The Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance announced that Indy Car great Bobby Rahal will be the honoree for the 16th Annual Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance scheduled for March 11-13, 2011, at The Golf Club of Amelia Island at Summer Beach. Rahal has impacted the sport like few other drivers and continues today as a team principal in Rahal Letterman Racing.

“One of the great pleasures about Amelia is that we can honor the best of the best and Bobby Rahal certainly falls into the category,” says Bill Warner, Concours founder and co-chairman. “In nearly 20 years of racing, his record speaks for itself and he is still going strong today managing a successful racing team along with his son’s budding racing career. We are honored and excited to have him with us on Amelia Island.”

Racer, Team Owner, CART Executive, Businessman & Mentor

Robert “Bobby” Woodward Rahal was born in Medina, Ohio, in 1953, and worked his way up through the racing ranks starting with the SCCA’s feeder series to Formula Atlantic and then onto European Formula Two. In an 18-year career spanning F1, Can-Am, Le Mans/IMSA, and CART, Rahal notched three CART championships, including a win at the 1986 Indy 500, along with wins at the 1981 24 Hours of Daytona and the 1987 12 Hours of Sebring endurance races.

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Route 7A in Southwestern Vermont is one of America’s scenic drives. Also known as the “Ethan Allen Highway” this alternate to Route 7 runs from Bennington, Vermont northward to the town of Manchester, Vermont. Nestled in the valleys of the Southernmost Green Mountains, 7A runs through lush farmlands and wooded hollows. Roll down your windows, drop your top or open your sunroof and you can smell deep pine forests and “nature’s best” smells from small family-owned dairy farms. With speed maximums near 45 miles/hour the road is not meant for speeding or aggressive driving, more this is a road which allows you to drive and take in the surrounding bucolic New England farmland and mountain scenery. Think Robert Frost and Grandma Moses to put you in the mood.

Fall foliage season is a great time to drive on Route 7A. Tree colors range from bright orange and yellow to deep, dark red colors and with dark evergreen tree colors mixed in it is a pleasing site to see. We recommend the first week in October for viewing the foliage in this area of Vermont. The last week in September and second week in October can also be good times to view the foliage, but that may be the “shoulder”, either slightly earlier or late foliage viewing.

More about this scenic drive:

• 30 miles long (approx.)
• Runs North-South
• Mostly 2 lanes
• Runs from Bennington to Dorset by way of Arlington and Manchester
• Ride to top of Mount Equinox as a scenic point of interest
• Opportunity for viewing and / or crossing Vermont’s covered bridges
• Option to ride Route 67a as a further detour
• Farm stand shopping available

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One of the highlights of Limerock’s annual Labor Day weekend Vintage Fall Festival is the Sunday in the Park car show and concours.  This unique event allows participants to park their cherished cars around the edge of the famed 1.5 mile road course.  Spectators and participants can walk the entire track and see some of the best cars in the region on display.   Since racing is not allowed on Sunday at Lime Rock, Sunday in the Park is the perfect interlude to the four days of exciting vintage and historic races.

In addition to the premium concours event, visitors may arrive at the park with their everyday driving classics. Pending a car is rare or in decent condition one may receive a coveted invitation to join their marque’s section on the track. This is really two car shows in one; you don’t need to be in the concours to enter into the general car show. This inclusive feature makes for a diverse collection of cars and a strong turnout of spectators.

This year the weather on Sunday was a sunny 75 degrees with light breezes to grace the spectators and gorgeous vehicles. Good weather lead to a great turnout and a perfect opportunity for the shutterbugs to immortalize a wide array of cars.  From Aston Martin to Citroen, from BMW to Rolls-Bentley, there were over 20 official marque categories spread around the track and what seemed to be several more that were unofficially grouped.

There was a great display of BMW cars. The Bimmers were parked on “no-name straight” just past (walking clockwise around the track) the Volvo display and just before the Italian makes. There were approximately twenty 2002 cars and ten E30 M3 cars. Among the standouts lining the back of the track were a fully restored convertible M3 decked out in a rare metallic green color and several impressive 2002s. (more…)

We recently captured this Porsche 962 on the start up of a mid-day “revielle” at the 2010 Fairfield Concours d’Elegance. The Revielle is a time for concours participants to start their engines and rev them up for the crowd for a minute or so.

In the video below is the unmistakable sound of the Porsche’s Andial developed flat 6 3.2 liter motor. This particular Havoline liveried 962 won the Sebring 12 Hours twice.

Porsche 962

There is not much left to be desired when you’re standing next to that car as it revs up. Overall sounds include stuttered pops, cracks, growls, snarls, burbles and whirring.

One really unique aspect of the 962 that we enjoy seeing is the exhaust coming from the top and center of the car just above the motor. How great is that?

September 11-12, 2010 saw the return of the 7th Annual Fairfield County Concours d’Elegance to the Fairfield Hunt Club in Westport, CT. Though gray skies threatened rain for the concours on Sunday, the rains never came but the awesome cars and crowds did show up.

Awards presented on field ranged from best pre and post-war foreign and domestics to Porsche, Bugatti, Aston Martin, Motorcyles and Barn-Find categories. The Barn-Find category was particularly interesting as you can see from Wayne Carini’s SAAB to the Split Window Corvette. Featured as well were categories of automobiles “Styled by the Wind”, cars with coachwork by Drake “Dutch” Darrin and photography by Jesse Alexander. (more…)

The 28th Annual Historic Festival took place at Lime Rock Park on September 3-6, 2010 bringing the raw excitement of vintage racing to the scenic Litchfield, Connecticut hills.  The entry field included over 300 classic pre-war and sports competition cars in 10 groups. Groups were as follows:

1. Pre-war Sports and Racing Cars: Motorsport Trophy
2. 50s Competition Cars: Lime Rock Challenge
3. Porsche 911 and 914: Klubsport Kup
4. Best of British Production Sports: Chairmans Chalice
5. F. Ford & F. Junior: Starter’s Delight; Group 5a, F. Ford: The Stimola Memorial
6. Abarths & Alfas Galore: The Turin Tankard
7. Wild, Wild Horses – Big Bore Production: Detroit Dilemma
8. Speedy, Eclectic Mix: Sports Racing Cars: The Bennett Bowl
9. Minis Against the Rest: Giant’s Despair
10. Memories of Gilles, F2/Formula Atlantic: Fabulous Formulas

Participants in the Historic Festival actually begin their weekend on the previous Tuesday, August 31st with “test and tune” sessions. By Friday, September 3rd practices and qualifying have begun and the first race events are run.

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Late in the Summer 2010, the Bear Mountain Car Show is still pulling a strong crowd of diverse cars. From wild and rare Italian exotics to classic American muscle, the show keeps getting bigger and better every year. You have to hand it to Rodbenders and PopYourHood for putting on such a great show at such a scenic location. Some of the highlights last week were the rare Ferrari F40 and the one owner 1970 Shelby GT 500 Convertible.

Last week some impressive American muscle cars showed up:

Plymouth Duster	Shelby GT500 Convertible
Chevrolet Camaro	Dodge Challenger

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Park Loop Road on Mount Desert Island, Maine is one of America’s most scenic and best driving roads.  The 20 mile road is located in Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island near Bar Harbor, Maine. And while this road is not one to speed on, or go for sporty driving it will bring great pleasure in a slow cruise with the windows open or even the top down on a fine convertible.   Since the loop was recently paved when we visited, dropping the windows and slowly driving allowed us to hear how serene and calming the park environment is; basically all one hears is nature. (more…)