Amelia Island Concours 2017 – Report and Photos

The Amelia Island Concours 2017 was held March 9-11 on the 10th and 18th fairways of the Golf Club of Amelia Island adjacent to the Ritz-Carlton in Amelia Island, Florida. The 22nd anniversary of the Concours attracted capacity crowds and more than 300 cars and motorcycles into 41 classes from 11 different countries. The visual history lesson that is the Amelia Island Concours again lived up to our lofty expectations as one of the premier classic car showcases worldwide.

With a near-certain forecast for rain on the Concours’ traditional Sunday date, Bill Warner and his team made the unprecedented decision to move the event up a day to Saturday. While we’re sure a few feathers were ruffled, from our perspective the Concours went off without any noticeable issues. And the weather was great.

Four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Al Unser, Sr. kicked off the 2017 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance by driving onto the field in a Lola T332. A further selection of Unser’s racers were among the highlights of the ‘Race Cars of Al Unser, Sr.’ class, such as the Porsche 962 that he co-drove to victory at the 1985 Daytona 24 Hours, the Chevrolet Camaro Z28 he drove in the IROC series and a great selection of the open-wheelers he drove to victory in Indy.

In addition to the race cars of Al Unser, Sr., the Amelia Island Concours 2017 also celebrated the Cars of Brumos Racing; the 50th Anniversary of the Chevrolet Camaro; the 60th anniversary of the Jaguar D-Type’s third consecutive victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans; the Cars of Marmon; Japanese Power; the four-cam, four-cylinder ‘Giant Killer’ Porsches; The Cars of the Movies; BMW 501-507; Streamliners and much more.

Chevrolet celebrated the Camaro’s Golden Anniversary with some of the most notable vehicles throughout the model’s 50-year history. The Camaro class was led by Camaro Number One, the gold 1967 coupe VIN number 10001, which was joined by the 1968 and 1969 Yenko Camaros, a 1969 Indy 500 RS/SS Pace Car, a 1973 Baldwin Motion Camaro and a COPO Camaro.

Headlining the Jaguar D-Type class were two surviving Le Mans-winning Jaguar D-Types, marking the 60th anniversary of its third consecutive and final victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In total, eleven D-Types and three XK-SS models were on display at this year’s event.

The Best of Show Concours de Sport was awarded to the 1939 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Lungo Spider from the Dano Davis Collection and Best of Show Concours of Elegance at the 2017 Amelia Island Concours went to the 1935 Duesenberg Model SJ-582 owned by Terence Adderley. (See Best of Show gallery).

“I’m extremely pleased with the judges’ decisions for the 2017 Amelia Island Concours winners,” said Bill Warner, Chairman and Founder of the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance. “Both the Duesenberg Model SJ-582 and Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Lungo Spider are extravagant vehicles and we are thrilled to give them the praise they deserve.”

The 23rd annual Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance will be held March 9-11, 2018. The show’s Foundation has donated over $3 million to Community Hospice of Northeast Florida, Inc. and other charities on Florida’s First Coast since its inception in 1996.

Don’t fret if you didn’t attend the Amelia Island Concours 2017. We took enough photos to fill a library. Similar to 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016, Sports Car Digest also documented this year’s banner event with the following selection from the fairways of the Golf Club of Amelia Island.

Amelia Island Concours 2017 – Photo Gallery (photos: Sports Car Digest)

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