The 10 Most Exciting Cars at This Year’s Amelia Concours

Rain was not going to put a damper on this year’s edition of the largest and most storied car show on the East Coast, and to ensure that was the case, the 30th Anniversary of the Amelia was moved up a day to Saturday, March 8—a decision made less than 48 hours prior. It’s just another example of the agility and responsiveness—on par with any supercar on hand—that the various teams behind the concours on Amelia Island, Fla., have demonstrated for the last three decades since the event was founded by Bill Warner.

Now under the stewardship of Hagerty, the collector-car insurance provider identifying as “a global automotive enthusiast brand,” the Amelia seems not just secure but surging ahead, as evidenced by the 17,000 attendees through Saturday. Under scattered sun and ideal temps, 240 cars in 37 classes were thoughtfully  arranged on the fairways of the Ritz-Carlton’s Golf Course at Amelia Island, while the resort served as base camp for a two-day sale through Broad Arrow Auctions.

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“We think there’s a place for the Amelia to be here permanently in people’s minds,” says McKeel Hagerty, CEO and chairman of the board for the eponymous company, regarding the future of this concours. I think we proved that there’s still really this room for a classic-car display, and not just keep this inevitable drift toward newer and newer cars.”

Hagerty’s commitment to building on what Warner started—and continued to grow for so long—carries over to the Amelia’s intrinsic tie to motorsport and the men and women behind the wheel, as evidenced by this year’s honoree, four-time Indy 500–winner Hélio Castroneves. For Castroneves, it was an emotional reunion with some of the important cars he has piloted during his career to date, as well as with some of his own racing heroes, such as Derek Bell, Hurley Haywood, Bobby Rahal, Lyn St. James, and David Hobbs, all of whom were present with him for a panel discussion on Sunday.

“I’m very blessed to be among incredible names,” Castroneves tells Robb Report. “I had never been to Amelia Island, I didn’t know how the event was, and it surpassed expectations. It was, ‘wow,’ that was the word.” Here, 10 of the cars that made us say the same thing.

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1967 Bizzarrini GT Strada 5300 Series I

Arguably one of the most beautiful automobiles of any era, the Bizzarrini GT Strada 5300 owes its existence to the much publicized “palace revolt” at Ferrari in 1961. The discontent in Maranello at the time resulted in several key personnel being bucked off the Prancing Horse marque, among them engineer Giotto Bizzarrini, who had been responsible for developing the 250 GTO. After leaving, Bizzarrini collaborated with Iso Autoveicoli S.p.A.—founded by Renzo Rivolta—on such cars the Iso Grifo A3/L, which was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro. Soon after, Bizzarrini formed his own namesake marque and used his work on the A3/L as a springboard for what would become the Bizzarrini GT Strada 5300, also styled by Giugiaro and comprising a production run of 133 examples.

The car on Amelia’s show lawn is owned by William and Cheryl Swanson and has been in their ownership for four years, during which time it has undergone a 2.5-year restoration. “When you go into a corner, you know that Bizzarrini knew what he was doing,” says William Swanson about the drive experience. “That car just sits there because of the perfect balance.” The vehicle carries a 327 cubic-inch Corvette V-8 engine with 350 hp, but Swanson is all about the aesthetics. “What I love about [the car] are the lines . . . when you look at it, it’s just timeless.”

Joe Kaminkow’s Goldfinger Edition Aston Martin DB5

This car is almost more of the DB5 from the James Bond classic Goldfinger than the actual example used in the film, as it has all the accoutrements agent 007 had at hand, and a few others for good measure. Built from an original 1965 Aston Martin DB5 R, this Goldfinger Edition is the passion project of Las Vegas–based Joe Kaminkow, a multiple-hall-of-fame inductee for his design and development work on video games and slot machines. “[Aston Martin] had done the continuation car, but it wasn’t one you could buy and drive because it wasn’t street legal,” Kaminkow tells Robb Report. “I was kind of bored during the pandemic, and with my gaming-design abilities and having the friends I do, I thought we could make this thing work, make it special, and have all the special content to it and everything else.”

And so he did. This DB5 contains a radar screen and tracker map, a “weapon” activation panel for such features as the machine guns that fire (loud) blanks, a working smoke screen, an oil-slick delivery system, and the infamous ejector-seat button. On the outside, the car counts the renowned rotating license plates, bullet-resistant windows, and a bullet-resistant carbon-fiber rear shield among the list of detailed embellishments seen in the movie car. There’s even a hidden sleeve of real gold Krugerrands in the center console and an authentic signature from Sean Connery on the glove box. Collaborating with Kaminkow on the vehicle was Kevin Kay Restorations out of Redding, Calif. As for the time commitment the car represents, Kaminkow says the mission took “3.5 years, about 15,000 hours.” And that’s understandable, considering this is a DB5 even Q would covet.

