From March 10–13, Florida’s Amelia Island played host to what, over the past 10 years, has become perhaps the East Coast’s preeminent concours. And, as in previous years, racecars and the history of racing played a central role.
Located on the sprawling grounds of The Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island, this year’s event honored the Alfa Romeo marque, as well as NASCAR racing legend Bobby Allison. A display of many of the racecars that played a role in the career of Allison stood as a colorful contrast to the 50 significant, gleaming red Alfa Romeos that spanned everything from the early 1750 GS to the P3, C308 Indianapolis car and famed Tipo 33.
However, Alfas were not the only racecars on display and when the scoring was tabulated it was the Collier Museum’s stunning 1953 ex-Carrera Panamericana Porsche 550 Coupe that claimed the overall prize as Best in Show, Concours de Sport. Other racecar winners included Robert McConell’s 1958 Kurtis Kraft 500 Roadster in the Racecars, 1946–1958 category and the Collier Collection’s 1966 Ford GT40 MKIIB in the Racecars, 1959–1973 category. Other winners with a racing pedigree included Dr. Bernardo Martinez’s 1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA in the Alfa Romeo Post-War racing category and Edward Reich’s 1933 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 GS in the Alfa Romeo Pre-War category.
