Car news / March (old car) madness |
09.04.2008
March (old car) madnessCar News /
Chaired by photographer, vintage racer and all-around good guy Bill Warner and benefiting Community Hospice of Northeast Florida, the Amelia Island Concours d"Elegance has a split personality. Some of the finest antiques and classics from across the country, side by side with storied vintage race cars--more than 300 entrants in all--graced the golf course at the Ritz-Carlton this year.
Thanks to the National Automotive Collection in Reno, Nevada, the unrestored but fully operational original 1908 New York-to-Paris-race-winning Thomas Flyer was on hand, along with 13 other Thomas automobiles. It was arguably the largest such gathering since the Buffalo-based Thomas company, immortalized for all time by its performance in the legendary around-the-world race, closed its doors 95 years ago. As if that weren"t enough, the great-grandson of George Schuster, the man who drove the original Flyer, gave a spellbinding presentation depicting the obstacles overcome by the winning team exactly one century ago.
This year"s honoree, Parnelli Jones, fronted a host of racing greats, including Dan Gurney, George Follmer, Sam Posey, Brian Redman and David Hobbs, who relived their furious on-track battles with verbal sparring in a packed Trans-Am seminar that saw the crowd alternately shaking their heads in wonder at the drivers" comments and cheering when a notable film clip showed an audaciously fast pass. The Trans-Am class included 31 historic pony cars, such as several of Mark Donohue"s ex-Penske Camaros and AMC Javelins, the ex-Smokey Yunick "cheater" Camaro, the bright orange Mustangs of Jones and Follmer, Posey"s Dodge Challenger and more.
A 1935 Duesenberg J Roadster (background) and a 1957 Ferrari 335 Sport.
Amelia is famous for surprising visitors with unusual automobile classes. "Cars You Never Knew Existed" was an example, with a rare 1950 Martin Stationette wagon from the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville, Tennessee; a 1937 Rena Phaeton; Cord 810/812 designer Gordon Buehrig"s aircraft-influenced 1948 "Tasco" prototype; a rear-engined, air-cooled 1937 Tatra T77a; a custom four-door 1987 Porsche 928; and Geoffrey Hacker"s bizarre 1961 Covington Tiburon coupe, looking for all the world like George Jetson"s hovercraft. And would you believe nine Bizzarrinis and Isos?
Standouts in a stellar field of classic cars were five majestic Duesenbergs. One was a 1935 Bohman & Schwartz-bodied convertible coupe with twin rear-mounted spares, a gift to Hollywood idol Clark Gable from his wife, Carole Lombard. There were five Mercedes-Benz 500Ks and 540Ks. Silent-film star Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle"s natty purple 1919 Pierce-Arrow was a hit once again.
A gaggle of rare "50s-era sports cars included a "53 Cunningham C3, a "49 Kurtis-Kraft, one of the very first all-alloy Jaguar XK120s, a one-of-a-kind 1949 Vauxhall Zimmerli Velox roadster and a very early 1951 Porsche Pre-A 356 cabriolet. The Saratoga Automobile Museum"s 1925 Model TT Cretors wagon served up bag after bag of freshly steamed popcorn, fronting a class of Ford flivvers commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Model T.
Warner announced that the future chairman of the Amelia event is Tom Cotter, a collector of Ford woodies and author of The Cobra in the Barn and The Hemi in the Barn. Like Warner"s, Cotter"s interests span the entire automotive spectrum, so we know the event will remain in very good hands.
Attendees love Amelia Island because, unlike a certain other concours we could name held on the Monterey Peninsula every August, there"s just one of everything: one old automobile auction, one gala dinner, one AFAS art exhibit and, of course, one (terrific) concours. Scottsdale, Arizona, collector-restorer Bud Bourassa noted, "You can do everything here, not get stuck in traffic and not miss anything."
Sharing Best of Show honors were the ex-Gable Duesey, now owned by Sam and Emily Mann, and a 1957 Ferrari 335 Sport owned by Peter Sachs. Amelia ends with a wonderful traffic jam of vintage cars, funneling slowly off the lawn, in a cacophony of colors, styles and thrilling exhaust notes.
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