The
THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE THREE RIVERS REGION, PORSCHE CLUB OF AMERICA
Current
FIRST QUARTER 2016
AMELIA ISLAND CONCOURS D’ELEGANCE, A BEAUTIFUL EXPERIENCE Held on the grounds of the Ritz Carlton Amelia Island, this annual event is one of the top Concours in the nation, second only to Pebble Beach. Several Three Rivers Region members attended. The threat of rain brought an early end to Sunday’s 21st annual Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance. But despite a few light showers, rain held off as thousands of attendees saw more than 300 superior cars and motorcycles on the fairways outside the host hotel. A rare 1930 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Town Car from the Nethercutt Collection won Best of Show Concours d’Elegance. Concours founder and chairman Bill Warner, a dedicated staff and almost seven hundred unpaid car enthusiasts present the three-day event, honoring two-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Hans-Joachim Stuck this year with 18 of his past race cars. The possibility of rain forced the show judges to start their work at first light so the show would end about two hours early. Previous experience with heavy rains forced everyone inside the RitzCarlton, so they compressed this year’s event to avoid it. The concours also celebrated the 100th anniversary of BMW, honored America’s Cord car company and showed off the 1914 Lautenschlager Mercedes race car that won the 1914 French Grand Prix. Crowds formed
constantly around Janis Joplin’s outrageous 1964 Porsche 356 C 1600 Cabriolet. A unique pairing of eleven race cars and the famous trophies that they won, including the 5-foot, 3-inch-tall Indy 500 Borg-Warner Trophy with the 1970 Indy 500-winning Johnny Lightning race car, brought smiles from the attendees. The concours has raised more than $2.5 million for Community Hospice of Northeast Florida and other charities since the event began originally. One of the big attractions this year was the presence of Jerry Seinfeld and a number of cars from his private collection. He put up eighteen vehicles for auction and after it was all said and done, he’d sold seventeen cars and brought in twenty two million dollars. The winning bid for his 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder was $5,335,000. Wow. The Seinfeld cars sold went as follows: 1959 Porsche 718 RSK, which sold for $2,860,000; a 1974 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.0 IROC RSR, $2,310,000; a 1990 Porsche 962C, $1,650,000; a 1958 Porsche 356 A 1500 GS/GT Carrera Speedster, $1,540,000; a 1994 Porsche 964 Turbo 3.6 S Flachbau, $1,017,500; a 1998 Porsche 993 3.8 Cup RSR, $935,000; and a 1963 Porsche 356 B 2000 GS/GT Carrera 2 Coupe, which went for $825,000. Next year’s event will be a main feature in the Three Rivers Region schedule, so plan ahead for March 10 - 12, 2017. Reservations are encouraged way in advance.