The festivities on Amelia Island have come to an end. The auction reports for the RM/Sothesby's, Bonhams and Gooding & Company auctions have already been published. But the main attraction, in addition to the drive and many supporting events between March 10 and 12, 2017, was of course the Concours d'Elegance.
However, the organizers had to change their plans at short notice, as the weather forecast for Sunday looked so bad that the Concours had to be brought forward to Saturday.
This decision affected not only dozens of dealers but also the entire fleet of cars, the owners and all visitors. However, it turned out that the organizing committee made the right decision, as the storm "Stella" moved into the country on Sunday, bringing heavy rain and powerful gusts of wind with it.
Despite this last-minute postponement, everything went like clockwork - after all, the Concours was being held for the 22nd time and the organizers and volunteers have got the hang of it by now.
Guest of honor Al Unser Senior
Four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Al Unser, Sr. opened the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance as guest of honor when he rolled onto the lawn in his Lola T332.
An entire Concours class was also dedicated to him, the American racing legend, with the PJ Colt Indy Car from 1971 being honored as best in class.
Big event
Compared to other Concours, the Amelia Island event is huge. With over 300 cars in not quite four dozen classes, there is plenty on offer to make car enthusiasts' hearts beat faster.
Breathtaking and rare vehicles will be on display, such as the only remaining Prince R380, a Japanese Porsche Carrera 6 competitor, which put up quite a fight against the competition from Zuffenhausen.
Not everyday classes
The "Japanese" classes at this year's Concours were certainly not the kind of thing you have seen everywhere else.
Japanese prototypes such as the Mazda 787-B from 1991 (class winner) or the Nissan GTP ZX-Turbo from 1987 were presented in separate groups, as well as a Toyota Shelby 2000 GT from 1967 (class winner), which is hardly known in this country, and an early Japanese touring racing car Datsun 510 BRE from 1971.
In other racing car classes, the Brumos Racing Team was honored and the Jaguar D-Type celebrated, to name just a few examples.
Streamlined vehicles
Streamlined vehicles were honored several times. In addition to a class for the "Chrysler/De Soto Airflow, there was a group with prototype streamliners, in which vehicles as diverse as the Mercedes-Benz 540 K Streamliner from 1938, the Ford/Oldsmobile Golden Rod from 1959 and the Oldsmobile Aerotech from 1987 were honored.
Incidentally, the Spirit of Rett LSR Streamliner from 1999 was victorious in this class.
Primarily an American event
Amelia Island is certainly primarily an American-influenced event, which is mainly attended by Americans, but there are always Europeans among the local collectors, such as Andreas Möhringer from Salzburg, who was not afraid to bring his 1959 Maserati Tipo 60/61 Streamliner to Amelia Island.
Mercedes-Benz Classic and the Louwman Museum are also regular participants and supporters of the event.
Uramerican growth
Given the nature of the event, it goes without saying that there were also some classes in 2017 that focused exclusively on American vehicles.
For example, the 50th anniversary of the Chevrolet Camaro was celebrated and classes were dedicated to the Marmon and Duesenberg brands and American classics from various eras in general.
James Bond once again
A separate class was also set up for movie cars, with entries including a Morgan Plus 4, a Chevrolet Stingray Racer, a Chevrolet Impala, a Ferrari 275 GTB/4 Alloy NART Spider and a Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow Two Door Sedan.
However, the Aston Martin DB5, as seen in the movie "Goldfinger", came out on top. The Porsche 917K, as seen in the movie "Le Mans", celebrated with an award.
The two Best of Show
Traditionally, two "Best of Show" awards are presented in Amelia Island in the categories of sport and elegance. In 2017, the "Best in Show Concours de Sport" award went to the Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Lungo Spider from 1939 from the Dano Davis Collection. This car has a truly adventurous history, in which the engine of a Chevrolet Corvette once made it into the front of the Alfa with touring Superleggera bodywork.
The Duesenberg Model SJ-582 (1935) by Terence Adderley was voted "Best of Show Concours d'Elegance". Chassis 2558 was bodied by the A. J. Walker Company as the Torpedo Phaeton. Because the original buyer was not satisfied with the car, Duesenberg replaced the entire chassis including the engine. The original body was thus fitted to chassis 2608 with the J-582 engine.
Somehow one would have wished this year's Concours a little more courageous "Best of Show" vehicles, the selection was really huge and a Toyota 2000 GT or a Prince R380 as the most beautiful car would certainly have made a statement.
By the way, next year's Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance will take place from March 9 to 11, 2018.
