The Cortile
  • Home
    • About
    • History >
      • Proiettore 2023
      • Proiettore 2022
      • Proiettore 2021
      • Proiettore 2019
      • Proiettore 2018
      • Proiettore 2017
      • Proiettore 2016
      • Proiettore 2015
      • Proiettore 2014
    • Event Rules
    • Media Registration
    • On Site Registration
    • Contact
    • Trailer Parking
    • Staff info >
      • Volunteer Form
      • Set up & Staging
      • To Do
      • Receiving Tent
      • Reception Tent
      • Parking
      • Clubhouse
      • Westinghouse
      • Emergency
  • News
  • Cortile Cup
    • Judging
    • Definitions
    • Cortile Cup 2024
    • Cortile Cup 2023
    • Cortile Cup 2022
    • Cortile Cup 2021
    • Cortile Cup 2017
    • Cortile Cup 2016
    • Cortile Cup 2015
    • Cortile Cup 2014
    • Cortile Cup 2013
    • Cortile Cup 2012
    • Cortile Cup 2011
    • Inception
  • Marques
    • Carrozzeria >
      • Bertone
      • Ghia
      • Pininfarina
      • Scaglietti
      • Vignale
      • Zagato
    • Abarth
    • Alfa Romeo
    • Bandini
    • Bizzarrini
    • Cisitalia
    • De Tomaso
    • Ferrari
    • Fiat
    • Innocenti
    • Iso Rivolta
    • Lamborghini
    • Lancia
    • Maserati
    • Moretti
    • Siata
    • Stanguellini
    • Taraschi
  • Sponsors
    • Ferrari of Philadelphia
    • Lamborghini Ohio
    • Maserati of Pittsburgh
    • Pitt SAE Race Team
    • Become a Sponsor
  • Events
    • Proiettore 2025
    • Saturday
    • Sunday

The 2017 Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance: Grace Under Pressure

3/16/2017

0 Comments

 
by Bernard Martin, Managing Director, Cortile Italian Car Show
The 2017 Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance exemplified grace under pressure. With a 100% chance of heavy precipitation forecast for Sunday for the scheduled Concours d'Elegance and a sunshine-filled Saturday in the mix, Bill Warner and his team chose to move Sunday’s award-winning Concours to Saturday.  No small undertaking.
​
Cortile Cup Chief Judge Wayne Long and Cortile Managing Director, Bernard MartinCortile Cup Chief Judge Wayne Long and Cortile Managing Director, Bernard Martin at the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance
As I was having lunch on Friday with several other writers, I noted that I had heard that Warner and his team had come up with a "Plan B" back in 2000 if a weather event caused the the Concours to be moved.  As happenstance would have it, one to the people at the table chimed in "I'm on the Board and THIS is Plan B. We are in it. There isn't a Place C. We'll see if it works"

​It's a momentous task shoehorning a full schedule of Saturday and Sunday events into one day.  The Concours show would now coincide with Saturday’s "Cars & Coffee at the Concours presented by Heacock Classic Insurance".  The entire Cars and Coffee show field had to be relocated to an adjoining field, transport staff had to move up plans for unloading Concours cars by a full day; with cars that where still en route!  It required parking two different cars shows at the same time.   

Warner and his staff, according to rumor, had to make it all happen with 40% less volunteers who where only scheduled for a Sunday event. No small undertaking. It went off gracefully. It was a tremendous show. Warner and his team pulled a rabbit out of their hat while herding cats and looked great doing it!

It also made the task of trying to see over 600+ cars in a short period of time just as daunting.  Nevertheless, I was able to find some very nice examples of rolling Italian art on both the Concours and Cars and Coffee Showfield. 

The Best of Show - Concours de Sport:
​1939 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Lungo Spider

Easily befitting our 2017 Proiettore Macchina, The Best of Show - Concours de Sport, was a 1939 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Lungo Spider from the Dano Davis Collection.
1939 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Lungo Spider1939 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Lungo Spider
In the 1930s, the 8C 2900 Alfa was not a mere sports car but was the most advanced, modern and compelling sports car money could buy.  Milan's own Carrozzeria Touring patented the "Superleggera" construction which coincided with the birth of Alfa Romeo's masterpiece. 

