The Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance should be on the bucket list for any Porsche fan. 2012 was an exceptionally good year as it featured the “Cars of Vic Elford” which of course were mostly Porsches. The event kicked off with Vic driving a Seinfeld owned Porsche 908/3 onto the field and officially opening the two day event.
More than 300 cars took part in the event and we found ourselves hard pressed to see them all (not to mention the parking lot was a car show in its own right). In fact, we spent so much time with the “Cars of Vic Elford” (our Gallery is below) that it left us little time for anything else. We did manage to sneak out and attend the Gooding Auction specifically to see the Drendel Family Collection cross the block. For those of you that follow us on Twitter or Facebook you received our live updates and pricing (yet one more reason to follow us if you’re not yet).
In addition to the Concours itself, their are plenty of other events. A fan favorite was the Great Endurance Drivers seminar that included honoree Vic Elford alongside Hurley Haywood, Brian Redman, Derek Bell, Sam Posey and others.
In addition, Porsche had an official presence at the show including a booth showcasing all the latest models. Want to try one yourself. No problem, simply fill out a form, hand over a copy of your driver’s license and you’re off on a 30 minute test drive all on your own.
We got to lead the Porsche group drive in this amazing Boxster Spyder
We were fortunate enough to have two different Porsches for the weekend. We started in a silver Boxster Spyder that we used to act as the lead car for involved in the Porsche Driving Experience. Starting at the Fernandina Municipal Airport a large number of Porsches (and a few other marques) joined together for an impromptu car show before setting off on a route that took us across the island, onto a ferry and over to the Mayport Naval Station where Brumos Porsche had set-up a track and slalom course. Here all participants were given the chance to put the latest Porsche models through their paces in an environment that truly showcases their potential. If you wanted even more excitement, you could go along as a passenger on a high speed run down the course with none other than Hurley Haywood himself. My only advice to you is sign up early. Tickets for this event sell out quick and if they do it again in 2013 I’m sure it will be no different.
Following our return from the Porsche Driving Experience we swapped out our Boxster Spyder for a silver 991. While we had already driven the new 911 at it’s official media launch. This was the first time we would get to spend any real time in it under normal driving conditions. Unfortunately, due to the traffic and time spent at the show we never really did get to drive much. Oh well, I’m sure we’ll get another 991 press car in due time. It was still very nice to have two different Porsches to play with over the course of the long weekend.
Last but not least are the myriad of vendors set-up on the concours and in the function rooms at the Ritz Carlton. Any type of racing memorabilia you can imagine is on display and on sale. We had a hard time not parting with too much money for certain posters and other racing artwork. If you haven’t yet experienced Amelia you should start planning now for 2013. Check out the official web-site for more info.
Other Porsche Blog Posts You’ll Enjoy
A Conversation with Vic Elford
We’re in New York for the North American Debut of the new Boxster and the Cayenne Diesel.
Pictures and Story about the PCA Parade from a First Time Attendee