We got lucky – it had been a while – since our doctor’s orders cleared us, but just for the Amelia Island Concours we had registered for. So we rushed over and, after a road trip without much surprise or hiccups, found ourselves at the top-Eastern corner of the panhandle state in time for the gathering. And while the weather was touch and go for a while, it all turned all right for once.
And a great gathering it was. First centered around the auctions taking place early in the week – we were on site to attend the RM Sotheby’s very nice show but short of time to go visit either of the other two major houses that were presenting some lots. And while we were exhibiting your Heritage Line inside the Ritz Carlton that’s also the sit of the Concours, we were able to accomplish many of the goals we had set for ourselves. High among these were:
Congratulate our friend Dave (one of the original BARC Boys and still racing like mad today) on his recent successes with Honey Bee (the MGA with a sting) just out of surgery for some body work at Sebring – a legendary track if ever there was one.
Meet our Argentinean correspondants from our Suixtilclassic helmet division and strategize (a new word for talking during a big friendly meal) and map our plans to expand our offer with more meaningful designs and well thought off replicas of those helmets that accompanied the greatest champions during the best years of racing bar none.
Meet up with Federico, our newest partner from Vintage Racing Car in Doral, FL, who made the journey so that we would get a chance to meet like real people do – something we might have trouble experiencing for a while,
Get to hook up with as many friends as we possibly could and listen to their comments and recommendations – and more generally trade good stories of what happened with them since we had last gotten together.
Here are the results of those first few days:
Some of the goodies on display…
There’s a story being told….
Thank you to Federico from Vintage RaceCar for making the trip from Doral
The Suixtil team meets up to formalize the helmets documentation
Nice setup, if a little tight…
Meet Lola, Lola is a race star, sorry, car…
That Lola’s got stacks…and a good heart
We’ve always loved the Stratos, this one (a ’75 HF Stradale) at RM…
The Iso Griffo – for cognescenti only
A luscious Giallo Daytona at RM
The F40, ever the crowd pleaser
Enough of a Lalique statement on that V12 Packard
We then migrated our operations overnight to be ready for a great show on Sunday and were not disappointed. While it was hard for us to get around much, what with a constant stream of friends old and new dropping by for a chat or for a look at the gear we had brought with us. Luckily, Dave (yes, him again), had undertaken one of his learned expeditions – the comparative study of racing Ferrari cockpits and relative position of instruments clusters in the 1950s. We are glad to submit that amazing collection to your enlightened views and suggest we patiently wait for the monograph that is sure to follow (or not 😉):
1953 Ferrari 375MM
1955 Ferrari Mondial
1955 Ferrari 410S
1955 Ferrari 750 Monza
1956 Ferrari 500TR rebody
1957 Ferrari 335S
1958 Ferrari 250TR
We, on our end, were able to capture a few more shots that, hopefully, will give you a sense of how right were during the great event. They will, hopefully too, give you a sense of the depth of the career of Roger Penske (the Captain to us all) who was being honored this year at Amelia and how fortunate we were that M. Warner and his great team were able to gather so many amazing like-minded collectors to share with us what had to be one of the best display in years – but who’s counting.
So here we go:
Talking about a welcome sight, the W196 to greet you as you arrive.
Well-worn silver arrow, on that same lawn
Sunday’s office, things could be far worse
Our new helmets also made it to the party
Or get a load of that Porsche RS Spyder
’72 917 – another incredible car associated with the Captain
More Penske great cars
Looks like another Penske winner
That trophy says it all
Another unexpected ride for the Captain – the 250 GTO in ’63
And yes, the Captain also got involved with that gorgeous RS 61
and why not a 550a spyder while he was at it.
Penske F1
And there you have some more of them – Mc Laren M16B and the Lola T153S
Ferrari 335
Ferrari Monza
a 750 GT MM Abarth, now THAT’s cute
Here’s to another one you won’t see everyday
1937 Cord SC Custom Berline
1929 Duesenberg J Disappearing Top Torpedo Convertible Coupe
the ’64 Corvette GS2B
GS2B – stacks and all
Some of these prototypes – like the Chevrolet CERV II from 64 – looked quite diabolical
Replica of the Maserati 450S that Fangio was going to run with in Cuba in ’58, except he wouldn’t…
Some of those timeless ’50s designs
And while we are now back to base and worried about the state of the world and when we will be able to attend such a great event, we have to wish for you all to be safe so that we can, hopefully, soon get together and rejoice around our shared passion – at life speed!
The Amelia Island Concours – what a great show!
We got lucky – it had been a while – since our doctor’s orders cleared us, but just for the Amelia Island Concours we had registered for. So we rushed over and, after a road trip without much surprise or hiccups, found ourselves at the top-Eastern corner of the panhandle state in time for the gathering. And while the weather was touch and go for a while, it all turned all right for once.
And a great gathering it was. First centered around the auctions taking place early in the week – we were on site to attend the RM Sotheby’s very nice show but short of time to go visit either of the other two major houses that were presenting some lots. And while we were exhibiting your Heritage Line inside the Ritz Carlton that’s also the sit of the Concours, we were able to accomplish many of the goals we had set for ourselves. High among these were:
Here are the results of those first few days:
We then migrated our operations overnight to be ready for a great show on Sunday and were not disappointed. While it was hard for us to get around much, what with a constant stream of friends old and new dropping by for a chat or for a look at the gear we had brought with us. Luckily, Dave (yes, him again), had undertaken one of his learned expeditions – the comparative study of racing Ferrari cockpits and relative position of instruments clusters in the 1950s. We are glad to submit that amazing collection to your enlightened views and suggest we patiently wait for the monograph that is sure to follow (or not 😉):
We, on our end, were able to capture a few more shots that, hopefully, will give you a sense of how right were during the great event. They will, hopefully too, give you a sense of the depth of the career of Roger Penske (the Captain to us all) who was being honored this year at Amelia and how fortunate we were that M. Warner and his great team were able to gather so many amazing like-minded collectors to share with us what had to be one of the best display in years – but who’s counting.
So here we go:
And while we are now back to base and worried about the state of the world and when we will be able to attend such a great event, we have to wish for you all to be safe so that we can, hopefully, soon get together and rejoice around our shared passion – at life speed!