Rally Red was a perfect color for this
1965 Corvette convertible. It was
equipped with an L75 327/300hp small-
block and backed with a four-speed
transmission. It had P48 cast-aluminum
wheels and N14 side mounted exhausts.Sunday’s Concours d’Elegance was
packed with spectators. The event
included over 300 rare and classic auto-
mobiles that filled the fairways of the Ritz-
Carlton Golf Resort. (Photo courtesy of
DeremerStudios.com)The owner of this Arctic White Z51 con-
vertible had this unique model rotating
on top of his car’s detailed LT1 engine.This mid-engine Corvette prototype
XP-897 was powered by a two-rotor Wan-
kel engine. It was purchased by British
Corvette writer Tom Falconer and Tom is
still its owner.The interior is spacious and simply laid
out. The front wheelwells do intrude into
the passenger compartment and some-
what restricts legroom.(Right) This spare compact two-rotor
engine was recently located and is now
exhibited with the XP-897.Jacky Ickx was the 2019 Amelia Island
Concours d’Elegance honoree. Jacky
amassed multiple wins during his driv-
ing career, including six 24 Hours of Le
Mans victories. (Photo courtesy of
DeremerStudios.com)The prototype was built using a highly
modified Porsche 914 chassis. The two-
rotor engine lies directly underneath
the cover inside the rear window. The
posters are lying on top of the cover.This year’s event featured a full sched-
ule that included the RM Sotheby’s
auction, manufacturer test drives and
autograph sessions with automotive
celebrities. Saturday morning, Heacock
Classic Car Insurance presented the
Cars & Coffee at the Concours. This
automotive extravaganza was added
to the weekend schedule in 2013, it
hosted over 450 vehicles and thou-
sands of spectators. Cars & Coffee
allows individuals with vintage, exotic
and collectible vehicles to gather on
the same show field that is used to dis-
play vehicles for Sunday’s prestigious
Concours d’Elegance. This is a free event
for all brands, but Corvettes are the
most popular marques in attendance.
Reservations are required and often are
completely filled by August of each year.
Many Corvette owners displayed their
cars on Saturday and every generation
was represented. It was a great way to
check out some amazing Corvettes in a
beautiful setting.
Sunday is Amelia’s main event and
hosts the best of the best from every
automotive manufacturer from around
the world. Many rarely seen signifi-
cant (expensive) automobiles are dis-
played on the 10th and 18th fairways of
the Golf Club of Amelia. Automotive
celebrities served as judges and were
tasked to select the Best of Show win-
ners in a variety of classes. Three his-
toric GM products (two Corvettes and
one Camaro) were recognized by the
judges for their contribution to auto-
motive history. The first was the 1973
Chevrolet Corvette XP-897 GT proto-
type. It received the GM Design Center
Award, For The Most Innovative GM
Design. This two-seat mid-engine
Corvette was powered by a two-rotor
Wankel rotary engine. It was introduced
to the public in 1973 and displayed at
auto shows around the world for close
to a year. However, the Wankel engine
that powered this Corvette proved to be
too thirsty and polluting, so the project
was cancelled. This running example
was withdrawn from public view and
stored at GM’s Vauxhall Design Center
in Bedford, England. It was scheduled
to be crushed in 1983. However, Jerry
Palmer (Retired Executive Director
of Design for GM), approved Tom
Falconer (Corvette author) to become its
40 VETTE 19.09[LIFESTYLE]
CONCOURS D’ELEGANCE