25th ANNUAL AMELIA ISLAND CONCOURS WEEKEND

One to Remember

By Bruce Sweetman Photos by Bruce Sweetman and Kobus Reyneke

From the May / June 2020 Registry Magazine - With Bonus Photos & Video

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Friday

The thing about the big annual events is that, after that first time, you want to return every year. And, if the organizers have their act together—much like a great composer, artist, or author—each opus builds on past successes and offers something new.

The quality of the automobiles, the iconic personalities, and the range of activities offered at Amelia Island are nonpareil. And the teams that manage event logistics exemplify what singer-songwriter Steve Wariner meant when he sang that the great ones “Make It Look Easy.”

Getting the most out of the weekend requires planning and an acceptance that you can’t do it all. “But maybe there’s a way,” I thought, as I examined locations and times for Friday’s events. The Eight Flags Road Tour—with more than 60 concours cars departing from the Ritz Carlton, is always exciting; photographing the Porsches rolling onto the Werks Reunion show field can be eye-popping; and significant Porsches would be crossing the auction block at Gooding & Company, including eight from Nashville collector Tommy Trabue. No matter how I configured the routes around the island, there was just no way to get to all three events in a timely manner.

So I decided to hit the Werks Reunion first. Werks was relocated this year to the Amelia River Golf Club. The new location was off the beaten path but very clearly marked, and parking was painless. A light cloud cover and a steady breeze made it long-sleeve weather, which didn’t bode well for back-lit Spanish moss photos. Walking toward the show field we encountered Mark Pribanic and Jerry Peters acting as sort of unofficial greeters—Mark with his well-traveled 356A coupe, and Jerry with his Porsche transporter and extreme 356 Outlaw.

The 914 was the honored model in its 50th year, with 39 cars registered to be judged. Still, fifteen 356s represented the original Porsche model well on the fairways. Peter Bartelli wiped down his 1963 Carrera 2000 GS coupe while Bill Heitmann parked his 1964 SC/GT tribute and Jim Doughton drove his 1953 Cabriolet (minus an errant hub cap) onto the field.

The 356 Club of Southern California’s president and 356 Registry member Mike Puldy showed a Silver 1963 T-6 356B. “It was originally sold in Stuttgart, Germany,” he said—thus the orange/red taillights and low-placed reflectors. Puldy purchased it from Laguna Beach-based artist Michael Bryan, who had restored the car with non-original but tasteful interior materials in the ’90s and, “he painted the engine block red,” said Puldy. After the weekend Puldy planned to drive it home to North Redondo Beach, California.

After surveying the rest of the field, we took a 15-minute drive to the Gooding Auction at the Plantation Racquet Park. Attendance and excitement appeared down a bit and there were no big surprises in early bidding. Our primary interest lay with Tommy Trabue’s eight Porsches, including a 1960 356B Beutler and a highly-optioned 1961 356B Super (see the Market watch article in this issue for detailed coverage of these and other auction cars). All but the Beutler were offered without reserve. With the slow pace of bidding it would be hours before they came across the block; all would later sell for decent returns. The Beutler met its reserve and hammered at $355,000 ($395,000 with buyer’s premium), while the 1961 356B Super fetched $185,000 ($207,200 with premium)— which may be a record for a non-Carrera 356B coupe.

Back at Werks, the sun had come out. More than 400 Porsches filled the corral, while 171 judged cars parked on two adjacent fairways. Among them Steve Limbert bragged on his storied 914-6 GT race car and we examined a stealth, street 914-6 that Chuck Stoddard developed in the early ’70s. We chatted with an expatriate Brit named David Baggaley who said that his Jäegermeister 934 replica was his very first Porsche. “I’m not really interested in anything newer or anything older,” said Baggaley. “This specific one [with its 1976 Nürburgring 6-hour livery] has always been my favorite.”

This marked the fourth Werks Reunion at Amelia Island and the 10th Werks overall since the first event at Monterey Car Week in 2017. While Werks continues to grow in size and quality, it has never lost its casual groove. After an efficient awards presentation, entrants and spectators took their time dispersing; the Porsche spell had not quite worn off.

Saturday

Cars & Coffee at the Concours provides a place for owners to show their pride and joy on the concours lawn—be it American, Italian, Japanese, or German. As for Porsches, some that showed at Werks also appeared at Cars & Coffee, plus a few that would show on concours Sunday along with lots of newer cars.

