ‘78 Chevrolet DeKon Monza with twin turbochargers and the special rear wing for George Follmer, resulting in 1,100 horsepower. Last raced in 1980, it sat in Follmer’s Porsche dealership untouched for years before it was sold, never run again. It will be racing again at August’s Rolex Monterey Reunion.

There was also a Muscle Cars of 1970 Exhibit featuring the radically-streamlined ‘70 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II with sloped nose, scooped headlights and tail spoiler. It and the Ford Torino King Cobra were designed by the legendary Larry Shinoda and his staff at Ford’s Special Design Center and built at Kar-Kraft to beat the winged ‘70 Plymouth Superbird, (one shown nearby) on NASCAR’s super-speedways. The planned production run never occurred; this the only survivor of two made.

Another Ford that looked like it should have racing history, but didn’t, was the sleek and very low ‘68 Ford GT40 Mark III owned by Gary Bartlett. He took it on the road tour into Fernandina Beach the Friday before the Concours, then showed the rare two-seater on the show field – rare because it is one of only seven Mark III Road cars built at FAV in the UK, and not an endurance racer. Inside, its gearshift was moved to the center console, for driver convenience, compared with the Mark I Road Car and GT40 racecar’s door sill mounted shifter.

The Supercars of the 1990s Class included a ‘94 Toyota Supra Mk IV, ‘86 Ferrari Testarossa used in TV’s Miami Vice, and a ‘88 Porsche 959S. Gioel Molinari’s Redshift 75 Collection brought a ‘99 Mercedes-AMG CLK GTR, cleaning the lift-off nose and tail on that street-legal 604-horsepower V-12 version of the FIA GT Championship racecar before the show started. Its mid-mounted 6.9-liter V-12 has 604 horsepower and can propel it to 214 mph!

Across the field was the Weird & Wonderful Class, which included the ‘09 Monopoly Speedster – a life-size silver game piece from the Lane Motor Museum that won the Meguiar’s People’s Choice Award. TV’s Chasing Classic Cars host and collector, Wayne Carini showed the Corvair Futura Waimea, one of three designs from Kaiser Aluminum that was made from three Corvairs. Besides its green interior, it had ‘63 Pontiac Bonneville stacked headlights, a single central driver’s seat, and two bench seats.

“It was a thought process of building a minivan, with a driver transporting people around in a small station wagon-type car,” Carini said. “One of the engineers at Kaiser ran with the idea because he knew the company wasn’t going to do it, and built it in his garage. It’s kind of funky and kind of weird, but we love weird cars.”

Myron Vernis brought his bullet-shaped, 3-wheeled ‘48 Davis Divan, one of only 16 ever made. Glenn Gordan Davis’s company went under when he was convicted of securities fraud. “They usually just smile,” Vernis said of people’s reaction to it. “It was the Tucker of the West Coast. … It was a great car and really cool, and it was designed by Frank Kurtis, who was a great racecar designer, and that’s why the three-wheel concept on this works.”

The It’s Electric Class, Best in Class winner was the grandest design – Mark Hyman’s ‘05 Columbia XXXV Open Drive Brougham, an elegant carriage that saw him drive it at one point from its high front seat in top hat. Geoff Hacker’s ‘54 Woodill Wildfire was back again. One of the stars in the 1964 film Johnny Dark – Next to it was Tom Chandler’s curvaceous and elegant two-tone blue ‘53 Maverick Sportster, one of seven built by Sterling Gladwin, who wanted a boulevard sports car. Under its neo-classic shape and long bonnet is a Cadillac V-8 and chassis. One of only three survivors, it won the Buddy Palumbo Award. “It is one man’s dream. He wanted to create a Southern California boulevard car for the rich and wealthy,” Chandler said. “It’s all Cadillac mechanical, very stock Cadillac… This is the only other one restored besides his prototype in California.”

Sleek, winning muscle was represented by a class of a dozen Porsche 935 racers to show its winning ways from 1976 through the final victory in the 1984 12 Hours of Sebring. The Haberthur Meccarillos Cégécol Racing Team’s ‘78 24 Hours of Le Mans-winning Porsche 935 was there as well as the ‘79 Le Mans-winning Kremer K3. So was a local icon – The Brumos Collection’s ‘79 Brumos Racing 935 that won eight races and the title with the late Peter Gregg.There was also a ‘20 Porsche 935-19, one of 77 modern reinterpretations of the iconic original, based on the 991 GT2 RS and built for track use only.