​Approximately 32 of the 2.9 chassis were made and it is believed only 12 are Touring Spiders, seven of which are the long chassis like this car.  This car's known history starts in 1949.  In February 1949 it was raced in Sao Paulo by amateur driver Mario Tavares Leite who had the car imported from Italy to Brazil.  Mario won races with the car in 1949 and 1950 after which the car disappeared.  

Later it had a Corvette engine installed and the chassis was modified.  It is possible this car traveled to Brazil from Argentina in the mid to late 1950s without the Touring body and with the Corvette V-8 only to be reunited with the original Touring coachwork some four decades later. ​
1939 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Lungo Spider
1939 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Lungo Spide
1939 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Lungo Spider Best in Show
The Best of Show - Concours de Sport
Alfa Romeo Images courtesy of Nathan Deremer, Lead photographer and owner of Deremer Studios, the official photography studio of the 2017 Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance.

Bonham's Auction Highlights

The Bonhams Amelia Island 2017 auction was held Thursday, at the Fernandina Beach Golf Club. It generated nearly $10.2 million in total sales with an 87% sell-through rate. A selection of more than 85 automobiles were offered at Bonhams’ 3rd annual sale. 

​Amongst the auction results, of the cars pictured below, the 1955 Ferrari 250 GT Europa Coupe was the top dollar car sold at the auction for a whopping $2,227,500. Bringing in the 3rd top dollar position was the 1986 Lamborghini Countach LP5000 Quattrovalvole for $335,500 while the 1968 Lamborghini Islero 400 GT, sold for $247,500, the 8th biggest sale of the show.

Gooding & Co Auction Highlights

The Gooding & Company’s East Coast auction showcased at the Omni Amelia Island Plantation, a classic beachfront resort.  Held on Friday before the celebrated Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, Gooding & Company’s auction showcased a curated lineup of cars, invited spirited bidding.  Since debuting at Amelia Island in 2010, Gooding & Company’s prices realized have more than doubled, earning the event its reputation as the premier East Coast collector car auction.

Pictured below are some to of the examples of Italian design that went up on the block.  

The little 1958 Fiat 1200 TV Trasformabile pictured at the beginning of the slide show was a car I first saw at the Concourso Italiano show in 2015 during Monterey car week. It was based upon the Turismo Veloce, or fast touring, version of Fiat’s 1100 series, the limited-production 1100 Spider delivered fine details, a luxurious cockpit with swiveling seats, excellent road manners, and a handsome body designed by Fabio Luigi Rapi. By 1957, larger engines inspired the 1200 TV designation. While more revisions came in 1959, the 1957–58 models captivate today’s collectors. 

Along with a green convertible top, this sporting 1200 TV is presented with the body handsomely painted Gray Beige over upgraded green leather upholstery highlighted by white piping. It includes twin fog lamps, whitewall tires, correct spin-off hubcaps, a discreet modern radio, plus a factory-type steering wheel.  As you can see in the slideshow, we opened the hood to make sure that the olive oil can was still in place.  A rather humorous touch by the previous owner.

The Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance

One of the marvelous things about the Amelia Island Concours d'Elgecance is the extremely rare cars that you can only find on display at Bill Warner's event.  

As you look through the slide show below, you'll find a one-ff 1930 Alfa Romeo 1750 GS Testa Fissa.  Its the gray colored race car featured at the beginning of the slide show.  It has a very unique body that was recreated on the original chassis.  Just three months after its introduction, a 1750 driven by Giuseppe Campari and Giulio Ramponi would win the 1929 Mille Miglia. Later that year, Marinoni and Benoist won the Belgian 24 Hour Race at Spa. Alfa would take the Targa Florio, too, and one year later, the company won its second Mille Miglia, in addition to a host of other events. In short, Alfa Romeo began the 1930s as it ended the 1920s—utterly dominating Italy’s sports car and competition scene.

