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2005 Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance
By: Fritz Kloepfel
Photos by the author
March 21, 2005

Article Images


The Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance has always been unique among concours shows because of its heavy focus on racing. This year, on their tenth anniversary, they increased that focus even further by adding an additional Best-in-Show Award. The "Concours de Sport" joins the "Concours d'Elegance" as the show's top two honors.

According to Bill Warner, founder and chairman, "Picking the best of the best classics is always a tough task because there are so many great entries, and this is just as true for the race cars. Amelia has one of the best judging corps around and it's an unenviable task for them to compare a Dusenberg or Delahaye with a Ferrari GTO or a Porsche 917, so we decided to do something unique and honor the sports racers with their own Best-in-Show."

Peter Brock, designer of the famous Cobra Daytona Coupes for Carroll Shelby, was the lead judge for the award this year. Frequently, advances in automotive engineering are introduced and tested on the racetrack before being incorporated in production cars, and this award recognizes that contribution. The judging criteria include the vehicle's provenance, presentation and contribution to advancing automotive technology.

Also in keeping with their focus on racing and sports cars, the concours, held on the beautiful grounds of the Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island, honored 50 years of the small block Chevrolet V-8, and the honored marque Alfa Romeo. While distinctly different, these two segments of automotive history both have strong roots in racing and sports cars. While there were certainly plenty of perfectly restored antique and classic luxury automobiles there, it's nice to see a show with such an interest in honoring "fast autos."

This years Honoree was Bobby Allison, 1983 Winston Cup Champion and 3 time winner of the Daytona 500. After 40 years in NASCAR and 84 NASCAR wins, Allison represents stock car racing and its unique place in our nation's history as well as anyone could. Along with his NASCAR wins, Bobby has over 600 short-track victories, and is a pilot and innovator in the aeronautics field. His presence was a tremendous addition to this year's event.

Along with helping to preserve our automotive history, and making that rich history accessible to so many, the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance supports the Community Hospice of Northeast Florida, and has donated nearly 1.3 million over the years. The beautiful location, inviting weather, incredible collection of cars (287 this year) and support of a grand cause all add up to make this event one of the most significant of it's type in the country. Whether your interests are in rare and delicate automobiles from the 1920s or a small block powered race car from the 1960s, this show has something for everybody, and offers an incredible look at how our automotive history progressed through the last century.

Some of the top awards:

Best In Class-American Classic Closed (1925 - 1948)
1934 Packard Twelve Aero Sport Coupe Judge Joseph C. Cassini, III
West Orange, NJ

Amelia Award-American Classic Closed (1925 - 1948)
1941 Lincoln Continental Coupe Karen and Bill Wilcox
Virginia Beach, VA

Best In Class-American Classic Open (1923 - 1931) - Tie
1929 Stutz Hibbard and Darrin M-8 Ralph and Adeline Marano
Westfield, NJ

1933 Rolls-Royce P2 Henley Roadster
Ray Scherr
West Lake Village, California.

Amelia Award-American Classic Open (1923 - 1931)
1931 Cadillac V-16 Drophead by Lancefield David D'Addario
Easton, CT

Best In Class-American Classic Open (1932 - 1935)
1934 Packard V-12 Convertible Victoria Tom Moretti
Inverness, IL

Amelia Award-American Classic Open (1932 - 1935)
1932 Buick Sport Phaeton Tatarowicz Family
Hinsdale, IL

Best In Class-American Classic Open (1936 - 1948)
1936 Cord 810 Phaeton Jeff Guss
Oradell, NJ

Amelia Award-American Classic Open (1936 - 1948)
1938 Buick 44 Special Drophead Coupe John W. Beebe
Osprey, FL