Category: Classic Cars

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904 Events Calendar September 28, 2021

Previous Calendars

Jacksonville Car Culture events calendar:

Jacksonville Car Culture events calendar:

  • Caffeine and Octane Jacksonville – One week away – the fourth edition of the new Caffeine and Octane Jacksonville cruise-in goes a bit “BUG”gy from 8 to 11 a.m. on Sat. Oct. 9 at the Avenues Mall at 10300 Southside Blvd., as it celebrates vintage and/or modified Volkswagens in a special display within the Central Lot.

And the owner who displays the oldest VW gets a Caffeine and Octane hat.

Every kind of classic, hot rod, truck, Jeep, kei car and ride is welcome, even Zs.

 Submit your ride for consideration at firstcoastcarculture.com/contact-us.

Admission is free.

  • Fifty classics, muscle cars and exotics ranging from race-prepared 1966 Sunbeam Tiger and 1971 Fiat 600 Abarth 1000 TC to Camaro Z-28, Shelby GT350H and one-of-50 1992 Maxton Roller Skate rolled into last Saturday’s Cars and Cannons Vintage Car Show at Fort Clinch in Fernandina Beach.
  • Special cruise to honor Nassau County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Joshua Moyers

The Callahan Cruisers will hold a classic car cruise on Oct. 9 in support of Deputy Moyers and his family. The deputy was shot on Sept. 24 during a traffic stop and died two days later. The cruise begins at 2 p.m. at the Target at 463737 Florida 200 in Yulee, then drives to the Hardee’s restaurant at 542309 U.S. 1 in Callahan where the group’s monthly cruise-in takes place. Donations collected at the event will go directly to his family.

Car Shows:

Cruisin’ to the Creek 2021: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday at Trout Creek Memorial Park and Marina at 6550 Florida 13 North in Saint Johns. The annual show benefits the Ronald McDonald House of Jacksonville.

JEA Drive Electric: 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday at Jacksonville’s Museum of Science and History at 1025 Museum Circle. Electric vehicles of all kinds will be on display as the JEA Drive Electric team offers test drives of locally available EVs. Local EV drivers will be on hand, along with information on plug-ins, hybrids and more. JTA will show off Olli, its fully autonomous electric people mover, with North Florida TPO and Clean Fuels Coalition to discuss EV possibilities in the community. All attendees and volunteers are required to wear face masks whenever they are within six feet of another person at all National Drive Electric Week 2021 events.

American Legion 401 Car, Truck and Bike Show: 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at American Legion Riders Post 401 at 37405 Henry Smith Road in Hilliard. Hosted by Callahan Cruisers of North Florida, spectators are free and show vehicles are $20, proceeds to benefit Wreaths Across America and 5 Star Veterans.

Azalea City Cruisers Car & Truck Show: 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday at the Putnam County Fairgrounds at 118 Fairgrounds Road in East Palatka. Free to spectators and $25 per show vehicle day of show.

Buggies on the Beach 7:  9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Show ‘n Shine show on Sunday at Kraft Athletic Club, 961023 Buccaneer Trail in Fernandina Beach. The Volkswagen show includes a Poker Run at 9 a.m. Saturday, proceeds going to the Nassau Humane Society. 

Clay County Shrine Club Oktober Fest Car Show and Craft Market: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sat. Oct. 9, at 2471 Russell Road in Green Cove Springs.

25th Annual Amelia Cruizers 8 Flags Car Show: 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sat. Oct. 16 along Centre Street in historic Fernandina Beach. Free to spectators and $25 for show vehicle if pre-registered at https://bit.ly/3zXA7pw. The annual show benefits the Justin Hess Scholarship Foundation.

A Car Show For A Cause: 2 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 16, at First United Methodist Church of Jacksonville, 225 E. Duval St. Spectators are free, with $25 registration for show vehicles day-of-event. Presented by Resurrection Car Club and Next Generation Outreach Ministry.

Evangel Temple Assembly of God Middleburg Car Show: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sat. Oct. 16 at the church at 5040 County Road 218. Spectators are free; show vehicles are $20 per, the event hosted by Clay County Cruzers. 

