The Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the legendary Ferrari 250 GTO at its 2012 event. The Foundation has been working on the anniversary celebration for more than two years and expects that it will be one of the most important milestones in the hobby.

The Ferrari 250 GTO was built between 1962 and 1964, and is universally considered the most coveted of all Ferraris built. These vehicles rarely change hands and when they do, it is usually via a private transaction.

The Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance 2010 celebrated the 40th anniversary of the dominating Porsche 917’s victories at the 24 Hours of Daytona and Le Mans endurance races was the most recent example of this successful approach, which has set Amelia apart from any other Concours.  Always wrapped into a seminar format, Amelia is known for marking an anniversary and celebrating it with those figures who participated along with educating the public with never-heard firsthand stories and anecdotes.

 

One of the most popular seminars was the 100th anniversary of New York-to-Paris Race, a.k.a. “The Great Race of 1908,” which was held in 2008. The great grandson of the winning driver – accompanied by the winning Thomas Flyer automobile – was on hand and gave a first-person historical account of the race acting as his great grandfather. The presentation was extremely well received by the standing-room-only audience.

“As the first major show of the year, Amelia is fortunate in that it sometimes sets the tone for others to follow,” said Bill Warner, Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance Founder and Chairman. “We are well known for rolling an anniversary into a seminar and the public really loves how we do it. The Ferrari GTO is another example of our planning ahead to celebrate a very important milestone. Over the past several years, I’ve noticed that other shows will recognize an important event before the actual year it occurred just to be the first to do it, and to me that diminishes the historical value.”

This approach is oftentimes confusing to automotive enthusiasts, too, but Warner adds that much like the wine commercial of years ago that boasted of selling “no wine before its time,” Amelia makes it a point to be true to history and recognize a milestone when it actually occurred.

“It’s very important to our credibility as an international show to stay true to these dates and keep them alive for history’s sake,” said Warner.

Tickets for the 16th Annual Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance are $45 for adults purchased in advance and $50 the day of the show. Students ages 12-18 are $20, and children under 12 are admitted at no charge when accompanied by a paying adult. A VIP ticket will again be offered for 2011 and it includes admission to the Concours, VIP parking, food & beverages, cash bar, preferred viewing tent for the awards, commemorative gifts, and a poster signing with the show honoree.

For more information, visit www.ameliaconcours.org.

[Source: Amelia Island Concours]