The Amelia 2023 Concours Has Something for Everybody

The Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, now known simply as The Amelia and (since 2021) owned by Hagerty, was lucky: The event, held since 1996, has never had to be canceled because of COVID-19. The 2020 event just snuck under the wire before doors started closing, and the 2021 event—moved from March to May—went on as scheduled. By 2022, it was like COVID had never happened.

This year, The Amelia takes place March 2 to 5 at the Ritz-Carlton on Amelia Island in northern Florida.

“People are coming back, and ticket sales have been fantastic,” said Matt Orendac, the concours vice chairman. “It’s spring, and time to go to Florida, enjoy the cars, the people, and the warm weather.”

The concours was founded as a charity fundraiser (with recipients Community Hospice of Northeast Florida, The Spina Bifida Association of Florida, and others) by the larger-than-life Bill Warner, a gregarious “car guy,” businessman, and photographer/writer for publications such as Road & Track. The event, which drew 2200 people and 163 cars its first year, has raised more than $4 million for charity.

“Bill Warner created something so special—an automotive house where everyone found something to love,” said Larry Printz, an auto writer and former judge at Amelia.

“The show under his aegis was quirky but authoritative on the cars it brought in. While the show then was the vision of one person, Hagerty has done an excellent job of modernizing it and bringing in the younger collectors with events such as the RADwood celebration of 1980s and 1990s cars and the Concours d’Lemons.”

The event honors a racing figure every year, and for 2023 it’s NASCAR Hall of Famer and Hendrick Motorsports Vice Chairman Jeff Gordon. He drove for Hendrick from 1992 to 2015 and won four NASCAR Cup Series Championships (in 1995, 1997, 1998, and 2001) and 93 races.

Being auctioned off will be the NASCAR Chevrolet Monte Carlo that Gordon raced in three consecutive Budweiser Shootout races from 2002 to 2004, taking three top-five finishes. Gordon will also take part in a “Hendrick Motorsports Years” seminar March 4, along with NASCAR Hall of Fame crew chief Ray Evernham and Hendrick Motorsports crew chief Steve Letarte. Gordon will be featured at the Honoree Dinner that night.

Orendac said that having people like Gordon (and in years past, Roger Penske, Chip Ganassi, and Jacky Ickx) on the show field is what separates Amelia from other concours events. “We’re motorsports centered, but it’s not just about seeing the cars—there’s also the chance to walk among legends,” he said.

On March 3, Ray Evernham will host a panel on “Corvettes at Le Mans” with experts Justin Bell, Dan Binks, and Ron Fellows.

Featured at the 2023 concours will be special classes honoring 24 Hours of Le Mans winners, the 120th anniversary of Buick Motor Company (founded by David Dunbar Buick in 1903) and fiberglass-bodied Porsche racing Spyders. A total of 250 cars will be on display at the Ritz Carlton, in 32 classes.