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300StarLetter May 2015

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Thanks to Bill Warner’s much celebrated Amelia Island Concours, we were treated to Sir with Lady Susie, his wife of 33 years, and a few other loves of his memorable life: filling the front row are the Mercedes-Benz W196 he drove for the works team in 1955, the 300 SLR with which he won the of that year with an averge speed of 98.5 mph on public roads for the 1000 miles from to and back, and the aerodynamic grand prix car as used by in its debut at the 1954 French Grand Prix at Reims. Behind is the enormous array of machinery that tempted the young Moss. 05/15 StarLetter4 5/13/15 4:13 PM Page 16

PHOTO ABOVE: NATHAN DEREMER, DEREMER STUDIOS.COM PHOTO BELOW: NEIL RASHBA

From the top: Stirling Moss and about to depart Brescia at 7:22 am, 30 April 1955. The chairman’s award for his best ride of the day was enjoyed by Bill Warner as he took the seat of Denis Jenkinson and navigated the field for Sir Stirling Moss in the 1955 Mille Miglia winning Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR.

The Historic Vehicle Association “THIS CAR MATTERS AWARD FOR NATIONAL AUTOMOTIVE HERITAGE” 1954 Mercedes-Benz 300SL formerly owned by , was presented to Dennis P. Nicotra (GWG) of Fairfield, Connecticut

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2015 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance Sir Stirling Moss is Honored Again at the 2015 By Jim Luikens

egendary race car driver Sir Stirling Moss, who was and was retrofitted with Rudge wheels. It sold for the first Honoree (Grand Marshall) at the $1,237,500 after a catalog estimate of $1.3 to $1.6 mil- inaugural Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance lion. in 1996, reprised his role as Honoree for this The 1963 model was red on (a still original) tan inte- Lyear’s 20th Anniversary Concours. More than 20 of Sir rior with a black hardtop and had less than 18,000 miles Stirling’s most famous race cars, including the three on the clock. It had a short list of four owners, the last Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrows that he won with in of which had kept it for 15 years. Pre-auction estimated 1955, were on display. at $1.6 to 2.0 million, it went to a new home for This event marked the first time that all three of just$1,275,000. these historic Silver Arrows had ever been displayed Bonhams offering was a 1962 car, the second one together. Sir Stirling’s record-setting #722 300SLR built with an aluminum alloy engine block. It featured a Mille Miglia entry was centered on the green, with his non-original 5-speed (four plus overdrive) transmission streamlined and open-wheeled W196s flanking it, as and improved cooling and electrical systems. HK- you entered the show field. Engineering had performed its restoration less than one Behind those three significant Mercedes-Benz race year ago. It originally carried an estimate of $1.6 to $1.8 cars lay 315 more stunning cars and motorcycles, many million but was withdrawn from sale. Jared from making their post-restoration debuts. A record-break- Bonhams refused to provide any further information to ing crowd of more than 32,000 attendees enjoyed the me on its withdrawal, citing owner confidentially. many various and diverse events that were offered over the course of the “Amelia” weekend. The “Amelia” has become, much like Scottsdale and Monterey, a “Car Guys” destination weekend. No classic car week or weekend would be complete without the various auctions that have become a main- stay of these events. All three main, international auc- tion houses were on hand at Amelia Island and all three had at least one 300 SL Roadster scheduled to cross the block. RM Sotheby’s was the official auction house of the weekend with Bonhams and Gooding & Co also pres- ent. This year’s RM Sotheby’s Amelia Island auction broke all records by achieving the highest auction results for any auction house ever at an Amelia Island auction, $60,328,550. The RM Sotheby’s 300 SL Roadster, a 1961 model, had just three previous owners with its last period of ownership spanning 35 years. Despite a pre-sale esti- I’ve been to approximately 15 of the 20 “Amelias” mate of $1.1 to $1.3 million dollars it brought just held to date and each year I wonder how they could $962,500 and that set the tone for the weekend. possibly ever squeeze any more visitors onto the Gooding’s offerings included two fine specimens. grounds. The 21st Annual Amelia Island Concours The earlier car, a 1957, was originally black on red but d'Elegance is scheduled for March 11-13, 2016. Please was now white on green. It showed just 27,000 miles try to save some room for me if you choose to go.

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