Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance

Coming up on a quarter of a century since it was established, the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance now ranks up there on the calendar of international “must see” events along with Pebble Beach, Goodwood, and Monterey Week.

I was lucky enough to be invited by my good friend Ron Hope—owner/driver of the world famous Rat Trap AA/Fuel Altered drag car that was part of the first-ever display of historic drag cars at Amelia—quite the honor.

Amelia was the brainchild of founder Bill Warner, and unlike other Concours events, focuses a bit more on racecars than pure automotive aesthetics. Of course, there are plenty of stunning classics to eyeball such as fabulous late-thirties Mercedes-Benz 500K/540K to the inevitable Duesenberg.

Unfortunately, one of the Merc’ 500Ks was involved in an accident that wiped out the right front fender—can you imagine the cost of the repair—it didn’t look like it would rub out. Apparently, there were at least four accidents in the narrow congested streets of Amelia Island and for all I know, maybe there were more.

Besides the dazzling array of classics, this year saw a huge celebration of Porsche with race driver Jacky Ickx honored.  Belgian Jacky won the 24 Hours of Le Mans six times achieved eight wins and 25 podium finishes in Formula One.

He also won the Can-Am Championship in 1979 and is a former winner of the Dakar Rally. As part of that celebration Porsche displayed a fleet of 11 962s that was just stunning. Other Porsches included a custom 356 built by Rod Emory of Emory Motorsports for musician John Oates of Hall & Oates fame. Rad to say the least.

“I didn’t see it as cheating, I felt that I just operated on an ‘alternative rule interpretation.’”Jim Busby

One of the highlights of Amelia was the Friday panel discussion The Unfair Advantage: Racing Around the Rules hosted by NASCAR driver and TV personality Ray Evernham with Jim Busby, Kevin Jeanette, Andy Petree, Mark Raffuf, Steve Roby and Jay Signore.

The tall tales they told of creatively navigating the rules was truly fascinating. Jim Busby said, “ I didn’t see it as cheating, I felt that I just operated on an ‘alternative rule interpretation.’ By the way, Ray himself may have been the sketchiest character in the room.”

Even the roster of judges was impressive and included 5-time Le Mans winner Derek Bell, Cobra Daytona Coupe designer Pete Brock, TV’s Wayne Carini, GM designer Wayne Cherry, Chrysler designer Tom Gale, racing drivers Hurley Haywood, David Hobbs, Jochen Mass, Brian Redman, and Lynn St. James. In total there were 121 judges reviewing more than 300 entries.

“By the way, Ray himself may have been the sketchiest character in the room.”Jim Busby

As I said, there we eight drag cars helping celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Gatornationals and there was also a special display honoring hot rod builder and designer Ken “Posie” Fenical, Hummelstown, PA.

Ken makes springs and to promote the business he has over the years built a string of hot rods and custom cars, that despite being slightly off-center, are recognized as automotive works of art.

Putting aside the display of 962 Porsches, one of the more interesting displays was of custom-bodied Volkswagens built by German carrosseria such as Hebmuller, Karmann and Rometsch.

The two most outstanding vehicles were the rare 4-door and the wrought iron Beetle “Wedding Car” designed by Raphael Esparaza Prieto. I liked them all.

Upon reflection, the 24th Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance had something for everybody and located at the Ritz-Carlton hotel on Amelia Island should definitely be on every car person’s bucket list.

Pebble Beach, on the Green

My first ever trip to the Pebble Beach Historic Concours d’Elegance was a stressful roller coaster ride. We had a car “on the green.” We had all the right tickets. We had a friend with a place on the beach. What more could a car guy ask for?

Unfortunately, my boss called to say that the truck driver delivering our car had hydraulicked the motor trying to start it and that I needed to go fix it. Wait. Wait. I’m just the oily rag. I don’t know how to fix things.

Needless to say, with the help of the friend with the beach house we pulled the plugs, turned the engine with a big long screwdriver, and found out that it was just full of fuel and not seized. We went on to come second in our class but it was a stressful weekend.

Wait. Wait. I’m just the oily rag. I don’t know how to fix things.