2008 Porsche RS Spyder Evo (LMP2)

The Amelia has perhaps the closest connection to motorsport than any other concours, and has since inception, as evidenced by an honor roll of honorees that includes Sir Stirling Moss, Derek Bell, Hurley Haywood, Emerson Fittipaldi, Lyn St. James, and Jeff Gordon to name a few. This year, four-time Indy 500–winner Hélio Castroneves was the driver on the dais. As part of the tribute, a selection of race cars from his career to date were a highlight of the show lawn. Especially eye-catching was the 2008 Porsche RS Spyder Evo he raced for DHL Team Penske Porsche. The car exhibited was the one that he and teammate Ryan Briscoe piloted to victory in the Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) class at the 1,000-mile Petit Le Mans at the Road Atlanta circuit that year.

“They were tough, I’ll be honest,” Castroneves tells Robb Report about driving these LMP2 Porsches. “Power steering in a race car was something I wasn’t familiar with . . . in the high-speed corners it was really sensitive. I was an IndyCar driver, so I was always aggressive, and you need to filter that,” he adds. “It didn’t have much power, but the car was extremely fast in every corner . . . it reminded me of my Formula Three days.”

2001 BMW E46 M3 GTR

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of both the BMW 3 Series and BMW North America, the marque brought an example from all seven generations of the model to Amelia—a milestone display of milestones. Of the two race cars present, it was the fourth-generation 2001 BMW E46 M3 GTR that had the most gravitational pull. “The engine is a 4.0-liter flat-plane-crank V-8 originally designed to go IndyCar racing,” says Tom Plucinsky, head of BMW Group Classic USA. He adds that only 10 street cars were made, of which just three still exist, and only three of the race versions are extant.

“As we went through the season, it became very clear to the other competitors from other brands that this was an incredibly dominant car, and we were protested. By the end of the season, the rules were changed and, essentially, we were outlawed,” says Plucinsky. “So the [M3 GTR] won the championship, and this car won the last race of the season in 2001. It’s painted in the Stars and Stripes livery because [the race] was a month after 9/11.” Plucinsky also points out that it’s the only running M3 GTR in the world.

1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider Competizione

Although it wasn’t one of vehicles gracing the exhibition field at the Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island, this 1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider Competizione was at the resort and crossing the block through Broad Arrow Auctions on Saturday. Touted by the auction house as the most valuable car it has ever offered, the droptop Prancing Horse is one of only eight aluminum-bodied examples of the model variant made and was raced at the 24 Hours of Le Mans less than week after it left the factory. Bob Grossman and Fernand Tavano took turns behind the wheel while under the banner of Luigi Chinetti’s North American Racing Team (N.A.R.T.), Ferrari’s stateside squad. The car—chassis No. 1451 GT—took fifth place overall and third in class that year at Circuit de la Sarthe, and was subsequently campaigned in the U.S. With more than one restoration completed and Ferrari Classiche certification, it has been entered a few times at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, the most recent being last year.

Although the vehicle’s estimated value was set at between $10 million and $14 million, it hammered for $9.465 million. The highest-priced lot of the auction, it still represents how these Prancing Horses from the 1950s and ‘60s are no longer selling at the same gallop they once were. It’s all part of the “natural order” as older collectors and cars begin to concede to subsequent generations of both, according to McKeel Hagerty. “Think about it,” says Hagerty. “There are 39 Ferrari [250] GTOs; there are few of them on the market right now—but what happens if 10 came on the market, what are they going to be worth? There aren’t enough younger billionaires who are ready to buy them.”

1971 Lamborghini Miura P400 SV

Designed by Bertone’s Marcello Gandini and engineered by Giampaolo Dallara and Paolo Stanzani, the Lamborghini Miura remains a benchmark in automotive form and function. With the ability to cover zero to 62 mph in 6.7 seconds and reach a top speed of nearly 174 mph, it was claimed to be the fastest car in the world when introduced. Its popularity was equally meteoric, with such names as Rod Stewart, Miles Davis, and the Shah of Iran among the early ownership elite. Built from 1966 through 1973, the Miura saw its last variant, the P400 “Spinto Veloce” (SV), fit with a 4.0-liter V-12 making 385 hp, and of which only about 150 examples were made.

The car offered through Broad Arrow Auctions at the Amelia, chassis No. 4854, was one of just seven leaving the factory in this Arancio Miura orange complemented by a Gobi beige interior. With its matching-numbers engine, it spent 30 years meticulously preserved in the Rosso Bianco Museum in Germany before collector Simon Kidston acquired the car and had Modenese Lamborghini begin what would become about a two-year comprehensive restoration. With an estimated high-end value of $5 million, it crossed the auction block for $4.46 million.

