A few raindrops and a major rival concours failed to deter car lovers as record crowds turned out for this Florida favourite
WORDS HOWARD WALKER
It took a lot of rubber floormats to get here. Taking home the coveted Best in Show: Concours de Sport at this yearʼs The Amelia, held in Florida from 6-9 March, was the spectacular 1962 Ferrari 250GTO owned by David MacNeil. In case you havenʼt heard of him, heʼs the founder and CEO of American car-mat behemoth WeatherTech.
Back in 2018, the passionate Ferrari collector spent a reported $70million (around £55million at the time) snapping up the silver and French tricolore-striped GTO – and then plenty more having it painstakingly restored. Naturally, the restoration included a set of custom WeatherTech floormats. Chassis 4153GT was a worthy winner, with a pedigree that included fourth overall in the ʼ63 Le Mans 24 Hours, and outright victory in the 1964 Tour de France.
Alongside it, taking the equally coveted Best in Show: Concours dʼElegance was the flamboyant 1947 Delahaye 135 MS Narval Cabriolet owned by Dana Mecum, founder of Mecum Auctions. This voluptuous two-seater, painted a spectacular shade called Orange Brulé, is one of six Narval drop-tops built by French coachbuilder Figoni et Falaschi. The name reflects that strange bonnet nose bump, reminiscent of the snout of a narwhal (narval in French).
A star of the 1947 Paris Salon, the Delahayeʼs original owner was crooner Charles Trenet, known as the Sinatra of France, who shipped it to the USA in the early 1960s for a tour and kept it there. Dana purchased it 10 years ago and had two stabs at restoring the car before handing it over to the pros at Classic Car Services in Maine. The newly completed Delahaye made its debut at The Amelia.
As ever, the top honours were shared at this yearʼs concours, held on the lawns of the Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island hotel and golf Mecca in north Florida, as it has been for the past 29 years.
The 2024 show coincided not only with inclement weather that included a two-hour downpour during Sundayʼs main event, but also, and more significantly, with the running of the inaugural ModaMiami concours and auction, held over the same weekend some 380 miles to the south (p20).
The glitzy new show was hosted by Rob Myers, boss of sale house RM Sothebyʼs, which used to organise t
