Elegant Amelia

Few, I suspect, are the carfolk who know that Florida's Amelia Island is named for the second daughter of England's George II. Fewer still, I'm quite certain, are those who don't associate the community near Jacksonville with the southeast's premier automotive concours d'elegance, worthy of mention in the same breath as Pebble Beach or Meadow Brook Hall. Sunday, March 12th, was the eleventh Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance, held on the grounds of the Ritz Carlton and adjacent Golf Club of Amelia Island, and a wonderful day it was.

It's not a simple task to put 300 cars on a golf course, but the concours chairman, Jacksonville restorer Bill Warner, and his staff have it down to a fine art. Festivities begin on Friday, with a tour for the featured marque, this year Stanley Steamer. A sea of semis unloads show cars in the staging area, and by Saturday afternoon the furniture arrives. At sundown a number of concours cars have already moved into place.

Sunday morning the arrivals began in earnest, first singly, then in convoys. Stanleys, as featured marque, had three classes: coffin nose, condenser, and tiller-steered. A replica of the record-setting Stanley "Rocket" racer was also on display. Judges swung into action by 9:00, and swiftly completed their rounds. By lunchtime, the grounds were seething with spectators. It's not all Full Classics at Amelia. There are American convertibles, and microcars, like a Peel Trident and the Biscooter, Gabriel Voisin's final automotive design. Alternative propulsion was a sub-theme this year, so there were oddities like a turbine-powered Deuce roadster and the last Rauch & Lang, a gas-electric hybrid sedan built for the son of Hetty Green, the Witch of Wall Street.

A newly restored GM Futurliner was on hand, opened in appropriate display mode, and a few promotional cars, such as a Moxie horseback car. Several parades of automotive genres took place throughout the day, and by afternoon the various prizes were announced. Best of Show was awarded to Richard Riegel's 1932 DuPont sport phaeton, and the Concours de Sport trophy to the 1961 Ferrari 250TRI of Peter Sachs. Honoree for this year's event was racing driver Johnny Rutherford.

As shadows grew long, the field of cars took leave. By sundown, only immobile vehicles remained, awaiting a tow, and a few reminders of the elegant day. Did one of the Mercedes drivers forget his hardtop?