The Alfa 3000CM was featured in the Alfa Romeo booth again this year.  If you recall from last years report, it was campaigned at the PVGP back in the early 1980's and is part of the Auriana Collection. 

​When you get to the end of this slide show you'll see a lovely 1933 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300. The 8C 2300 Tipo Le Mans' was the sport version of the '8C 2300' and it had a successful debut in the 1931 Eireann Cup driven by Henry Birkin. It won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1931 (Howe-Birkin); 1932 (Chinetti-Sommer); 1933 (Nuvolari-Sommer) and 1934 (Chinetti-Etancelin).

Cars & Coffee at the Concours
​presented by 
Heacock Classic Insurance

One of the most interesting vehicles at Cars and Coffee at the Concours was this 1959 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Veloce "Confortevole" pictured in the first few slides below.  The production total of the Confortevole (comfortable) variant of the Sprint Veloce (SVC) was 199, the first 50 having aluminum framed windows. An SVC seems to be an SV which falls between the SVAlleggerita (SVA) and the 101 body based SV which began production in early 1958 and upon which 101 mechanical components were gradually phased in until the 750 bits were all used up, sometime in 1960.

​Basically, the Confortevole is an updated version of the race-bred lightweight  "Allegerita" Sprint Veloce but has a more comfortable interior and lacks the aluminum body panels & plastic windows of the lightweight.  It still maintains all of the high-performance mechanical features of the lightweight but in a grand touring version.  

​As a side note, the folks pictured in the lawn chairs behind the red caravan turned out to be from Pittsburgh originally, just like the van which had a pre-insterate Pennsylvania map sitting on the dash.  

We're also very excited to welcome Heacock Classic Insurance to the 2017 Cortile as a sponsor and they will be providing Coffee on both Saturday and Sunday morning July 15-17 during the arrival of the show cars!
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Atribution

    This is a compilation of articles from a variety of sources and contributors.  Attrition and sources are always provided at the top and/or the bottom of the posting.

    Archives

    January 2025
    September 2024
    June 2024
    August 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    August 2022
    June 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    July 2021
    June 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    February 2020
    June 2019
    January 2019
    May 2018
    April 2018
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    March 2014
    July 2013
    June 2013
    January 2013
    September 2012
    July 2012
    May 2012
    August 2011