1954 Jaguar D-Type “OKV 2” Works Competition

There are cars with provenance, then there’s the 1954 Jaguar D-Type “OKV 2” Works Competition. This racer, one of 75 examples of the D-Type built, was part of the first batch of three developed for the 1954 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Assigned to drive the car, referenced as “OKV 2,” was the duo of Stirling Moss and Peter Walker. In a practice session at Circuit de la Sarthe, the car set the fastest lap and a speed record on the Mulsanne Straight, reaching 172.97 mph. While a D-Type took second overall in the actual race (and won the following three years), this one failed to finish, but was campaigned through 1959. In later decades, it has participated in historic-car racing, including the 2012 Le Mans Classic.

As a possible bellwether for the collector-car market, “OKV 2” had an estimated value ranging from $6.5 million to $8.5 million, yet was offered without reserve. When the hammer fell, the new steward of this bridge to Motorsport’s most daring age paid $4.295 million. “We see it as this generational shift,” says McKeel Hagerty. The younger, monied collector would rather have a [Ruf] ‘Yellowbird’ than a D-Type. There is softness in some of those vintage cars . . . those cars are just, not right now, worth what they were five years ago.”

1989 Ruf CTR “Yellowbird”

Another auction lot landing on our Amelia list is the bidding counterpoint to the Jaguar D-Type—the 1989 Ruf CTR ‘Yellowbird” offered through Gooding & Company at its Amelia auction on Friday, March 7. Not another restomod house or Porsche tuner, Ruf is recognized by the German government as a small-scale manufacturer that just happens to make cars that are visual doppelgängers to the Porsche 911, though no longer built from the latter. The CTR, though, introduced in 1987, was indeed a heavily modified 911, the Carrera 3.2 to be exact, yet featured aluminum bodywork and numerous other lightweighting elements. Its engine was bolstered to a 3.4-liter, air-cooled  flat-six—mated to a six-speed manual—that makes about 456 hp. That output enabled the “Yellowbird” to fly past the competition at the Road & Track publication’s “World’s Fastest Car” contest that same year.

Only 29 examples of the original CTR “Yellowbird” were made, and the one presented by Gooding is likely the finest to be found, wearing only a bit more than 1,000 miles on the odometer and in practically showroom condition. Estimated to fetch more than $6 million, it did just that when the winning bid brought it to $6.055 million, setting a record—and perhaps a new precedent—for the Bavaria-based marque.

Best in Show—Concours de Sport: 1967 Lotus Type 49

For the 1967 Formula One season, the Lotus team campaigned in its new Type 49 race car that introduced the Cosworth-Ford DFV (double four valve) engine created through the partnership of the marque’s founder Colin Chapman and British automotive-engineering house Cosworth. As the engine name suggests, Ford was also pivotal in the roughly 400 hp mill coming to fruition. That power plant helped propel the Type 49 to four grand prix wins that first year, with Jim Clark behind the wheel. At the end of the season, Clark finished third overall among the drivers and Lotus came in second place among the constructors. The next year, the Type 49 led Graham Hill to the top spot on the podium in the overall drivers’ competition and enabled Lotus to finish first in the field of constructors.

The Lotus Type 49 continued its winning ways on Saturday when this example, owned by Chris MacAllister, was named Best in show for the Concours de Sport category. “This was Jimmy Clark’s Formula One car and had groundbreaking technology and really spanned the era of Formula One as a sport and as a business,” said MacAllister in a conversation with the team at Hagerty after receiving the award. “Clark was my hero, still is, and he was twice world champion, and this was maybe his last, best car. . . . It’s nice that people get to see it and hear about it—it deserves that.”

Best in Show—Concours d’Elegance: 1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B

Sharing Best in Show honors with the Lotus Type 49 was this 1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B, an example of a striking model that is a favorite among serious collectors and concours judges alike. According to the folks at Hagerty, the car that took top honors at Amelia “is believed to be one of the prototypes for the 1938 Mille Miglia.” Already representing a rarefied automotive breed that often exists in the eight-figure realm, this particular car, chassis No. 412028, was originally ordered by Italian racing great Giuseppe Farina and is the only example of an 8C 2900 to feature coachwork by the owner’s family business, Stabilimenti Industriali Farina.

“People think that supercars were invented in the 1960s, with perhaps the Lamborghini Miura, but the Alfa 8Cs were supercars in the years before World War II,” renowned car historian and appraiser Donald Osborne tells Robb Report. “The performance is absolutely outstanding, and especially with a car like this, where basically you have the chassis and the engine of a race-winning car, clothed for the best, most dressy evening out you could possibly imagine.” Interestingly, Osborne adds that the uniquely textured blue interior was commissioned to match the luggage bag displayed on the driver’s seat, and not the other way around.