Ferrari GTO bests 2024 Amelia

The 2024 Amelia, celebrating its 29th running, saw a 1947 Delahaye 135MS Narval Cabriolet crowned Best in Show, Concours d’Elegance, but race fans who attended the four-day event will have been captured by the stunning 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO that took home Best in Show, Concours de Sport.

This particular example, finished in silver metallic paint and featuring a central French Tricolore stripe, was actually campaigned by the Belgian Ecurie Francorchamps squad in the 1963 24 Hours of Le Mans, with Frenchman Pierre Dumay and Belgium’s Leon Dernier at the wheel. The pair finished fourth overall, and second in the GT class – behind another GTO. The following year, Ecurie Francorchamps entered the car in the Tour de France, where it was driven to victory by Belgian sports car stars Lucien Bianchi and Georges Berger.

Owner David MacNeil, elated with his concours win, said: “We sweated the details with this car. Motion Products did an amazing restoration and the results speak for themselves.” Added Roderick MacNeil: “We’re going to keep this car for many generations and be good stewards of it.”

Race fans will also have appreciated the presence of the Porsche 911 GT1 that scored the 16th win for the marque at Le Mans in 1998, driven by Allan McNish, Laurent Aiello and Stephane Ortelli. This car, built as a 911 GT1-98 variant, was one of just five examples produced and was displayed at RADwood and again at The Amelia on Sunday. Its presence was courtesy of Mobil 1, which is this year celebrating its 50th anniversary.

One of just 19 competition variants of the 427 Cobra, CSX3019 was on display. This car’s race history includes the Targa Florio, Spa, Silverstone, the Nürburgring and Le Mans. Following an extensive restoration, the Cobra appeared at The Amelia in the “Race Cars Post-War: 1956-1965” class.

Race movie junkies will have been gratified to see the 1990 NASCAR Chevrolet Lumina, in No. 46 City Chevrolet colors, as driven by Tom Cruise in “Days of Thunder.” Hendrick Motorsports provided racecars, including this one, for the 1990 stock car racing epic.

Bill Warner, founder and chairman emeritus of The Amelia, displayed his 1971 Porsche 911T, which took part in the 1975 Cannonball Run and has an interesting combination of features. Its 2.2-liter engine was originally replaced by a 2.7-liter unit, but now runs a 2.5-liter unit with “S” spec cams, a ducktail deck lid, classic Fuchs wheels, a Porsche Motorsport front spoiler, and a longer fifth gear for quieter cruising.

Speaking of Porsches, the late-1980s 911-based RUF CTR “Yellowbird” was on display. Squeezing 463hp from a 3.4-liter, twin-turbo engine and with aluminum replacing steel on the doors, hood and engine cover, the car ran 0-60mph in under four seconds and could hit 210mph – astounding for the day.

A Ferrari F50 from a slightly later era was also on display, but hypercars starred in the “Supercars: 2000 – Present” class. Present were a 2017 Pagani Huayra BC with a 755hp 6-liter V12 and a 2020 Bugatti Divo with an eight-liter, quad turbo W16 that produces 1,500hp and can reach 236mph.

The Delahaye that won the Concours d’Elegance had an interesting history. One of six 135MS Narval Cabriolets built, it was first seen at the 1947 Paris Auto Salon and its original owner was singer/songwriter Charles Trenet, who shipped the car to the U.S. for a concert tour in 1948. Trenet’s most famous hit is “La Mer,” which evolved into another classic, the English-language “Beyond the Sea” made famous by Bobby Darin in 1959.