It’s the sound of racing engines that makes the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance distinct from many other such events. Founder and chairman Bill Warner’s background, contacts, and circles of friends all orbit the world of motorsports, and so has his event, which for each of its 25 outings has named an “honoree,” all of them racers.
This year, that person was Roger Penske, and there was a reunion, of sorts, for many of the past honorees. In only a few minutes, we’d spotted Derek Bell, Hurley Haywood, Brian Redman, and David Hobbs.
The Penske-centric classes (three — for cars he’d driven, cars his team has owned, and for some of his cars that won the Indy 500) were all made up of race cars, of course, and there were classes for other racers from before WW1, between the world wars, and several to cover the eras since WW2.
Racing heritage was also evident in the classes for Duesenbergs, Loziers, and a group of called Porsche Firsts to mark the 50th anniversary of that firm’s first victory at Le Mans.
It’s not that the show is just about racing, it’s just that it tilts more strongly in that direction than do, say, the concours at Pebble Beach, St. John’s near Detroit, or Hilton Head. And that makes it sound awesome when the cars fire up and pass in review to collect their awards, crackling and spitting and snorting like thoroughbreds.
The field also had a large display centered around the new Corvette C8, a class of cars designed by Sergio Scaglietti to recognize the 100th anniversary of his birth, and another of cars designed by GM Design chief Harley Earl.
There was a class for tiny cars called “That’s Cute” and another for American cars wearing bodywork from Europe, ensuring plenty of variety for the crowd.
Before starting his own race team, Amelia honoree Roger Penske drove Jim Hall’s Chaparral 2 in USRRC competition 
Speaking of the crowd, attendees were advised to take precautions in light of the Covid-19 coronavirus, but organizers decided to go ahead with not only the main event but all the ancillary activities such as auctions, seminars, and a Saturday Cars and Coffee show on the main field. It all looked well-attended and the crowd was packed in pretty tightly inside on Saturday and outdoors on Sunday.
It may have been the last such automotive gathering in Florida for a while, as prominent activities as soon as the following weekend were being closed to spectators or postponed until later dates.
If you wanted to fill your ears with the sounds of live racing engines and the sight of real racing heroes in Florida, it seems, Amelia Island was your best bet this March.
1969 Gurney Eagle MK5 as campaigned by Tony Adamowicz to win that year’s SCCA L&M Continental championship 
Decals on ’69 Eagle celebrate that year’s lunar mission: The Eagle has Landed
Brabham BG-8 
1955 Ferrari 750 Monza co-driven by Phil Hill and Carroll Shelby
Osca 
Stockholm Ferrari 500 Mondial
1947 Austin A35 
1935 Chrysler Convertible Victoria by Carlton 
Tiger from Thai prince’s Bentley
Porsche 904 GTS 
Jaguar XK120
Tazio Nuvolari won the 1933 Mille Miglia in this Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Monza. Owned for a long while by F1 impresario Bernie Ecclestone, it’s seen lots of vintage racing action 
The Alfa’s burned tail
Abarth 1100 
Lane Museum’s contribution to a class of tiny cars named “That’s Cute” was this German-built 1926 Hanomag 
1957 Austin A35 in the “That’s Cute” class was a well-known entrant in vintage races and rallies under previous owner