Annual Car Show: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sat. Oct. 23, at Paxon Revival Center Church, 5461 Commonwealth Ave. Free.

St. Augustine Fall Fling Car Show: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 24, at the St Johns County Fairgrounds, 5840 Florida 207 in Elkton. Free to spectators and $20 day of show for display vehicles.

Southside Business Men’s Club Annual Car Show: 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 30, at Fields Cadillac at 7999 Blanding Blvd.

Trunk or Treat Car & Bike Show: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 31, at Adamec Harley-Davidson, 380 Outlet Mall Blvd. in St. Augustine. Free for spectators and $20 for show vehicles, with live music from “Bluesdog 66.” Hosted by Callahan Cruisers of North Florida.

Dixie Chapter Pontiac Club Fall Classic: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sat. Nov. 6, at the Classic Car Museum of St. Augustine, 4730 U.S. 1 S./Dixie Highway South in St Augustine. Open to all Pontiacs, Overland or GMC truck, it’s free to spectators and $25 for show vehicles day of show.

Hobos, Hot Rods and Heroes Festival and Car Show: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 6, at the West Nassau Museum of History 45383 Dixie Ave. in Callahan. Live entertainment, arts and crafts, model trains and a car show hosted by Callahan Cruisers and Cochrane’s Collision Center. 

Jtech Cars, Stars and Stripes Car Show and Drive-in Movie: 3 p.m. Sat. Nov. 6, at Jtech at 8813 Western Way. Double feature with “Cars” and “Thunder Road, starts at dark, $15 per car. Hosted by First Coast Car Council.

10th Annual Exotic & Luxury Car Show: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 13, at Porsche Jacksonville, 11211 Atlantic Blvd. Fre for specttaors and $50 registration for show vehicles. Proceeds will benefit Homes For Our Troops.

Cecil Pines Antique Car Show: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 13, at Cecil Pines Adult Living Community, 6008 Lake Cove Ave. Free to spectators and show vehicles.

14th Annual Back to the Fifties Car Show: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 13, at Moosehaven at 701 Park Ave, Orange Park. Hosted by the Clay County Cruzers, NASCAR Cup Series driver Ross Chastain and his No. 42 car will be there.

The FIRM (Florida International Rally and Moto Park): Open Track Days held most weekends at the road course and rally course at 7266 Airport Road in Starke.

Cruise-ins

First Coast Car Council, Clay County Cruzers, Callahan Cruisers and Amelia Cruizers all hold regular weekend cruise-ins, so check their Facebook pages.

Jacksonville Caffeine and Gasoline: 7 to 10 a.m. on every first Saturday at the Orange Park Mall at 1910 Wells Road in Orange Park. 

Clay County Cruzers’ events: 3 to 6 p.m. every first Saturday at Big Dawg Sports Restaurant, 1330 Blanding Blvd.; 3 to 6 p.m. every second Saturday at Dick’s Wings, 1803 East-West Parkway in Fleming Island; 5 p.m. every third Friday at Freddy’s Steakburgers at 386 Blanding Blvd.; 9 to 11 a.m. every fourth Saturday at Nicole’s Café, 2216 S. Mimosa Ave. in Middleburg; and 2 to 5 p.m. every fourth Saturday at Gator’s Dockside Oakleaf, 316 Merchants Way, Jacksonville.

First Coast Car Council events: 5 to 8 p.m. every first Saturday at Mission Barbecue, 8440 Blanding Blvd., Jacksonville; and 5 to 8 p.m. each second Saturday at Medical & Merchants Center of Mandarin, 11701 San Jose Blvd.

Cruise Night at Beachwalk: 5 to 8 p.m. every second Friday at the Beachwalk Amenity Center, 1000 County Road 210 in St. Johns.

Caffeine and Octane Jacksonville: 8 to 11 a.m. every second Saturday at The Avenues Mall at 10300 Southside Blvd. Information: https://bit.ly/3gPRvVQ.

Cruise Fruit Cove: 4 to 8 p.m. every third Saturday at the PDQ at 194 Florida 13 in Saint Johns, just south of Julington Creek.

Amelia Cruizers: 4 to 7 p.m. every third Saturday at Cold Stone Creamery, 808 Sadler Road, Fernandina Beach.

