Owner Tom Falconer is sitting in the passenger seat of his XP-897 as it is driven to
accept its award. The prototype received the GM Design Center Award, For The Most
Innovative GM Design.Privateer Doug Bergen purchased
this Corvette named 8 Ball in 1966. He
hired driver Bob Johnson from Mari-
etta, Ohio, to race it where it won many
A-Production races. It competed in the
SCCA Central Division for two years.George Koehn had this Tuxedo Black
split-window coupe restored in 2014.
The restorer spent 1,600 hours completing
the project. It has a total of 29,000 miles
and is equipped with rare two-bar knock-
off wheels.The Corvette was ordered with a saddle
interior, teak steering wheel and the C48
heater/defroster delete option. The inte-
rior is surprisingly stock for a race car.Doug Bergen and Bob Johnson both
signed the chrome air cleaner on the L72
427/425hp big-block engine.(Right) Frank and Loni Buck own this
1957 Corvette “airbox” equipped fuel
injected racer. It was restored in 2007
and is still a stunning example of a
rare early Corvette competition car.new owner. Tom resides in England and
still owns XP-897.
The next Corvette to be recognized by
the judges was a 1966 Corvette race car
named “8 Ball.” It received the Amelia
Award, For Race Cars 1958-1966. It
was a beautifully restored Tuxedo Black
coupe, powered by an L72 427/425hp
big-block engine. Doug Bergen was the
original owner and he hired the late Bob
Johnson to successfully campaign 8 Ball.
Johnson was from Marietta, Ohio, and
he drove this car after its restoration by
Corvette Repair. It is now owned by the
American Muscle Car Museum.
The last GM car to receive an Amelia
award was a 1968 Penske/Sunoco
Chevrolet Camaro owned by Irwin
Kroiz. It was given the Grand Sport
Trophy, For The Most Historically
Significant General Motors Competition
Car. In 1968, this car placed 2nd in
the Trans-Am + class at Daytona and
4th overall and 2nd in Trans-Am +
class at the 12 Hours of Sebring. It also
secured many other podium finishes
that season. The Penske team won the
Trans-Am championship in 1968 and
this Camaro played a key role in that
accomplishment.
Singer John Oates from the Hall &
Oates duo assembled the “Cars of the
Rock Stars” display. One of the cars
associated with well-known Rock Stars
was the 1959 Corvette Stingray Racer
that is now part of GM’s Heritage
Collection. This car was driven by Elvis
Presley in the 1967 film Clambake. In
the movie, Elvis drove the Stingray from
Texas to Florida and traded identities
with a water ski instructor.
Other significant Corvettes on dis-
play included a Tuxedo Black 1957
fuel-injected “airbox” (RPO 579D) race
car. It was equipped with the big-brake
package (RPO 684) and is just one of 28
that were produced with these options.
It is owned by Frank and Loni Buck.
Another Corvette that caught our atten-
tion was a beautiful Tuxedo Black 1963
split-window fuel injected coupe. This
29,000-mile Corvette was equipped
with rare two bar knock-off aluminum
wheels (RPO P48). This car underwent
a 1,600-hour restoration in 2014 and
was flawless.
The Amelia Concours is a smorgas-
bord of significant and pristine historic
automobiles and other specialty vehi-
cles. Corvettes were well represented at
the Cars & Coffee on Saturday and the
Concours d’Elegance on Sunday. This
is a must-see automotive event and if
you decide to go, now would be a goodtime to make your reservations. It will
be held on March 5-8, 2020, at the
Ritz-Carlton Hotel and Golf Resort in
Amelia Island, Florida. For more event
details go to http://www.ameliaconcours.org.
VETTE42 VETTE 19.09
[LIFESTYLE]
CONCOURS D’ELEGANCE