The Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the legendary Ferrari 250 GTO at its 2012 event.

The Foundation has been working on the anniversary celebration for more than two years and expects that it will be one of the most important milestones in the hobby.

The Ferrari 250 GTO was built between 1962 and 1964, and is universally considered the most coveted of all Ferraris built.

The Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance announced today it will celebrate world renowned coachbuilder Bohman & Schwartz as well as a pair of 50th anniversaries for significant races at Sebring and Daytona, during its 14th annual concours March 13-15, 2009 at the Ritz Carlton Amelia Island.

The Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance is one of the nation’s most innovative vintage auto events featuring more than 250 rare classics from seldom-seen private collections nationwide.

The elegant creations of Southern California coachbuilder Bohman & Schwartz will be featured in a separate class, which will display the one-of-a kind “Phantom Corsair” that was commissioned for Rust Heinz, heir to the H.J. Heinz food empire.
The Phantom Corsair’s futuristic shark-like body was mated to a Cord 810 Chassis and enjoyed a brief stint in Hollywood appearing as the mysterious “Flying Wombat” in the movie, “The Young in Heart.” The car will be making a rare trip outside the National Automobile Museum (The Harrah Collection) in Reno, Nevada for its showing the Amelia Island Concours.

Also celebrated at this year’s concours, are the 50th anniversaries of the first US Grand Prix Formula One race at Sebring International Raceway and the only Indy car race ever held at the Daytona International Speedway.
A seminar called “The Great Roadster Drivers,” will be held to recount the history and legacy of these races. Miami native Jim Rathmann, the 1960 Indy 500 winner, will be the Concours’ guest for the weekend and will participate in the Saturday seminar at The Ritz-Carlton grand ballroom.

For more information, visit www.ameliaconcours.org or 904-636-0027