    Categories

    All
    250-gt-lusso
    50-anni-di-passione-tour
    Abarth
    Alex Wakefield
    Alfa Romeo
    Alfa Romeo Giulia
    Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce
    Alpine
    Amelia Island
    American Lancia Club
    Amy Burns
    Artist
    Artist: Lyn Hiner
    Auriana
    Autobianchi
    Auto Palace
    Autovetture Piccole
    Baierl Fiat
    Bandini
    Bernard Martin
    Bertone
    Bizzarrini
    Bobby Rahal
    Bugatti
    Cavallino Rampante
    Citroën
    Concorso Italiano
    Convention
    Cortile
    Cortile Cup
    Cortile Della Corsa
    David Adams
    Derham-custom-body
    De Tomaso
    Dwight Knowlton
    Elvidio Grande
    Ferrari
    Ferrari 166MM
    Ferrari 250LM
    Ferrari-308-gtb
    Ferrari-328-gts
    Ferrari Club America
    Ferrari-market-letter
    Ferrari NART 1512
    Ferrari Of Philadelphia
    Fiat
    Fiat-club-america
    Fiat-freakout
    Formula One
    Fred Simeone
    Ghia
    Giorgetto Giugiaro
    Greenbrier Concours
    Hahn-and-vorbach
    Huracana110f686eb
    IndyCar
    Innocenti
    Innocenti Mini
    Insurance
    Iso Autoveicoli
    Iso Rivolta
    Ivan Ruiz
    Jason Moka
    Jeff Mahl
    John Campion
    John Walko
    Juan Manual Fangio
    Kate Gundlach
    Kelly Dietrick
    Lamborghini
    Lancia
    Lancia 037 Rally Evo
    Lancia 037 Rally Evo Group B
    Lancia Beta Montecarlo
    Lancia Delta HF Integrale 8V
    Lancia Delta S4
    Lancia Flaminia Gtl
    Lancia LC1
    Lancia LC1 Group VI
    Lancia LC2
    Lancia LC2 Group C
    Lancia Stratos HF Works
    Lanica Fulvia 1600 HF
    LeMans
    Little Red Racing Car
    Luigi Chinetti
    Mario Grande
    Marque Of The Year
    Maserati
    Maserati-300o-gt-tc
    Maserati-century
    Maserati-of-pittsburgh
    Mazza Winery
    Miura
    Monterey Historic
    Monterey-motorsports
    Muira
    NART
    N.A.R.T. - North American Racing Team
    NART North American Racing Team
    New York To Paris
    Peugeot
    Pitt FSAE
    Pitt Race
    PoloStorico
    Proiettore Macchina
    PVGP
    Pvgp Racing
    Ralph Gilles
    Renault
    Renzo Rivolta
    Restoration
    Rob Straw R7 Photography
    Ron Lewis Alfa Romeo
    Sergio Marchionne
    Sergio-pininfarina
    Sergio-scaglietti
    Siata
    Sponsor
    Stanguellini
    State Farm
    Stephan-winkelmann
    Test Drive
    Through The Gears
    Tom Bungay
    Tom Frasca
    Tom Tjaarda
    Vintage Racing
    Walt Spak
    Wayne Long
    Westinghouse Memorial
    Wine On Nine

    RSS Feed

Picture
The Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix Association is a federally registered 501c (3) non-profit organization with a mission to hold a world-class vintage automotive race event for charity. 

Since 1983 this volunteer-driven event has raised over $7million to benefit autistic and developmentally disabled individuals through Autism Pittsburgh and  Merakey Allegheny Valley School. The Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix remains North America's largest vintage race event, the only one run on city streets, and the 8th largest car show in the World.

© 2025 Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix. 
All Rights Reserved.

Created by Rapid Production Marketing
  • Home
    • About
    • History >
      • Proiettore 2023
      • Proiettore 2022
      • Proiettore 2021
      • Proiettore 2019
      • Proiettore 2018
      • Proiettore 2017
      • Proiettore 2016
      • Proiettore 2015
      • Proiettore 2014
    • Event Rules
    • Media Registration
    • On Site Registration
    • Contact
    • Trailer Parking
    • Staff info >
      • Volunteer Form
      • Set up & Staging
      • To Do
      • Receiving Tent
      • Reception Tent
      • Parking
      • Clubhouse
      • Westinghouse
      • Emergency
  • News
  • Cortile Cup
    • Judging
    • Definitions
    • Cortile Cup 2024
    • Cortile Cup 2023
    • Cortile Cup 2022
    • Cortile Cup 2021
    • Cortile Cup 2017
    • Cortile Cup 2016
    • Cortile Cup 2015
    • Cortile Cup 2014
    • Cortile Cup 2013
    • Cortile Cup 2012
    • Cortile Cup 2011
    • Inception
  • Marques
    • Carrozzeria >
      • Bertone
      • Ghia
      • Pininfarina
      • Scaglietti
      • Vignale
      • Zagato
    • Abarth
    • Alfa Romeo
    • Bandini
    • Bizzarrini
    • Cisitalia
    • De Tomaso
    • Ferrari
    • Fiat
    • Innocenti
    • Iso Rivolta
    • Lamborghini
    • Lancia
    • Maserati
    • Moretti
    • Siata
    • Stanguellini
    • Taraschi
  • Sponsors
    • Ferrari of Philadelphia
    • Lamborghini Ohio
    • Maserati of Pittsburgh
    • Pitt SAE Race Team
    • Become a Sponsor
  • Events
    • Proiettore 2025
    • Saturday
    • Sunday