The Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance returned to the fairways of the Golf Club of Amelia Island on Sunday, March 10, 2013. Vehicles from around the world participated in this year’s Concours, allowing an enthusiastic crowd of nearly 25,000 to witness the wide array of automotive excellence.
The 18th annual Amelia Concours saw more than 300 cars displayed on the show field, with many coming from the world’s most prominent corporate, public and private collections. As with other top events, the exacting process of selecting cars for the Amelia Concours means that acceptance places an automobile among the finest of its kind. Then the judging process occurs, singling out Best in Class based on originality, authenticity, and appropriate and exceptional preservation or restoration. The exercise ends when the judges choose “Best of Show” from the winners of the respective classes.
Amelia Island was the first Concours to establish two Best in Show awards: Concours d’Elegance and Concours de Sport, which recognize the top traditional vehicle and top sports and racing vehicle, respectively.
The 2013 Amelia Island Concours Best of Show Concours d’Elegance was won by the 1936 Duesenberg SJN owned by Helen and Jack Nethercutt of the Nethercutt Collection. With its convertible coupe body by Rollston and a supercharged, 420 horsepower straight-eight engine, the winning Duesenberg SJN was one of the most powerful and beautiful open cars of the 1930s.
The 1968 Ford GT40 of the Rocky Mountain Auto Collection won Best of Show Concours de Sport. Chassis P/1075 tallied up six wins in only eleven races for the Gulf Oil / J.W. Automotive Engineering team, topped by victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in both 1968 and 1969. It was later displayed at the Indianapolis Speedway Museum to commemorate its racing records, before being returned to private ownership in 1984.
Amelia Island Concours de Sport 2013 – Best in Class Winners
