You might wonder what all the fuss is about. We’ve always championed the car events in Amelia Island, Florida, because the concours was second only to Pebble Beach for us.
That was in the days that it was run by Bill Warner who, after 22 years of running it (raising huge amounts for charity), sold to classic car insurance giant Hagerty in 2021. It was renamed The Amelia and various changes made, some of which worked well and some of which didn’t initially – as is always the case when an event evolves.
For the 31st running of the concours, and Hagerty’s fifth edition, The Amelia Concours has really found its groove again. The conditions helped – the Florida weather can be fickle but this year’s event was bathed in glorious sunshine again.
Most importantly, the big collectors – and their important cars – have returned after initially staying away to see how the event progressed. The concours judging has also been turned up a notch, which is important to a lot of the car owners. For the first time this year the cars were judged to the new M100 standard, which allows more flexibility for the judges and different criteria for race cars and perservation cars, rather than trying to mark them in the same way as the rest.
It felt like a great success, with two strong Best of Show winners – for Concours d’Elegance and Concours de Sport – chosen from several strong potential winners. The Best of Show Concours d’Elegance went to the 1931 Duesenberg Model J ‘Tapertail’ Speedster by Weymann belonging to the William Lyon Family of Coto de Caza, California.
In satisfying contrast, Best of Show Concours de Sport was awarded to the 1969 McLaren M8B of Mouse Motors, Chicago, Illinois. The two winners couldn’t have been more different, validating the event’s long history of awarding the two separate Best of Show awards.
The McLaren M8B chassis no. 2, powered by a 630bhp 7.0-litre Chevy V8, was the defining car of the 1969 Can-Am ‘Bruce and Denny Show’. Bruce McLaren drove this car to secure the 1969 driver’s Can-Am championship with victories at Watkins Glen, Mosport Park, Mid-Ohio, Road America, Michigan and Laguna Seca. With team mate Denny Hulme, the pair won all 11 races of the 1969 season.
“Our goal was to bring awareness to this car’s story,” said Mike Marzano, caretaker of the McLaren. “It hasn’t been out there much over the years, so we were thrilled to share it at The Amelia Concours. The event is great for collectors and enthusiasts alike.”
The Lyons Family Duesenberg Model J’s short-wheelbase chassis (no. 2450) carries a one-of-a-kind ‘Tapertail’ speedster body by Gordon Buehrig, who also designed the final Auburn Speedster and the revolutionary Cord 810/812. It was built by Weymann America Co. and installed by the Duesenberg factory.
The car was built to order for its first owner, Walter Varney, a businessman and pilot from San Francisco whose air mail operation later became United Airlines. It’s a true speedster, doing without exterior door handles and roll-up windows, and it’s also notable for its single-person rumble seat and elegant pontoon fenders, as well as its lack of running boards or steps.
“I haven’t been to The Amelia Concours in 12 years, but the Hagerty team welcomed us with great hospitality,” said Bill H. Lyon, caretaker of the winning Duesenberg. “It’s been a fantastic visit. The weather has been great, the experience was great and winning the show, obviously, was icing on the cake.”
The Model J was part of a special display of Duesenbergs, while the McLaren was in the Can-Am class. These were just two of the 35 classes, which included Pre-War Supercharged Mercedes, two classes of Icons: Carroll Shelby, four classes of European Post-War Sports, Production Built Turbos 1971 – 1990, Modifieds, Porsche Aluminum Body Porsches, Hypercars, Tom Cotter’s One-of-One, Chip Foose Creations, Motorcycle Mechanical Marvels and Cars of Honoree Dario Franchitti MBE.
The 280 cars made for a stunning display across the Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island golf course, as good as pre-Hagerty displays – although we do miss the eclectic nature of some of the Bill Warner era classes. Cars of The Cowboys was a particular favourite a few years ago…
Scottish IndyCar and Daytona legend Dario was a popular honoree, displaying several of his cars and taking part in seminars, talks and signing throughout the weekend.
Many of the concours cars had their first outing on the Friday morning of the event with the Eight Flags Road Tour, which now starts in historic downtown Fernandina Beach rather than the crowded Ritz-Carlton. This made for a great free public show that was appreciated by the local community.
Also on the Friday morning was the Werks Reunion Porsche event at the Amelia River Golf Club. That was followed by the Classic Motorsports Amelia Island Kick-Off in the afternoon, incorporating an additional small Concours d’LeMons display. The quality and variety of cars there is impressive and it’s free to visitors.
At the same time, the auctions were in full swing with previews and sales. Broad Arrow, as part of Hagerty, is the in-house auction company and Gooding & Co are sited a five minute drive away at the Omni Plantation. Both had outstanding sales, with Broad Arrow setting a new record for the highest value sale in the history of the Amelia Island auctions.
The concours took place on the Saturday, rather than the traditional Sunday. In some years, ominous weather forecasts had prompted the concours day to be pulled forward from Sunday to Saturday. For 2026, it was decided some time ago to run The Amelia Concours on the Saturday and the more grass roots Cars & Caffeine on the Sunday morning. This gave more margin for weather-related changes and more time for the concours cars to be transported and for the site to be cleared down on the Sunday afternoon. It seemed like a good decision.
The only downside was that many of the concours goers skipped Sunday’s Cars & Caffeine, which has always previously taken place on the Saturday. It was packed all the same, and showing a wide range of cars of all ages, many of them modified. The 40 years of BMW M3 display proved to be possible, as did the line-ups of Ferraris and Japanese classics, and seminars by customiser Chip Foose and Dario – it’s an event that’s bigger than its cars and coffee type image suggests.
Alongside all this, and running throughout the three days, were various seminars, automobilia and luxury goods market and manufacturers offering new car test drives though Hagerty Ride & Drive.