Classic Car Museum of St. Augustine monthly cruise-ins: St. Augustine Cruiser’s “Cruise In” from 5 to 7 p.m. every third Saturday, and Cars and Coffee from 8 to 10 a.m. every fourth Saturday, both at 4730 U.S. 1 S./Dixie Highway South in St Augustine.

Cars and Coffee Fleming Island: 7 to 10 a.m. every third Sunday of the month at the New Vision Theatre at 1820 Town Center Blvd., Fleming Island.

White Brothers Auto Parts Cruise-in: 5 to 8 p.m. every second Friday at 405 Lane Ave. N.

Johnny Angels: 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. every third Friday at Johnny Angels diner at 3546 St. Johns Bluff Road S. 

Historic Springfield Main Street Cruise: 4 p.m. every fourth Saturday between 8th and 17th streets at Main Street in Jacksonville’s Springfield community.

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5th Annual Mopars on the Beach: A Myrtle Beach “Vacation for Mopar Enthusiasts”

Words and Photos by Erik Azar

Erik Azar is a motorsports enthusiast living in Northeast Florida. He is presently the VP of the Jacksonville Corvette Club and an active member of JAMS – Jacksonville Area Mopars where he enjoys attending motorsport events in his Jeep JK and Dodge Challenger Hellcat Redeye.

The 5th annual Mopars on the Beach in Myrtle Beach, SC – tailored as a Vacation for Mopar Enthusiasts took place from November 10-15, 2020. Like so many other motorsport events this year, Mopars on the Beach was postponed from its usual June timeframe. 

Mopars on the Beach was founded in 2016 by Tommy and Cathy Bridges of the Coastal Carolina Mopars, and with the help of their club members pulled off a successful event as they had to be agile and creative dealing with the current Covid-19 climate. This year saw over 300 attendees from 17 states traveling from as far away as Nevada and Arizona.

The week’s activities consisted of various Cruise-ins, Dyno Day, Charity Ride, and a Car Show. It’s a great way for Mopar enthusiasts to meet other like-minded people from all over the United States and develop new friendships.

This year even the late season Hurricane Iota wouldn’t put a damper on the activities and fun. The rain stopped Thursday evening allowing Friday’s Charity Ride and Saturday’s car show to take place with beautiful weather. 

Friday’s charity ride to the small town of Georgetown, SC ended up having more than double the number of attendees expected. The organizers did an excellent job coordinating with the local police departments to arrange police escorts and blocking major intersections for more than 100 cars to travel from site to site. The evening ended at The Landing at the Boathouse for dinner and prizes.

The main event and largest generator of donation funds for the charities was Saturday’s car show that hosted over 300 cars on display. The cars ranged from classic 60s-70s Mopar muscle, to modern muscle and custom Mopars – which provided something for everybody to enjoy.

For 2020 the event raised $13,000 that was evenly divided between two local charities:

·      Quilts of Valor local chapter – provides volunteer handmade quilts to service members and veterans that have been touched by war.

·      Lowcountry Food Bank – provides both the education and nutritious options needed by partner agencies and schools that serve our community

Next year’s Mopars on the Beach is scheduled for Nov 2-6, 2021 and will move to Broadway at the Beach, a popular tourist destination with shopping and entertainment. There will also be Drag Strip day on Thursday, Nov 4, 2021 at Darlington Drag Strip.

For additional information for Mopars on the Beach 2021 visit their website at https://moparsatthebeach.org. Or directly contact Tommy and Cathy Bridges – Coastal Carolina Mopars – (864)325-9660        coastalcarolinamopars@gmail.com

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VIDEO “Twice Around – The 2020 HSR Classic 24 by IMSA in 4K Hyperlapse – Daytona”

The HSR (Historic Sportscar Racing, LLC) Classic 24 Hour is a yearly event open to cars that were raced from 1960 through 2013 at Daytona. This year’s event was held November 4-7, 2020, Deremer Studios, LLC , Jacksonville Car Culture’s official photographer, was on site to capture the magic.

