Most car shows tend to choose and stick to a theme, demonstrating a focus that I have always imagined to be the result of an admirable dedication to a specific person or group of people’s passion. I can only imagine, because I can’t really understand.Don’t read me wrong, I love cars! I detest the question “What’s your dream car?” I do plenty of dreaming, but how am I to pick just one? This has actually been a source of much anxiety for me, as it would appear I’m doomed to remain an automotive dilettante rather than an expert. I just can’t settle on a sufficiently narrow subject of interest. If this were college, I’d be the perpetual undergraduate, always trying out a new course, unable to just settle on and complete a major. If you can relate, let me tell you: the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance is the event for you.
Having failed to leave time for researching anything other than travel accommodations, I was unaware of the featured classes chosen for the 20th Annual Concours until I arrived at the show. The sheer variety and volume were astonishing. With over 300 cars on the field, there was truly something for everyone. Even disinterested companions of the car folk could find something appealing between the bright liveries of the many pedigreed racecars on the field, the arresting singularity of the Stutz Blackhawk Streamliner recreation, and the cartoonish grandiosity of the “Cars of the Cowboys.” And with a healthy number of entrants in every one of the 38 classes, there was plenty to be seen of whatever struck your fancy. Even the cars from the “Orphaned Concept” category found themselves at last part of a family of 5!
The show was so large as to be almost overwhelming. Make no mistake, this is absolutely not a complaint, nor is it meant as a criticism—I am incredibly grateful to the intrepid enthusiasts who undertake the organization of this event, which must be a monumental process, so that the rest of us can enjoy. Perhaps dazzling is a better word than overwhelming. The point really is: take the advice I didn’t and go early, and in comfortable shoes. I arrived in the late morning in heels and felt by 3:30ish that I had surely seen everything and it was time to rest my feet. As I listened to the announcer introduce each award winner I thought, “’Most Elegant French Coachwork?’ How did I miss a Delahaye?” As it turned out, I’d missed two Delahayes, as well as several other cars that Jeffrey and Frances Fisher’s 1938 135 MS Grand Sport beat out for that award.
I was distraught to realize I’d actually skipped over an entire section of the show field. Who knew there could be more? Well, probably anyone who actually read their program, but it was so beautifully produced that I immediately stowed mine in my bag for safekeeping. So much for resting my feet—once I knew there were more beautiful and rare cars to take in, there was nothing for it but to hustle to the other side of the Ritz-Carlton’s sprawling golf course and make sure I didn’t miss a thing.
The lesson learned for me is this: if at some dark point in my future I have time or money or vacation days enough to travel to only one concours in a year, I’ll go to great lengths to make sure it’s Amelia Island. The grounds are beautiful, the staff and other attendees are pleasant and polite, and the atmosphere is convivial. The broad range of invited entrants lends a reassuring sense that it’s an event run by true lovers of the automobile. Best of all, the Amelia Concours d’Elegance Foundation is a 501(c)3 Charitable Foundation, so your support of the event doesn’t stop there. And, of course, the timing couldn’t be better. March is end-of-your-rope season throughout the Northeast, and for car people in Boston, where I live, the beginning of “spring” sees you still a solid two months from car show season. I needed this. And trust me: next year, so will you.
Top Right: 1959 Cooper T-51 owned by Bill Lightfoot, showed in the “Cars of Stirling Moss” class.
Top Left : 1983 Lancia #37 and 1975 Lancia Stratos, both owned by John and Suzanne Campion and showed in the “World Rally Cars” class.
Middle Right: 1928 Stutz Blackhawk Streamliner owned by Lattin’s Racing Museum, showed in the “Stutz (Pre-1929)” class.
Middle Left: 1937 Cord SC 812 Phaeton owned by Bob and Pat White, showed in the “Cars of the Cowboys” class.
Bottom Left: 1967 Chevrolet Corvette L88 Coupe owned by Glen and Lucia Spielberg, showed in the “Race Cars (1960-1990)” class.
Photos by Natalie Harrington