Amelia Island 2023 to Honor Jeff Gordon
This year will be the second time the rebranded event known as The Amelia will be held with Hagerty producing the event. While The Amelia will take place March 3-5, the week leading up to it will be a slow build to the payoff of the concours and celebrating the Honoree, Jeff Gordon.
There may be no better way to express the passion that Hagerty has for The Amelia, and the rest of their events, than the words of McKeel Hagerty himself as he discussed the community that forms around the collector car world: “It was the cars that brought me into this world, it’s the people that make me stay.”
Jeff Gordon has been wanting to attend The Amelia for years and said, “Little did I know my first experience would be as an honoree.”
Honoree Jeff Gordon
Fittingly, the car that Jeff Gordon drove to victory at the Brickyard 400 in 1994 will be on display during The Amelia, along with a 1989 USAC Spring Car that took Gordon to the top of the podium eight times that year and the 2005 Chevrolet Monte Carlo he used to win the Daytona 500.
Jeff Gordon’s longtime Crew Chief Ray Evernham will also be in attendance, hosting a seminar with the driver titled, “Jeff Gordon: The Hendrick Motorsports Years,” and joining the honoree dinner to interview Jeff about his career. The dinner will feature excellent food, awards, sizzle reels to highlight the NASCAR driver’s career and plenty of surprises.
The Amelia 2023 Build Up
The Thursday leading up to the concours will feature a supercar celebration consisting of four different classes of cars. This is an opportunity to bring the excitement of the weekend to the local community by showcasing the supercars at local schools.
The following day will be host to a seminar discussing the longstanding relationship between Corvettes and Le Mans, detailing efforts from the earliest years up to modern competition and all the work and passion that went into making the Corvette such a success over the years.
One especially exciting event scheduled to take place during The Amelia is the Porsche Driving Experience. Participants will be taken on the runway at a local airport to get a feel for the true performance of Porsche’s lineup. This was a hot ticket item and is currently sold out, but those fortunate enough to have a ticket should be in for quite the experience.
Other Highlights at The Amelia 2023
In addition to Jeff Gordon, Shelby American will be on hand to celebrate 100 years of Carroll Shelby and his dedication to racing and the influence that his contributions to the automotive world still provide.
Sunday morning will see the Concours de Sport and Concours d’Elegance at the Ritz-Carlton in Amelia Island. The concours will consist of 34 classes, 33 of which will be judged. More than 275 cars will be on display and will include significant cars from the career of Jeff Gordon. Additionally there will be a few Porsche-specific classes including the “Fiberglass Fighters.”
Tickets to The Amelia can be found here.