From Deremer Studios, LLC:

Despite a global pandemic, HSR put on a safe and successful Classic 24 race at the iconic Daytona International Speedway. In addition to our photography from the event, we brought along our old trusty tripod and a second camera to capture hyperlapse video of the race. Here’s the final result:

View the 2020 HSR Classic 24 photo album on the Deremer Studios, LLC website at:

https://www.deremerstudios.com/Automotive-Photography/Motorsports-Photography/2020-HSR-Classic-24-Daytona/

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Deremer Studios Chronicles the 2020 HSR Classic 24 at Daytona International Speedway

Nate Deremer, of Deremer Studios, LLC JCC’s official photographer, visited Daytona International Speedway November 4-8, 2020 for the HSR Classic 24 Hour at Daytona presented by IMSA.

The HSR (Historic Sportscar Racing, LLC) Classic 24 Hour is a yearly event open to cars that were raced from 1960 through 2013 at Daytona. A little tweak to the 24 Hour tradition, instead of running all the cars throughout the night the field is divided into race groups from specific periods that are run at four different times throughout a 24 hour period. Each race consists of 45 minutes of track time which includes a five-minute pit stop for non-mandatory driver changes.

See the full list of entrants here

Nate’s photos are always incredible and his shots at Daytona’s historic racetrack do not disappoint. View the photo album on the Deremer Studios, LLC website at

https://www.deremerstudios.com/Automotive-Photography/Motorsports-Photography/2020-HSR-Classic-24-Daytona/

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2020 Ponte Vedra Auto Show – November 15, 2020

Photo and information courtesy of The Ponte Vedra Auto Show.

 The Ponte Vedra Auto Show  is open and free to spectators. The show features up to 200 classic and collector cars! Jacksonville Car Culture’s Chris Brewer will be on hand to help judge the 50th Anniversary of the Z Car special display.

Show registration to display a vehicle is open until November 12, 2020 at https://pvautoshow.com/register-for-show-1

Where and When:

November 15, 2020 

9 am-3 pm

The show takes place on the Nocatee Event Field located at 

 245 Nocatee Center Way, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32081 

Parking for the event is free!

About

The Ponte Vedra Auto show is presented by Art ‘n Motion in association with the St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce and the St. Johns County Tourism Development Council.

For more information visit: https://pvautoshow.com/

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Matchbox Find: Ewy Rosqvist 1962 Mercedes-Benz 220 SE Sedan

“They Said I Could Never Finish; So I Finished First.”

Ewy Rosqvist, winner of the 1962 Argentinian Touring Car Grand Prix with Ursula Wirth in a Mercedes-Benz 220 SE.

Stumbled upon this very cool 1962 Mercedes-Benz 220 SE Matchbox at my local Walmart. Not a bad way to invest $1. Ewy’s story is legendary. She was the first female Touring Car Grand Prix Winner, proving the “experts” wrong and breaking barriers along the way. This little toy is worth having simply as a reminder that anything is possible with hard work, dedication and believing in yourself.

From Mercedes-Benz Classic (Daimler:AG): “The first race for Rosqvist and Wirth in their top-end Mercedes-Benz 220 SE (W 111) Saloon was the four-day Swedish Rally to the Midnight Sun (12 to 16 June 1962) where they immediately secured the women’s cup. They took 6th place in the 22nd Rajd Polski (2 to 6 June 1962) and then came in 12th in the Liège–Sofia–Liège Rally (29 August to 3 September 1962) before going on to win the Argentinian Touring Car Grand Prix. Ewy Rosqvist and Ursula Wirth won all six stages of this 4,624-kilometre race in course records, triggering enthusiastic celebrations on their arrival in Buenos Aires. It was probably the biggest success in Ewy Rosqvist’s glittering career. To seal this victory Ewy Rosqvist not only succeeded in dominating the race, she also increased the average speed from 121.234 km/h to 126.872 km/h compared to the previous year’s winning duo (Walter Schock and Manfred Schiek in a Mercedes-Benz 220 SE).”

See the full story at https://media.daimler.com/marsMediaSite/en/instance/ko.xhtml?oid=9919981

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Lyn St. James named Official Honoree of the 26th Annual Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance May 20-23, 2021

Racer, writer, broadcaster, entrepreneur and motivational speaker Lyn St. James is the Honoree of the 26 th annual Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance scheduled for May 20-23, 2021.

