From the moment the concept for the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance was proposed, its founder, Bill Warner, understood that the glittering show on the lawns of the Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island would be as much about remarkable people as it would be about extraordinary cars.
Bill is a racer, a photographer, a historian, and a writer as well as an American entrepreneur. He wanted The Amelia to have the depth to appeal to even the most knowledgeable enthusiasts while offering a fine day at the ocean for those who simply wanted to soak in the elegance of classic automotive art and design.
The Amelia has met both goals with style and aplomb across three decades.
On the showfield, The Amelia’s class hosts allow guests the opportunity to bask in the reflected glory, speed, design, and history of the cars and the people who designed, created, and sometimes raced them.
Traditionally, the Friday afternoon seminars have been packed with the stars of the sport and the industry, including heroes such as three-time F5000 champion Brian Redman, who manned the Porsche 908 that brought Stuttgart its first world sports car title at the Nürburgring in 1969. The list of seminar panelists goes on to include America’s world champion and Le Mans winner Phil Hill; Le Mans winner and Cobra creator, Carroll Shelby; six-time Le Mans winner Jacky Ickx; four-time Indy 500 winners Al Unser, Sr., and Rick Mears, Rusty Wallace, George Follmer, Judy Stropus; and, of course, The Captain himself, Roger Penske (America’s 1962 National Road Racing Champ.)
During those seminars, everything from car design to 200-mph-plus wheel-to-wheel speedway racing was discussed in intimate depth and detail. After each seminar, fans still stand in long lines to gather the autographs of their favorite racers, designers, and industry scions.
Class judges have also been recruited from all the automotive arts. Design giants such as Moray Callum (VP Design, Ford), Ed Welburn (VP Design, General Motors), J Mays (VP Design Ford), Mike Simcoe (VP Design, General Motors), Tom Gale (VP Design, Chrysler), Freeman Thomas (Ford), Kip Wasenko (General Motors), Ralph Gilles (VP Design, Chrysler), Grant Larson, Porsche Design, as well as the automotive legend Peter Brock.
From the beginning, there was even a class for those unique and often exotically thoroughbred motorcycles curated by the late John S. Duss IV, a concours board member from the earliest moments of The Amelia’s founding. Chuck Queener’s exquisite taste and sense of style touched all of The Amelia’s artwork for decades and made the programs and posters instant collectors’ items.
Giants like Sir Stirling Moss launched The Amelia in 1996, and he returned in 2015 for the 20th edition of the show. It became tradition to photograph the annual honoree posing with his or her race cars. Even Sir Stirling bragged to his secretary upon his return to London about how many of his racers were on The Amelia’s showfield in 2015.
The program’s cover art has come to serve as visual résumés of many of the greatest racers of all time, from this year’s honoree, Hélio Castroneves, to Jeff Gordon to Lyn St. James, and the man who changed motorsports forever—and for better—Roger Penske.
A reconnaissance through the 29 previous programs reveals a list of enthusiasts who have seen the automobile as a vessel of freedom, expression, and art. From the beginning, The Amelia has been known as “the racers’ concours,” because the founders had a clear vision of a full weekend that celebrated both the pageantry and passion of motorsports as well as the beauty and style of automotive design.
When Hagerty stepped into the role of impresario, that approach remained unchanged. The founding format that resonated with the fans was reinforced through a continuation of the founding principles of the concours.
For thirty years, a ticket to The Amelia has never failed to unlock many different doors for those who celebrate and appreciate grand automobiles, great racers, and gifted designers.
The raw numbers are stunning. Of the 29 Amelia annual honorees alone, there are:
- 70 – Formula 1 championship winners
- 3 – Formula 1 champions
- 18 – Indy 500 victors
- 18 – Le Mans 24 Hour winners
- 16 – NASCAR champions
- 16 – Sebring 12 Hour winners
- 13 – Daytona 24 Hour winners
- 6 – Sports car world champions
- 2 – Can-Am champions
- 2 – Trans-Am champions
- 2 – North American F5000 champions
Plus one immortal race record:
The first and 20th annual honoree, Sir Stirling Moss, will forever be the sole holder of a record that celebrates its 70th anniversary during The Amelia’s 30th year. It remains for all time a record that will never be equaled, let alone broken. An open-road, 1000-mile circuit of the Italian peninsula, a true “lap of the gods” that lasted 10 hours, 7 minutes, and 48 seconds. We refer to none other than Sir Stirling’s victory at the fabled Mille Miglia, a race considered so dangerous that it was banned after 1957. A race that was mastered by The Amelia’s founding honoree.
“There are rare racers like Sir Stirling, who, through their gifts, have invested great cars with a sort of immortality,” said founder Bill Warner. “In addition to those previously mentioned, we’ve been blessed to have such people involved with The Amelia ranging from giants like Hurley Haywood, John Surtees, Derek Bell, Bobby Allison, “Mr. Le Mans” Jacky Ickx, Vic Elford, Jim Hall, Carroll Shelby, Brian Redman, Jochen Mass, Hans Stuck, Sam Posey, Emerson Fittipaldi, Al Unser, Bobby Unser, David Hobbs, Bobby Rahal, Parnelli Jones, Johnny Rutherford, Phil Hill, Dan Gurney, and Richard Petty, to the volunteers in the parking lots, to the class judges, to the folks of Amelia Island who have hosted us and shown us world-class hospitality. We truly would not be celebrating thirty years of The Amelia without each and every one of them. We remain ever grateful.”
Report by Charles Dressing
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