Amelia Island Concours 2013 – Report and Photos

The Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance 2013 was held Sunday, March 10th on the 10th and 18th fairways of the Golf Club of Amelia Island adjacent to the Ritz-Carlton in Amelia Island, Florida. The event attracted an estimated crowd of 25,000 and more than 300 vehicles on display.

Honorary Chairman Sam Posey kicked off the 18th annual Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance by driving onto the field in his raucous Caldwell D7 Can-Am.A selection of Posey’s racers were among the highlights of the Cars of Sam Posey class, from the lime green Dodge Challenger he raced in the 1970 Trans-Am series to the N.A.R.T Ferrari 512 Posey and Tony Adamowicz co-drove to 3rd overall at the 1971 24 Hours of Le Mans.

In addition to the race cars of Sam Posey, the 2013 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance celebrated the 50th anniversaries of the Ford GT40, Porsche 911, Corvette Sting Ray and Lamborghini, the race cars of Harry Miller and the motorcycles of Ducati. The Ford GT40 class was marked by the wonderful gathering of fourteen race cars at the far end of the show field, highlighted by chassis number 1075 that won overall at Le Mans in 1968 and 1969.

The Cars of Harry Miller class assembled the largest collection of cars from the golden age of the American racing cars of the twenties and thirties. A selection of 22 Millers were on exhibit, including the supercharged Miller 91 that set a speed record at the 1928 Indianapolis 500.

Other classes at the 2013 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance ranged from BMW race cars, Concept Cadillacs, What Were They Thinking, Formula Juniors, BMWs to traditional Concours classes like American Classic Open/Closed, Ferrari and European Classic Pre-War.

The Amelia Island event offers a pair of Best of Show awards, one for Concours d’Elegance and one for Concours de Sport. The 2013 Best of Show Concours d’Elegance went to the 1936 Duesenberg SJ owned by Jack and Helen Nethercutt, while the Best of Show Concours de Sport was awarded to the 1968 Ford GT40 entered the Rocky Mountain Collection. (See Best of Show Photo Gallery)

Off the show field, attendees enjoyed seminars on the Corvette Sting Ray, Porsche 911 and Ford GT40. The Corvette seminar featured Ed Welburn, Vice President Global Design General Motors General Motors and 1963 Sting Ray designer Peter Brock, while the GT40 included fascinating tales spun by racing greats Dan Gurney, David Hobbs and Brian Redman, among others.

“The Amelia is more than just an event. It’s a celebration of the past, present and future of automobiles,” said Bill Warner, Chairman and Co-Founder of the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance. “We gathered the very best in classic cars, racing history and automotive superstars together for the 2013 Concours and I don’t know how we’ll repeat it in 2014. Then again, I’m sure we’ll think of something.”

Plans for the 2014 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance are already underway and the 19th annual event is scheduled to be held on March 7-9.

Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance 2013 – Photo Gallery (click image for larger picture and description)