A prime waterfront site at the back of the show was reserved for what some consider the most exotic and alluring Ferraris ever – the 275 GTB/4. With a 3.3-liter Colombo V-12 and 300 horsepower, it was the first Ferrari road car with a five-speed gearbox between the rear wheels, plus fully independent double wishbone rear suspension. Best in Class was Swap Shop Racing’s 275 GTB/C (C for Competizione) Berlinetta Speciale with 330 horsepower and a 300-pound diet. The Denise McCluggage Trophy for the most historically significant postwar racecar went to Fratelli Auriana’s ‘67 Ferrari Alloy NART Spyder, above, that also appeared with Steve McQueen in 1968’s The Thomas Crown Affair.

Another Italian that looked brutally beautiful was Rob Dyson’s unrestored ‘13 Isotta-Fraschini Tipo IM, with a huge 135-horsepower, 7.2-liter inline 4-cylinder engine with a single Zenith updraft carburetor. It was the factory entry in 1913’s Indianapolis 500 with Teddy Tetzlaff at the wheel, and raced the next year as well. It didn’t finish either. It was converted to street use briefly, before its owner died in 1918. Stored for 39 years, then gently preserved, it retains a nicely patinated look and its thunderous sound, Dyson wearing ear protection when he drove it.

“They built four and this is the only one left,” Dyson said. “… It’s probably the best preserved and complete pre-war Indy racecar in existence. It actually drives pretty well. You better wear goggles because the front wheels really kick up a lot of dust and dirt.” It won Best in Class – Race Cars Pre-War.

The Amelia Island Concours has raised more than $3.75 million for Community Hospice of Northeast Florida, Spina Bifida of Jacksonville and other charities since it began. For more information about the Concours, next year’s dates and a complete list of 2021 awards, please visit https://www.ameliaconcours.org/

VIDEOS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xm4ylmKlB78&t=81s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeBxGFDFD0E&t=33s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Sso7gMT-9Q

Words, photos & videos by Dan Scanlan

CUNNINGHAM: 60th ANNIVERSARY C8 CORVETTE

CUNNINGHAM: 60^th ANNIVERSARY C8 CORVETTE, Car # 33 of 60, debuts at Amelia Island Concours as part of a charity Sweepstakes benefitting CMAF.

The three original Cunningham C1 Corvettes and their racing history carry an enormous amount of prestige within the Corvette community, as well as those who support endurance racing. The #3 Briggs Cunningham entry stands head and shoulders above all others, having won its class in the 1960 24 Hours of Le Mans. Its story was chronicled in the 2011 Michael Brown Documentary, The Quest. Fast forward 60 years and the Chip Miller Amyloidosis Foundation, CMAF, in conjunction with Cunningham Automotive, are proud to debut Cunningham #33 at the Amelia Island Concours d’ Elegance, May 20-23 at the Ritz Carlton, less than one hour north of downtown Jacksonville, FL.

Powered by a 600-horsepower Lingenfelter-built and tuned engine, it comes complete with a high-flow carbon fiber intake manifold, Corsa headers, HRE forged aluminum wheels, Michelin tires, Peter Stevens designed aero kit and Cunningham/MOV’IT performance brakes, and more. Not only will the car be on display with sweepstakes entries available to win it on October 1, it’ll be attended by CMAF president, Lance Miller, above, right.

“I’m very excited to see this car in person for the first time,” noted Miller.” “I am confident that it will turn heads as it sits on display surrounded by blue-blood brands like Rolls Royce, Bugatti, Ferrari, Cord and more,” continued Miller. “When you come to the Foundation table, I look forward to talking with you about amyloidosis, the horrible disease that took my best friend and Dad, Chip Miller, from us in 2004. I am also looking forward to your support by way of this sweepstakes. Entries range from 12 tickets for $25 to 2,800 tickets for $2,500, and many more options in between.”

This sweepstakes is just one of many great ways you can support CMAF. There are events planned from now through August designed to raise awareness and money for amyloidosis. If you visit https://chipmiller.org/ you can learn more about more CMAF PLUS all the ways you can enter to win our Sweepstakes #33 C8 Cunningham Corvette…and all the events you should consider attending in June, July and August 2021.

To learn more about the CUNNINGHAM: 60^th ANNIVERSARY C8 CORVETTE debut at the Amelia Island Concours, and other opportunities, please visit https://www.ameliaconcours.org/, https://www.carlisleevents.com/events/events-detail/index?id=corvettes at carlisle and https://www.facebook.com/AmyloidosisAwareness