Lyn’s life is a high speed motorsports adventure. Her racing career began in a Ford Pinto –her daily driver – in the 1970s and had its grand finale more than two decades later in a special commemorative ceremony on the “yard of bricks” at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 

Lyn at the Indianapolis 500 in 1993. Photo courtesy of Lyn St. James.
Her first titles were a pair of regional south Florida road racing championships. She moved up quickly racing a Corvette at Sebring, Palm Beach and Daytona. A brave class victory in the punishing 1979 24 Hours of the Nurburgring racing an AMC Spirit AMX sponsored by BF Goodrich is an exotic and sometimes overlooked line on Lyn’s deep resume. By then corporate America liked what they were seeing and hearing from the racer from Willoughby, OH.

She graduated to the pro ranks in the 1980s as a Ford factory racer. In 1984 Autoweek magazine named her Rookie of the Year in IMSA’s GTO class. A year later she won IMSA’s Norelco Driver of the Year award. That was a very good year: an IMSA GTO victory came in August 1985 at Road America in the Lowenbrau Classic. A month later, on one of her favorite tracks, the full Grand Prix course at Watkins Glen, Lyn scored an unprecedented and still unequalled solo IMSA GTO class victory in the Serengeti Drivers New York 500 racing a Roush Mustang. The eighties also saw two class victories in the 24 Hours of Daytona. 
Lyn celebrates after winning the IMSA GTO class at the Serengeti Drivers New York 500 at Watkins Glen in 1985. Photo courtesy of Lyn St. James.

For Lyn the eighties were fast and productive. In 1988 she set a closed course speed record for women at 212.577 mph in a Bill Elliott-built Thunderbird. That was just one of 21 national and international speed records Lyn authored. She earned another page in the record books with an Indy 500 qualifying lap of 227.32 mph that stood as a record for women until Sarah Fisher’s lap of 229.675 mph qualifying for the 2002 “500.”

In 1989 she entered the 24 Hours of Le Mans driving a Ford-powered Spice. Another classic race course and even though her car retired on Sunday morning Lyn logged a lot of seat time. She returned to the classic French 24 Hours in 1991 with two-time World Sports Car Championship race winner Desiré Wilson and Cathy Muller, but their Cosworth-powered Spice prototype lasted just 47 laps. In 1990, Lyn earned yet another GTO class win in another famous classic endurance race, the 12 Hours of Sebring, with a Mercury Cougar XR-7.

Lyn gives a thumbs up after qualifying for the Indy 500 in 1992. Photo courtesy of Lyn St. James.

It was a visit to the Indy 500 with her mother in 1966 that revealed Lyn’s passion for motorsport. Her Indy 500 career began with a surprise test at Memphis Motorsports Park in a Dick Simon Racing Lola. Things began to move quickly. Lyn’s commercial, marketing and persuasive skills brought JCPenney to her Indy rookie program.

On Memorial Day 1992, Lyn raced her JCPenney sponsored Lola/Chevy — the Spirit of the American Woman — to eleventh place, becoming the first woman to win Indy’s prestigious Rookie of the Year award.

Even today she is quick to remind us that she still holds the record as Indy’s oldest Rookie of the Year winner. Eight years and seven Indy 500s later Lyn retired from Indy Car competition with career earnings of nearly $1.2 million.

Lyn St. James behind the wheel of the JCPenney sponsored Lola during the Indy 500. Photo courtesy of Lyn St. James.

Lyn’s strong entrepreneurial streak first emerged in an auto components business that fused with her passion for racing. Her ability to see and understand motorsport from the perspective of the cockpit and the boardroom has been a constant asset during her long tenure in and around motorsport. In 2010 those skills were honored by Automotive News as one of The Top 100 Women in the Automotive Industry. Sports Illustrated named her one of the “Top 100 Women Athletes of the Century.”

She has been a spokesperson for Ford, appeared in Rolex ads and is the founder of the Lyn St. James Foundation (a 501(c)(3) charitable organization) for the education, training and advancement of women in automotive fields. She has also served on the board of Kettering University, a top engineering school.