The first Pebble Beach was held in 1950 in conjunction with the Pebble Beach Road Race. Phil Hill won the race driving a Jaguar XK120 and Best of Show went to a 1950 Edwards R-26 Special Sport Roadster owned by its creator Sterling Edwards.

The show was such a success it was repeated the following year and has grown over the ensuing 68 years to become the most prestigious event on the world Concours calendar.

Because of its stature, because of its location, and because the beautiful weather of Pebble Beach has attracted the cognoscenti like moths, Pebble Beach is now a week-long event called the Monterey Car Week. Although there are other events, the week really kicks off with Gordon McCall’s “Hanger Party” at the Monterey Jet Center. It’s the VIP cocktail party to end all cocktail parties.

It’s the VIP cocktail party to end all cocktail parties.

Then there’s the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion at the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, auctions and car shows such as the Concorso Italiano, the Japanese Automotive Invitational, the Concours D’Lemons, and the Barnyard Ferrari Event. It’s a merry-go-round of cars, chrome, and champagne.

This past year, we were intimately involved because our good friend Mick Jenkins of Mick’s Paint, Pomona, CA, had painted a rare, Atcherley-bodied Alfa Romeo that was in contention.

It’s a merry-go-round of cars, chrome, and champagne.

Atcherley, actually William Clive Atcherley, was an English coachbuilder who fabricated bodies on Brough Superior and Alfa Romeo chassis. This 1928 example—the only-surviving Atcherley Alfa Romeo—recently surfaced in Switzerland and found its way to California to be restored by Fast Cars Ltd. in Redondo Beach, CA.

Mick and the guys at Fast Cars have collaborated before on some rare Alfas but this project was special because it was being restored, but not over-restored, for the Atcherley family.

It was their name on the grille and everybody wanted it to do well. Against some heavy competition, the Atcherley Alfa came 2^nd in Class J4 Italian Classic. In fact, it was runner up in its class to the Best of Show winner, Dave and Ginny Sydorick’s 1937 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B, some seriously strong competition.

Thankfully, we ended another fantastic Monterey Car Week on a high note but be warned, while it should be on every car nut’s bucket list it can be a very expensive week with rooms hard to find and hotels and event prices off the scale.

For a fairly complete guide to the 2019 Monterey Car Week go to: seemonterey.com/events/sporting/concours/

For more specific Pebble Beach Concours information go to: pebblebeachconcours.net

The Inaugural Japanese Automotive Invitational

The Best of JDM at Pebble Beach

For the first time ever, Japanese makes had a headlining event during Pebble Beach Automotive Week. The inaugural Japanese Automotive Invitational presented by Infiniti brought out some of the best JDM cars from across the US.

To coincide with Infiniti’s fifth year in partnering with the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, an exclusive event was created just for the best Japanese restorations, race cars, and museum pieces. While it was an event done by Infiniti, that didn’t limit it to just Nissans, Datsuns, or the presenting mark. You had amazing cars from Mazda, Toyota, and even a Dome prototype.

Toyota brought out their big guns in both racing and vehicle rarity. The most stunning was the 2000GT Convertible, a car with only two made just for You Only Live Twice. Supposedly, it was made because Sean Connery was just a bit too tall for the closed cockpit or targa versions of the car. Despite the film’s popularity, Toyota never made a production version of the convertible, but it was considered for a while. There were also only 60 cars made for the US. A little-known fact about the 2000GT is that Carrol Shelby entered a pair of them in the 1968 SCCA C Production Category.

However, the predecessor of the 2000GT was the Sports 800, which could be considered the original “Hachi” from its nickname, “Yota-Hachi” or Toyota-8. The Sports 800 was only sold in Toyota Public Stores in Japan and it’s not hard to see why. With only 790cc (48.2-cubic inches), the 2U-B flat-twin engine only produced about 44-horsepower. It made up for that lack of power by only weighing 1,279-pounds. If you’re wondering, yes, the Toyota 2U is technically the father of the 4U used in the Toyota 86. We say “technically” because the 4U is based on the Subaru FA20.

