Two very different Duesenbergs came up large this past weekend at the 16th annual Amelia Island Concours d’ Elegance, held at the very proper Ritz Carlton Hotel and Amelia Golf Club. Amelia Island, Florida. A traditional show that has its roots dug deep in the very basics of the automobile: raw beauty and transportation at any cost.

Its founder, Bill Warner believes that cars of all types, sizes and colors needs to be exposed to the public, regardless of their origins or year of manufacturer. He also feels that a sporty car needs to be separated and awarded accordingly rather than lumping them in with the stately, more sedate and larger transporters of people. Toward that end, Amelia presents two awards each year. And for the first time in its history, the judges came back from consultation with their unanimous decision to award two Duesenbergs winners in both divivions.

The magnificent and regal 1933 Model SJ Sedan, body by Rolston was selected as the Best of Show in the Concours d’ Elegance division. This car was the epitome of wealth during the great Depression when very very few had enough money to pay for food for their families. Its cost became its nickname, 'Twenty Grand'.

This winner is part of the Nethercutt Collection out of Sylmar, California, where Helen and Jack have a rather wonderful collection of prized automobiles they love to show all over the world. The other winner, Best of Show in the Sport division was the 1935 Duesenberg SJ Speedster made famous by its original owner, Ab Jenkins. At the time Jenkins was Mayor of Salt lake City and decided that he needed to find out if this car really was something special, so he drove the car out to the Bonneville Salt Flats near Salt Lake City, Utah and drove the car himself for 24 hours at an average speed of over 150 mph!

The car was aptly nicknamed the Mormon Meteor and its massive size and wonderful exhaust notes will never let you forget this car once you have seen and heard it.

The show has been a huge success due totally to its founder Bill Warner who brings in a diverse selection of cars, years and odd ball models, including one-offs that most have never seen. Added a few years ago were hot rods and that alone has made lots of people very happy and given a new prospective to this concours. Ther are roughly 300 cars that show each year, and although the crowds are quite large, there is always room to move about and share the experience with others.

The ability to put on such a feat is a wonder, and listening to Bill rattle off the names and histories of each his 80 judges in almost as amazing as the cars he brings to Amelia each year. This is a fabulous show that everyone needs to see at some point if they love cars.