Lyn served as President of the Women’s Sports Foundation from 1990 to 1993. In 1994 Lyn was inducted to the Florida Sports Hall of Fame; Working Woman Magazine included her as one of the Top 350 Women Who Changed the World between 1976 and 1996. She’s been summoned to The White House for civic honors by three consecutive Presidents — Reagan, Bush and Clinton.

“Lyn has been an integral part of the racing community for years and followed in the steps of the likes of Elizabeth Junek, Janet Guthrie, and Lella Lombardi who won races, set records and broke barriers,” said Bill Warner, founder and Chairman of the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance.  “Lyn earned her stripes driving a wide variety of race cars starting in club racing with her daily driver, a Ford Pinto, and culminated with a successful career in Indy cars. Along the way, she shared long distance drives with some of the best drivers of the day. There is more than a quarter of a century of proof that she is the “real thing” behind the wheel.”

Tickets for the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance can be purchased at https://www.ameliaconcours.org/shop/tickets

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Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance Announces Special Classes for 2021

Jacksonville, FL – Announcing the special classes for the 26th Annual Amelia Concours d’Elegance, May 20-23, 2021.

1938 Hispano Suiza DuBonnet Xenia. Photo by Michael Furman.

Hispano-Suiza
The fabled Spanish-Swiss grand marque remains the only car named for a king, Alfonso XIII of Spain, himself a Hispano enthusiast, who owned as many as 30. His enthusiasm for the marque and its reputation for exquisite engineering made it a favorite of royals, celebrities, heroes of all stripes and even a few literary characters who drove Hispanos across the pages of bestselling fiction when the need to project a sense of wealth and style was required. Every famous European coachbuilder of the custom body epoch dressed Hispanos. Their V-8 engines helped win the air war in WWI. That elegant engineering blood gave the cars that wore the “flying stork” mascot, as the sales brochure put it . . . “vitesse, securite, confort, silence, elegance.” It wasn’t hyperbole. Even today the reputation of Hispano-Suiza ranks it with the greatest, most respected and revered names at the pinnacle of the auto industry.

The Porsche 935. Photo courtesy of The Brumos Collection.

Porsche 935
“The Racers’ Concours” honors and celebrates the 45th anniversary of the long-lived, fire-belching 200-plus mph Porsche 935 turbos that once ruled international endurance racing. The 935 was the backbone of international endurance racing for nearly a decade and owned championship titles from Daytona to Le Mans and back. Its popularity remains so potent that nearly five decades after its debut Porsche is creating 77 tribute cars to the 935/78 Moby Dick Le Mans racer based on the 911 GT2 RS.

1977 Chevrolet Corvette Supervette. Photo courtesy of Canepa Motorsport.

Chevy Thunder
Truly the “heartbeat of America” from Indy, Sebring, Daytona, Le Mans, Pro Stock, Can-Am, Trans-Am, club racers, Sprint Cars, Baja & Desert racers, IROC, F5000, Swamp Buggies, Dune Buggies, Hot-Rods, Kit Cars and even to off-shore powerboats, Chevy’s small blocks, big-blocks and pure racing engines set records, crushed competitors and dominated practically every type of motorsport for well over half a century. Chevy’s small block V-8 of 1955 was the elegantly simple engineering masterpiece that inspired hot rodders and race car builders alike. Chevy small block power even sat on the front row of the Indy 500 (1981), outran the fabled Offys on dirt tracks, ruled NASCAR’s high banks, short tracks and road courses, won the 24 Hours of Daytona, the 12 Hours of Sebring and owned the Can-Am (at one point winning 33 races in a row).

Chevy Thunder is the soundtrack of NHRA Pro Stock competition winning the championship 24 times, more than any other manufacturer. Its impact on American culture even extends to popular music; in 1962 the Beach Boys composed a song commemorating the power of Chevy’s big block Turbo-Thrust V-8 entitled, appropriately, “409.” Specifically songwriter Gary Usher’s “ . . . 4-speed, dual-quad, positraction four-oh-nine!” Since its first V-8 in 1917, Chevy V-8 power has touched practically every facet of American life towing trailers, delivering groceries or taking the likes of McLaren, Scarab, Lola, Chaparral, Eagle, Corvette and Camaro to scores of racing victories and championships; some Chevy V-8s even replaced those legendary Italian V-12s in American sports car racing.