Besides the tight parallel parking and casual dress, you knew you were at Cars & Coffee due to the ’60s American pop music that pervaded the scene. Sure, “Sherry” and “Big Girls Don’t Cry” complement American classics and muscle cars like hot fudge on ice cream, but a wider playlist might better suit this multi-marque gathering.

Close by, in the Ritz Carlton, Saturday’s seminar entitled, “Team Penske: the Early Years,” featured current and former Penske employees and event honoree Roger Penske. Panelists recounted stories from their work with Penske, expressing a deep respect—almost a reverence—for the man they call “The Captain,” and the audience hung on every word. Penske then stepped to the microphone and honored each colleague with kind words or a colorful anecdote. He recalled admonishing one employee for making a small deal. “It takes the same amount of time and effort to make a big deal,” he said. “So make big deals.” Roger Penske should know.

Out on the lawn, the “Cars of Penske” were beginning to assemble—rumbling into place on the 18th fairway. The class included five Trans-Am Camaros, five Indy 500 winners, and six Porsches—a 550A, an RS 61, two LMP2 Spyders, and a pair of 917s. A Pontiac Catalina that Penske drove to victory at the 1963 Riverside 500 rounded out the 32-car class. The length and depth of Penske’s motorsports achievements would be on full display at Sunday’s concours.

One hapless Cars & Coffee entrant had left a 912 rally car parked smack dab in the middle of the Penske display area. An urgent all-points call to summon the owner failed, so the organizers drew on the expertise of assembled mechanics to “unlock” the car and push it off stage. There were suggestions to push it into the water hazard.

Sunday

If you have the opportunity to get on the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance field early Sunday morning, definitely do so. Typically, cars staged on Saturday and left out overnight at Amelia are covered in a velvet dew in the morning. This year, with a steady breeze and lower than usual humidity, cars were dry—but how they did shine as the rising sun sifted through the live oaks!

We counted more than 30 Porsches on the field in Sports, GT, and Racing Car classes. A “Porsche Firsts” class included the 1970 Le Mans-winning 917K, the 1969 Tour de France-winning 911R, and one of three 953s built to contest the Paris-Dakar Rally. There were two 904s— an early version, #904-011 in “Race Cars 1946–1962,” and a late one #904-109 in “Sports and GT Cars 1965–1978.”

There is so much more to see on the Concours field than just Porsches, however. Concours founder and chairman Bill Warner is wellversed in all areas of the collector car world—from horseless carriages to Italian carrozzerie. Everyone refers to Warner as a friend; his Rolodex must be the size of the original Chicago Ferris Wheel.

Some of the finest examples of rare cars extant were presented in the traditional classes, and this year’s featured classes included “Rolling Bones Hot Rods,” “Mid-Engine Corvettes,” and “Cars of Harley Earl.” And then there was a class called, “That’s Cute,” which included a BMW Isetta, a Nissan Figaro, and a 1959 Fiat 600-based race car into which Edgar Barth and Carlo Abarth crammed a 1700cc Furhmann 4-cam.

The awards presentations got going just after Noon beneath bleachers that surrounded the 10th fairway. But first Bill Warner made his way around a semi-circle of more than 100 assembled judges and introduced them individually with a brief bio or anecdote—all without notes. When Warner mentioned one judge’s place of residence and the judge shook his head “no,” Warner looked him in the eyes and said, “You moved on me!” And the judge nodded in agreement.

Over the next few hours, the winners made their way across the podium, accepting trophies and kudos from Master of Ceremony Max Girardo, Bill Warner, and other automotive celebrities. Finally it was time for the big awards: Best of Show Concours d’Elegance and Best of Show, Concours d’Sport.

The stately 1929 Duesenberg J-218 Town Limousine drove silently down one side of the fairway while the Sunoco blue 1973 Porsche 917/30—looking like a combination snow shovel and jet fighter—slid down the other side with its flat-12 throbbing beneath sleek bodywork. It was a fitting tribute to an iconic automobile that epitomizes success at the highest level as achieved by Porsche and Penske, as well as the car’s restorer, Bruce Canepa, and its custodian, Rob Kauffman.

As this story goes to print, it’s striking to look back at the photos of all those smiling people packed together as the celebratory champagne is uncorked. I’m sure that all who attended are holding onto that “last weekend” with fond memories. And yet, the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance will surely roll around with the coming of spring 2021. We plan to be there, and we hope you will too.