Another year of the annual Amelia Island Concours trip has come and gone. Endless sushi, AYCE KBBQ, and endless gas station doughnuts fueled us through a weekend of avoiding the rain and checking out cars in what was easily the busiest and most packed out year yet.
Friday morning’s off and on rain storms allowed for some awesome shots of cars covered in beads of water, with nobody in the background for fear of more rain moving through the area. Our first visit was the parking garage under the Ritz-Carlton, where you’re almost guaranteed to see some amazing cars ready for auction Saturday or for main show display on Sunday.
This year was no different, with the 1998 Le Mans winning 911 GT1 greeting us at the gate followed by a Kremer Porsche 926C next to a Ferarri F50, the Brumos Pike’s Peak GT2RS, and a bright red Lola T70 (that is presented in black and white because the underground lighting was a killer).
Back upstairs, we waited out another bout of rain before leaving our posts to grab some photos before everyone else noticed the weather had improved. These Porsche were honestly more attractive than anything inside the tent behind them, so don’t worry about missing anything in there. The design language across the years is wonderful to behold all-together in a lineup, rather than one at a time as I shoot them for Bring a Trailer.
Back behind the tent we came across this sensational 1970 LMK 917 Recreation, which was easily my favorite car of the trip. The Martini Hippy livery with the single rear view mirror on the roof was enough to keep me outside and walking around the car throughout the next bout of rainfall - more than any other vehicle could say.
The neighboring Martini GT40 was also pretty killer, having it’s day in the Sunday main show back in 2022. Mere steps away was a pair of Gulf Ford GTs across the walkway from a Lancia Delta Stradale and a Lancia Rallye 037 Stradale - a couple of my absolute dream vehicles.
Saturday morning was Radwood - the celebration of 80s and 90s culture and vehicles - across the street from the Ritz-Carlton. Andy’s S10 was looking great, this latest iteration being one of my favorites in the last 10 or so years.
I was able to grab a quick shot of this EV-converted DeLorean before anyone else joined the car show, which is one of the huge benefits of rolling in with Andy in a show vehicle. I never really though a golf course would be a great shoot spot, but when combined with the overcast skies - it was pretty hard to beat.
Walking through Radwood definitely highlighted just how much more people attended this year over the past couple years, making photos a war of attrition. The following few shots I got lucky and found open windows in the flowing crowds - there were many more cars I wanted to grab but waiting, squatting, and sweating in the rapidly rising humidity wasn’t exactly how I wanted to spend my day.
And that brings us to the end of Saturday, where I was able to grab a few photos of Hugh’s Chaser while waiting for Andy’s truck to get towed home. What a perfect build, which I can’t wait to get a proper shoot with alongside Matt’s Mark II in the background of the third photo.
There’s rumblings about this - Andy and JR’s 20th visit to the Amelia Island Concours - being the final year, but rest assured that whatever car foolishness we get involved in in 2024 and beyond will have photos and words right here (when I get around to editing and posting it all).
See you next time!
