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2012 Amelia Island Concours d' Elegance
Held March 10 & 11, 2012 - Click here for slideshow

Text and photos by Jeff Burgy

Claudia and I attended the Amelia Island Concours this past weekend where they were celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Shelby Cobra and the Ferrari GTO.

I have been very excited to attend the Amelia Island Concours, first because I had never been to that event before, and second because I had talked to Bill Warner (Chairman of the Amelia Concours) about getting the Bordinat Cobra and Cougar II concept cars in the show as part of the Cobra 50th Anniversary display.

Mr. Warner was looking for unusual Cobras that not everybody had seen already, and the Bordinat Cobra and Cougar II certainly fit that criteria. I managed to get in a little bit early, and get some shots before the crowds made it nearly impossible. I hung out with the Cobras, and didn’t really see much else of the show – I was having too much fun telling the tale of finding the cars after several years of research, cleaning them up and repairing damaged details to make them presentable for the SAAC Convention back in 2004. Several people remembered seeing the Cougar II from the World’s Fair, or the MPC model of it, hardly anyone (except other SAAC members) had ever seen or even heard of the Bordinat Cobra.

It was a beautiful 75 degree day, and everybody had a wonderful time, except maybe the guy in the gorgeous yellow Ferrari 275GTB, who absolutely FRIED his clutch while maneuvering up to the podium and back. I could smell his clutch burning on his first trip by – they parked it for a short while to let it cool off, then, on his last trip by, the smoke was actually pouring out from under the car. Don’t know what it costs to replace a clutch in a Ferrari, but, I’m guessing the job will take four digits to accomplish rather than three – ouch!