Winning models in the Sport and Elegance categories
** Amelia Island **, in Florida, annually hosts a contest in which they parade unique collection pieces competing in elegance. Its most recent edition has just been held and it has once again captivated with its exclusive atmosphere and its beneficial objective.
While the eyes of the automobile industry are set until March 18 at the Geneva Motor Show, this past weekend a much more select event took place on the shores of Florida, attended by the richest classic car collectors on the planet to see and be seen (them and their prized collectible vehicles) .
Here are unique collection pieces
We talk about Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance , a contest that has completed its twenty-third edition in a great state of form, despite the rain that forced to modify some schedules, summoning a good number of vintage models before which to rub your eyes for their beauty and spectacularity.
The trophies in the two main categories, Sporty and Elegance , have relapsed into a Ferrari 250/275P from 1963 and in a 1929 Duesenberg J/SJ Convertible , respectively.
Before going into a review of the most impressive cars that have been seen on the premises of the Amelia Island Golf Club that hosts the event, let us situate ourselves in the geographical setting where it takes place.
Amelia Island is the southernmost island of the so-called Sea Islands , a corridor of islands that extends along the East Coast of the United States, from South Carolina to Florida.
It receives its name in honor of Princess Amelia, daughter of King George II of England, although it was Spanish territory until 1763 and for a short period thereafter, between 1783 and 1795 which definitely became US territory.
As the locals say, Amelia Island is an easy place to reach but hard to forget, either for its 20 kilometers of beaches with crystal clear waters , for his abundant native nature , its gastronomy based on the sea products, its historic district , its cultural life and its golf courses.
Pre-1974 cars are not usually considered
It stands, therefore, as the ideal setting to host a car event that every year it pays tribute to a figure from motorsport. Thus, they have received their tribute throughout these 23 years of experience since Sir Stirling Moss until Jim Hall , going by David Hobbs either Jochen Mass.
In the last edition the guest of honor was the legendary Brazilian driver Emerson Fittipaldi, Formula 1 champion in 1972 and 1974 and winner of 14 Grand Prix and two Indy 500. A racing star equal to the brilliance of the contest.
In this event You can only participate by invitation. Anyone can submit a vehicle proposal for consideration, but only the Selection Committee invites those cars that it considers exemplify the annual theme and the class structure. The selection criteria is very clear: vehicles prior to 1974 are not usually considered.
Each year one is awarded special consideration to vehicles of a 'featured class'. Special consideration is also given to vehicles associated with the career of the honoree, in this case, Emerson Fittipaldi. In the racing car section, the Selection Committee, from time to time, invites a newer model if the vehicle embodies a sense of wholeness and balance to a particular class.
Elegance is taken for granted
Finally, the models selected for the Contest of Elegance cannot be exhibited at any other event during the previous 30 days to the contest.
Pulling the strings of the Amelia Concours is its president, Bill Warner , entrepreneur and American businessman whose passion is collector cars.
Winner in 2002 of the Meguiar Award for Person of the Year in Collector Car Hobby , a kind of Oscar in that category, for the last two decades he has participated in vintage events at the wheel of a Triumph TR- 6 of the Paul Newman team. With a deep-rooted philanthropic vocation, Warner donates all proceeds from the Amelia Concours to charitable causes such as the fight against spina bifida or various hospices in Florida.
In the strict plane of the contest, among the hundreds of participants, in addition to the two winners of this edition, the specialized magazine Automobile has highlighted the following 10 models:
- FERRARI 365 GTB / 4 "DAYTONA" (1972) . It was designed with a body similar to a wagon, but kept its two doors. His style is known in England as a shooting brake.
- CHEVROLET CORVETTE CONVERTIBLE (1963) . The original owner of this c Convertible Corvette in Aztec Gold with fuel injection it was a Pan American pilot who saw an identical car in an airline advertisement for him.
- CHEVROLET CORVETTE GTP (1984) . This mid-engined Corvette was built specifically to compete in IMSA races during the development of GM's 90-degree V-6 engine.
-PORSCHE 935/76 (1976). One of the most famous Porsche 911 racing cars. It marked the beginning of the era of high-powered, turbocharged Porsches with its 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder engine that produces 510 horsepower.
- LANCIA DELTA S4 (1985) . It was an evolution of the Delta Integrale, with all-wheel drive and a Lampredi twin-cam 1.8-liter turbocharged and supercharged engine. The result was 500 horsepower.
-1967 MGC-GTS (1967) . One of the two MGC light racing cars , known as Mable. It originally wore the color British Racing Green for its first race in 1967, the famous Italian Targa Florio.
- ALPINE M64 LE MANS PROTOTYPE (1964) . He competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans twice, winning his class. He also won the Thermal Efficiency Index in the same year, completing 3,920 kilometers during the race at an average speed of 162 km/h.
This luxury event with a charity background is held once a year
- PENSKE-MERCEDES PC-23 (1994) . It was used as a test car for the Mercedes 500i engine, designed, developed and built in just half a year to win the Indy 500. Emerson Fittipaldi and Al Unser Jr. were in charge of testing it. He won the second and gave Mercedes its first victory in the Indy 500 since 1915. Shortly after the engine was excluded from competition.
- JEEP WRANGLER (1968) . Custom hunting jeep, replica of those used by the influential Kleberg family and his friends at the King Ranch in Texas to hunt quail. Celebrity guests using the vehicles included Bing Crosby and Trader Vic founder Victor Bergeron. Custom touches include leather-wrapped hunting rifle holsters mounted on each front fender and raised rear seats.
- 1968 SHELBY LONESTAR (1968) . Sports car based on the GT-40 with a mid-mounted Ford V-8 engine that was designed as a more modern version of the Cobra. Internally known as Cobra III, Shelby had already sold the rights to the Cobra name and changed it to Lonestar.
All of them are objects of desire with which to dream and remember the golden times of both the industry and motor racing. And if it is with a glass of good champagne within the walls of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel on Amelia Island, As do the attendees of this luxurious contest with a charity background, who can resist? Chin Chin!