The Amelia Island class winners from 2017
The class winners (Best in Class) and the Amelia Awards (in this order) are listed:
- American Classic (Pre 1932)
1930 Cadillac V-16 All Weather Phaeton
1930 Cadillac V-16 Roadster
1931 Auburn 8-98A Deluxe Phaeton - American Classic (1932 - 1934)
1932 Chrysler CL Imperial Convertible Coupe
1934 Packard 1101 2/4 Coupe
1933 Pierce-Arrow Twelve Convertible Coupe Roadster - American Classic (1935 - 1948)
1938 Lincoln Model K LeBaron
1936 Auburn 852 S/C Boattail Speedster
1937 Packard 1507 Convertible - American Limited Production
1960 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham - Bentley
1953 Bentley Convertible
1957 Bentley S1 Continental Park Ward - BMW 501-507
1957 BMW 503 Convertible
1958 BMW 502 - Camaro
1968 Chevrolet Yenko Camaro
1969 Chevrolet COPO Camaro - Cars of Al Unser Sr
1971 PJ Colt Indy Car
1978 Lola T500-01
1969 King Champ Dirt Car - Cars of Brumos
1977 Porsche 934.5 - Chrysler/DeSoto Airflow
1935 Chrysler CW Airflow
1935 Chrysler C-2 Imperial Airflow Coupe
1936 DeSoto Airflow Coupe - Duesenberg
1935 Duesenberg SJ-582
1929 Duesenberg J-199 Convertible Coupe by Derham
1934 Duesenberg J-440 Riviera Phaeton by Brunn - European Custom Coachwork
1939 Lagonda V-12 Rapide
1936 Mercedes-Benz 290 Cabriolet
1938 Jaguar SS 100 Graber Coupe - European Custom Coachwork (French)
1938 Delahaye 135 MS Coupe
1932 Bugatti Type 55
1949 Delahaye 135 MS - Ferrari Production (1947-1959)
1952 Ferrari 212 Europa Vignale
1951 Ferrari 212 Inter - Ferrari Production (1960-1972)
1960 Ferrari 250 GT Pinin Farina Cabriolet S II
1960 Ferrari 250 GT Cabriolet SII
1966 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 - Horseless Carriage (1895 - 1915)
1913 Renault Type DM Touring
1906 Cadillac Model K1910 Maytag-Mason Model "A" Runabout - Horseless Carriage (40+ Horsepower)
1915 Simplex Crane Model 5
1914 Stutz Bearcat - Jaguar-D Type
1957 Jaguar XKD 606
1957 Jaguar XKSS 713
1955 Jaguar XKD 541 - Japanese Production Racing
1967 Toyota Shelby 2000GT
1982 Datsun 280ZX Turbo
1971 Datsun 510 BRE #46 - Japanese Protoype
1991 Mazda 787-B
1987 Nissan GTP ZX-Turbo - Marmon
1924 Marmon 34-C
1931 Marmon Sixteen
1933 Marmon Sixteen Victoria Coupe - Mercedes-Benz (Gullwings)
1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL
1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Alloy - Motor Scooters
1952 Maico Mobil MB175
1964 Harley-Davidson Topper "AH" - Movie Cars
1964 Aston Martin DB5
1949 Buick Roadmaster
1969 Porsche 917K - Porsche (4 Cam Racing)
1959 Porsche RSK 718 Center Seat
1955 Porsche 550 Spyder - Race Cars (1946 - 1960)
1956 Wright Special Scooter
1958 Ferrari 412 S1953 SIATA 300 BC Spider - Race Cars (1961 - 1966)
1966 Shelby 427 Cobra CSX 3159
1961 Begra Sports Racer MK3
1965 Alfa Romeo GTA - Race Cars (1967 - 1981)
1967 Porsche 911 T/A
1980 Lancia Beta Monte Carlo
1978 TOJ SC-206 - Race Cars (Pre-War)
1926 Bugatti Type 37
1932 Dreyer Sprint Car
1911 E-M-F Model 30 Racer - Rolls-Royce (Post War)
1965 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III Mulliner Park Ward Flying Spur
1966 Rolls-Royce Phantom V James Young PVst23 Sedanca de Ville - Rolls-Royce (Pre-war)
1937 Rolls-Royce Phantom III
1928 Rolls-Royce Springfield Phantom I Ascot Tourer - Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost
1914 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost
1921 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost - Sports and GT Cars (1946 - 1955)
1953 Fiat Vignale Coupe by Michelotti
1948 MG TC - Sports and GT Cars (1956 - 1958)
1956 Austin Healey 100M
1958 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster
1957 Lancia Aurelia B24 Convertible - Sports and GT Cars (1959 - 1965)
1960 Aston Martin DB4 Series II
1960 Lancia Flaminia GT Touring
1965 Aston Martin DB5 - Sports and GT Cars (1966 - 1967)
1967 Iso Grifo
1966 Maserati Mistral Spyder - Sports and GT Cars (1968 - 1981)
1968 Lamborghini Islero
1977 Maserati Bora - Sports Cars (Pre-War to 1942)
1933 Morgan Super Sports Aero
1936 MG PB - Streamliners
1999 Spirit of Rett LSR Streamliner
1952 Ford Golden Rod - Vintage (1915-1921)
1919 Pierce-Arrow Model 66 A-4 Tourer
1918 Roamer C-6-54 Sport Touring