Of course, you couldn’t present the event without bringing some of your best stuff in your racing and sports car history. You had the classic racecars like the Brock Racing Enterprises (BRE) Datsun 510. It was in the #85 guise once driven by Bobby Allison in the SCCA Trans-Am series in the Under 2.5-liter class. The BRE 510s raced against the best from BMW and Alfa-Romeo but proved to be too much. After two championships in the class, BMW and Alfa dropped their factory efforts in the Under 2.5 Championship.

There was also the Clayton Cunningham Racing Nissan 300ZX that ran in the IMSA GTS-1 class. This was the one that won the 1994 24 Hours of Le Mans in the IMSA GTS Class, 12 Hours of Sebring, and took home the IMSA GTS Class Championship for Nissan. It ran with what would become an all-star driving team: BRE’s legendary driver John Morton, Stillen’s IMSA Champion driver Steve Millen, and future Corvette and Cadillac Racing star driver Johnny O’Connell. This car was the one that made the VG30DETT the legendary and desirable engine it has become today. It proved to be a very reliable block that could put out 800-horsepower. The next year, 1995, IMSA declared that the VG wasn’t eligible in the GTS Class by way of an allowable horsepower mandate. So, the twin-turbo V6 was out and was replaced with a Nissan V8 based on the VH45DE that debuted in 1990.

For a long time, people wondered when we would see a Japanese-only event during the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. We finally got it and it was a classic event worthy of Pebble Beach Automotive Week. While it was presented by Infiniti, we still got great cars from the Land of the Rising Sun. You couldn’t have asked for a better way to represent the best of the best of JDM.

Elegant Metal

The 25th Rodeo Drive Concours D’Elegance

 

There is no better way to celebrate Father’s Day than to check out some of the most beautiful cars on the extravagant Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, CA. This year’s “Best of Show” of the 25th Rodeo Drive Concours d’Elegance went to a 1938 Hispano-Suiza H6B Dubonnet Xenia and was worthy of that award, indeed.

The Rodeo Drive Concours d’Elegance is becoming a tradition for fathers and their families to celebrate automotive art in Southern California. When you combine the indulgence of Beverly Hills with some of the most amazing and rarely seen metal on wheels, you create something special. That’s what a Concours d’Elegance is all about, after all.

To bookmark the Concours d’Elegance, 50 silver cars were brought out just for the show to celebrate the 25 years the show has been taking place on the historic road. It wasn’t just Euros and luxury cars, either, as muscle cars and the latest supercars made an appearance in the quarter-century marking color. It was also signified with the largest turnout for both cars and spectators with more than 30,000 people coming out to see what was on display for that blocked off section of Rodeo Drive.

The Best of Show winner was a 1938 Hispano-Suiza H6B Dubonnet Xenia, owned by the Mullin Automotive Museum. It was based off the Hispano-Suiza H6B, a luxury car with a 6.6-liter or 8.0-liter I6 built in the early 20th Century. This car’s historic significance is that it was designed by World War I flying ace, race car driver, and Olympic athlete Andre Dubonnet. He was no stranger to Hispano-Suiza, as he once raced a 1924 H6C with a body that weighed no more than 100-pounds.

This version was built with an independent suspension with an Art Deco-themed body that was hand-built by Jacques Saoutchik, a Russian-born French coachwork builder who started out his career as a cabinet maker before starting his automotive business in 1906. His body work included brands like Bugatti, Delahaye, Pegaso, and even Cadillac.

There were other awards, too. The Mayor’s Award for the Most Elegant went to Vin Di Bona’s 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SC Coupe. Bruce Meyer’s Chairman’s Award went to a 1964 Porsche 904 owned by Sam Yagi. The Icon Award for a Timeless Classic went Tenney Fairchild’s 1964 Pontiac GTO. The Most Stylish, Rodeo Drive Award went to a 1960 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz Convertible owned by Kip Cyprus.

 There were many other awards, but the most important award was the funds raised for the Beverly Hills Police Foundation. It’s a non-profit charity that funds officers and their families when the time comes that they need it.

Rodeo Drive is known for being the crossroads of entertainment and fashion. However, for 25 years it has also been the home of some of the most beautiful metal Southern California has ever owned that wasn’t gold. The Rodeo Drive Concours d’Elegance is more than exotics and luxury, it’s the celebration of automotive history in a place that helped create it.