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Considered as one of the best innovative Concours events of the world, the 18th Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance is all set to take place at The Ritz Carlton, Amelia Island and at the Golf Club of Amelia Island, Florida from March 8th to March 10th, 2013. The Concours will showcase a diverse mix of classic cars, from racing, vintage, antique and pre 1975 post war cars.
According to Bill Warner, Founder and Chairman of Amelia Island Concours, “The 2013 calendar is rich with pivotal events in automotive and motorsport history. We’re working practically non-stop to make the 18th annual Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance even bigger and better than 2012”. Some of the ground-breaking ideas to make the Amelia Island Concours a success include:
– The 1950’s Cadillac Concept cars: The 18th Concours will feature 9 Cadillac concept cars. These cars that were created under the supervision of Harley Earl, the Styling Chief of GM in the 1950’s, were used as show cars in GM’s Motorama shows. The Concept cars are generally used as platforms to build cars of the future or mostly featured in car shows. Many of these concept cars were not driven at all and some were even destroyed after car shows. The 2 La Salle cars that were built to be displayed at the 1955 General Motors Motorama will be exhibited for the first time in 57 years. The other models to be displayed at the concours include the 1949 Cadillac Fleetwood Coupe DeVille prototype, two 1953 LeMans roadsters, the 1953 El Dorado Special, a 1956 Eldorado Brougham Town Car, the 1959 Cyclone and the 1961 El Dorado Chicago Auto Show car which was once owned by the famous golfer Walter Hagen. There will be interest in these cars as many of them were harbingers of what was to come in the future. Like the 1956 Eldorado Brougham Town Car, conceptualized GM’s use of the 4 headlight format which was later used in the cars produced in 1957.
– The state-of-art 1935 Duesenberg: the RM auctions is back again at the Amelia Concours with more than 80 cars. The 15th RM auctions at Amelia Island Concours will include the very rare, supercharged 1935 Duesenberg model SJ Walker – La Grande convertible coupe. The car was one of the 3 built with a supercharged factory engine. The Duesenberg, designed by J. Herbert, with coach work done by Walker La-Grande, incorporated an innovative semi-automatic top that folds to create an open 2-seater passenger car. The car is estimated to sell between $3,500,000 – $5,000,000. Some of the other cars at the auction include a well documented 1930 Cord L-29 Sport Cabriolet – a pre war car that was exhibited at the 1931 Berlin Motor Show, 1970 Porsche 908/3 and a 1939 Alfa Romeo 6c 2500 Sport ‘Superleggera’.
– Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Ford GT40 and the iconic Porsche 911: the legendary Ford GT40 and Porsche 911 have won many historic races and will celebrate their 50th anniversaries at the 18th Amelia Island Concours on March 10th, 2013. And the Concours will also feature the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette, making an appearance for the second time after the popular Detroit Auto Show. The car will join a fleet of other Stingrays showcased at the Design Analysis of the Revolutionary Corvette Sting Ray seminar to be held at 1:30 pm on March 8th, 2013 in the Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island's Talbot Ballroom.
The rules for exhibiting the dazzling classic beauties at Amelia Island Concours are very stringent. The classic cars to be exhibited are considered on the basis of several deciding factors. This is largely based on the annual theme and the class structure. Every year, special consideration is given to “Featured Class”; this year being the same with the 50th anniversary celebrations of Ford GT40, Porsche 911 and the historic cars of Harry Miller. Cars manufactured after 1974 are in general not considered. Every year special consideration is also given to cars that were driven by the Special Guest of Honor or the” Honoree of the Year”. This year’s Honoree will be the legendary sports car driver, Sam Posey. Many of the cars that he had driven in races will be featured in the openings of the Concour as “The Cars of Sam Posey”.
If you plan to take your classic beauty to the Concours events, getting collector car insurance is a requirement. Classic Auto Insurance gives you the best quotes for the best prices and can help you enjoy your investment rather than worry about it!
Sources:
http://www.classicandsportscar.com/news/classic-car-events/fleet-of-cadillac-concepts-joins-glamorous-list-at-amelia-island
http://theoldmotor.com/?p=70328
http://www.oldcarsweekly.com/blogs/under-the-hood/supercharged-duesenberg-additional-classics-highlight-rm-auctions-2013-amelia-island-sale
http://www.autoweek.com/article/20121005/CARNEWS01/121009916
https://www.ameliaconcours.org/eventinformation/entrantinformation.aspx
About the Author
Drew Yagodnik is Vice President of Classic Automobile Insurance Agency, Inc. Classic Automobile Insurance Agency has been protecting collector, classic and exotics since 1992.