Ferrari 275 GTB. Photo Courtesy of Peter Harholdt.

Ferrari 275 GTB
It’s hard to imagine a tougher automotive act to follow than Ferrari’s landmark 250 GTs. From the mid-fifties to the immortal GTO of 1962, Ferrari 250 GTs set the standard, won the races and were the fast moving targets of every GT builder from Los Angeles to Coventry to Stuttgart. Unveiled in Paris in 1964 the 275 GTB became Ferrari’s first GT to fit modern alloy wheels and wear independent suspension at each corner. It proved itself in June 1965 with the Belgian racing yellow #24 275 GTB/C finishing third overall and eclipsing the Le Mans distance record of every previous class-winning GTO.

The 275 won Le Mans’ GT class again in 1966 and 1967. Easily the most famous 275 GTB — one of just ten NART Spiders built — was Steve McQueen’s signature ride in the 1968 double academy award nominated film The Thomas Crown Affair.

The 1909 Columbia Electric. Photo courtesy of Hyman LTD.


It’s Electric
The Amelia’s “It’s Electric” Class showcases the development of the electric car from the beginning of the automotive age when it was a viable alternative to steam and internal combustion automotive power. Fast evolving highway and road infrastructure and the rise of the petroleum industry eased the electric car aside turning its advantages and strengths into liabilities. Times and technologies have changed. So have the mission and operational envelope of the automobile and its place in society. Fast evolving technologies and acute civic awareness of environmental trends stand poised to return the electric car to mainstream motoring life well beyond its original duty as short range urban transportation

1970 Dodge Charger R/T. Photo Courtesy of Peter Harholdt.

1970s Muscle Cars
Purely American, the Muscle Car brought horsepower to the people with low monthly payments and practically unlimited brute force. Every manufacturer from Chevrolet to Ford, from Buick to Dodge offered an alternative and competitor to the Pontiac GTO, the car that started it all in the mid-sixties. The peak of the Muscle Car Era was 1970, just before emission laws and the fuel crisis hobbled Detroit’s horsepower warriors. Amelia 2021 will host a special display class from the renowned Wellborn Musclecar Museum in Alexander City, AL including a Muscle Car from every manufacturer that played Detroit’s high stakes high horsepower game at the overpowered breed’s showroom apogee in 1970.

1989 Ferrari F40. Photo by Deremer Studios LLC/Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance.

Supercars of the 80s and 90s
While the term “supercar” dates back to 1920, the descriptor is often associated with the debut of the mid-engine Lamborghini Miura in 1966. The rules to play the supercar game were simple: big exotic engines between the driver and the rear wheels and a body shape that echoed Le Mans prototype contours: the wilder the better. Enter the Lamborghini Countach, Ferrari F40, Bugatti EB110, Jaguar XJR-15 and the Ferrari F50.

Over time the term “supercar” expanded to describe an elite group of sports cars that stand apart in terms of design, performance, technology and price. For 2021, The Amelia will gather some of the world’s most iconic supercars of the 1980s and 1990s onto the main showfield.

Shadow DN4. Photo courtesy of Peter Harholdt.

Shadow
In 1970, the wildest year of Can-Am competition, everybody seemed to have a better, wilder or weirder idea. None more so than a radical, bizarre, unloved and evil handling little doorstop of a race car spawning a family that would claim the Can-Am Championship, deliver a future World Champion his first F1 victory and compete at the top level of Grand Prix racing. Don Nichols, Shadow Cars chief and a genuine international man of mystery, loved the Shadow radio serials and named his cars and team accordingly. The 2021 Amelia Concours will feature a special Shadow class including the bizarre and radical AVS — Advanced Vehicle Systems — Shadow Mk 1 of 1970, the 1974 Can-Am champion DN4 and Alan Jones’ 1977 Austrian Grand Prix winner, the Shadow DN8A. Shadow designers were an all-star team with world class credentials and imaginations: Trevor Harris, Peter Bryant and Tony Southgate drew the sinister shapes that were instantly recognizable as Shadows, right down to the team’s famous cloaked spy logo.

For tickets and more visit: http://www.ameliaconcours.org