A 1937 Horch 853 and a 1958 Scarab won the Best In Show honors on Sunday, March 9, at the 19th annual Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, which attracted approximately 29,000 spectators throughout the weekend.
The Horch 853, owned by Bob and Anne Brockinton Lee of Sparks, Nevada, took home the sought-after award of prestigious “Concours d’Elegance.” This fully restored automobile is one of only two Horchs ever to have been bodied by coachbuilder Voll & Ruhrbeck, which created custom coachwork for Bugatti, Maybach, Mercedes-Benz and Cord among others.
The highly coveted “Concours de Sport” award was presented to the 1958 Scarab owned by Miles C. Collier and The Revs Institute for Automotive Research of Naples, Florida. The three front-engine Scarab sports racers built by Troutman and Barnes for Lance Reventlow, were created to contest the road courses of the U.S. against the great European marques, such as Ferrari and Maserati. Reventlow originally tried an Offenhauser engine in this car but the engine, designed to run on alcohol, never was successful running on gasoline as required by the sports car ruling body’s regulations. It was then fitted with a small block Chevrolet V8, which was perfect for the American road and airport circuits of the late ’50s and early ’60s.
“I want to congratulate our panel of esteemed judges on this year’s best of show selections,” said Bill Warner, Chairman and Founder of the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance. “Both cars are excellent examples of unique pedigree and provenance and are well deserving of their awards. We worked hard to bring the best in automotive elegance and sport to this year’s event, and judging by our winners and the crowd, I think we achieved our goal.”
More than 330 magnificent cars and motorcycles from around the world participated in the 2014 Concours, delighting attendees with an impressive automotive display of style and heritage. Highlights on the field included the presence of BMW’s rare “Batmobile” racing coupes, which included Alexander Calder’s famed 1975 Le Mans 3.0 CSL, 1975 Sebring 12 Hour and 1976 Daytona 24 Hour winners. The rarely seen Maserati 450S Le Mans “Costin Coupe,” which Sir Stirling Moss raced at Le Mans in 1957, also graced the field, while Chrysler’s La Comtesse Concept Car was introduced to the public after an extensive restoration by the Chrysler group. In addition, attendees were entertained by the exceptional Packard concept car collection of Ralph and Adeline Marano of Westfield, New Jersey, rare beach cars, and Zagato-bodied masterpieces.
The 2014 Concours celebrated Maserati’s 100th Anniversary with an array of models, including the 2014 Ghibli, representing the World Champion Italian grand marque’s impressive heritage and future of the brand. McLaren also marked its 50th anniversary with a display of rare and significant racers from five decades of competition that included 2014 Honoree Jochen Mass’ 1977 McLaren M23 Formula One racer as part of the “Cars of Jochen Mass” class. Mass was honored on the 25th anniversary of his victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
