This weekend is the 22nd renewal of the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance on the grounds of the Ritz Carlton in Amelia Island, Florida. The event is honoring four-time Indy 500 winner and three-time Indycar National Champion Al Unser, who will be feted at Saturday evening’s gala Mercedes-Benz dinner in the Ritz Carlton’s Talbot Ballroom. Sunday morning will bring to life the actual Concours d’Elegance itself, on the 10th and 18th fairways of the Golf Club of Amelia Island, adjacent to the Ritz Carlton. A selection of significant cars that Unser drove will be on display along with the only surviving Le Mans-winning Jaguar D-Types and a salute to 50 years of Chevrolet’s Camaro pony car. For complete information about all the attractions, please visit www.ameliaconcours.org
Also of interest at Amelia will be collector car auctions held this week by three of the major houses, the offerings from which we will barely scratch the surface of here, so please follow the links to learn more.
RM Sotheby’s two-day Amelia Island auction, set for Friday and Saturday, March 10 and 11, is featuring an exceptionally pure matching numbers 1950 Ferrari 166 MM Barchetta (above, Darin Schnabel photo courtesy of RM Sotheby’s) with Mille Miglia provenance. Chassis 0058 M is the 27th of just 32 166 MMs built, and the 23rd of only 25 Touring barchettas. It was delivered to its first owner in June of 1950, prior to being gifted to future Scuderia Ferrari racing driver Eugenio Castelotti, who raced it in many leading events, including the Mille Miglia in 1951 and 1953. After being exported to the USA, it also raced at Pebble Beach. Beyond its competition pedigree, 0058 M boasts a distinguished ownership record, and through the years has enjoyed a concours career that includes five appearances at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance where, in 1979, it was awarded the coveted Hans Tanner Trophy. It has also garnered multiple Platinum awards at the Cavallino Classic, FCA National Meet and Concorso Italiano.
Another highlight of RM’s two-day Amelia Island event will be “A Gentleman’s Collection: The Pride and Passion of Orin Smith,” which will be offered largely without reserve on March 10. Among the collection’s more prominent pieces are a 1936 Lancia Astura Cabriolet Series III “Tipo Bocca” by Pinin Farina, and a 1958 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud I Drophead Coupe “Honeymoon Express” by Freestone & Webb. For complete information about the full listing of RM Sotheby’s Amelia Island offerings please check out the digital catalogs available at www.rmsothebys.com
A rare, coach-built 1959 Cadillac Broadmoor Skyview Limousine headlines the Bonhams Amelia Island auction that begins tomorrow, Thursday March 9, at the Fernandina Beach Golf Club on Amelia Island, Florida. The nine-passenger, original condition car is one of six commissioned by the historic Broadmoor Hotel of Colorado Springs, and was designed to collect guests from the airport and, most importantly, take them touring through the Garden of the Gods, up Pikes Peak and elsewhere in the Colorado Rockies that surround the hotel. The “Skyview” model name is a result of the entire “glass roof” (actually Plexiglas) that gave passengers uninhibited views of Mother Nature’s grandeur and now remains a classic piece of American motoring heritage.
Another standout Bonhams offering is a 1938 Talbot-Lago T150 previously owned by racer Briggs Cunningham, collector Peter Mullin and hotelier Bill Marriott, that has just emerged from a professional and exacting “frame off” restoration. Everything — from its powerful six-cylinder engine to its soft Hermès-like upholstery and matching luggage — has been masterfully attended to by European craftsmen. These are but two featured cars, to see the complete lineup of offerings, please visit www.bonhams.com/amelia
Gooding & Company’s March 9-10 Auction at Racquet Park, Omni Amelia Island Plantation, on Amelia Island, will spotlight a voluptuous 1957 Jaguar XKSS that delivers D-Type performance with nimble and responsive handling. In October of 1956, at the height of the D-Type’s competition career, Jaguar stopped racing and subsequently set about building and selling an exclusive run of 25 road-going sports cars based on its Le Mans-winning D-Type. They were given the name XKSS, but Jaguar could construct only 16 before a fire swept its Browns Lane plant, destroying the nine unfinished chassis. This car, chassis XKSS 716, is one of those 16 originals, and was delivered new to a buyer in Montreal. It possesses a long and successful competition history with excellent results and no record of serious incident. A decade ago, XKSS 716 was given a complete, show-quality restoration by UK-based marque specialist Pearsons Engineering and refinished in deep, dark green. The first XKSS to be offered at public auction in more than a decade, this car remains in superb cosmetic and mechanical condition.
Among the other cars of note scheduled to cross Gooding’s block are: a 1989 Mazda 767B (s/n 767-003) that won its class at the 1990 24 Hours of Le Mans; a 1955 Pegaso Tipo Z-102B that is one of seven Series 2 Z-102B Berlinettas produced with coachwork by Saoutchik; and a 1955 Lancia Aurelia B24S Spider America, chassis 1009, with coachwork by Pinin Farina that is believed to be the second-oldest surviving example of the 181 left-hand-drive B24S Spider Americas ever built. For complete information about these and all Gooding’s other offerings, please visit www.goodingco.com
