Duesenbergs sweep honors at Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance

Two of the 29 Duesenbergs on display at the 16th Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance took the Best in Show honors on Sunday at the gathering in north Florida. The Amelia Island concours awards two top honors, one for sporting cars and one for elegance.

Harry Yeaggy's 1935 Duesenberg SJ Speedster, also known as the “Mormon Meteor,” won Best in Show Concours De Sport, while Helen and Jack Nethercutt's 1933 Duesenberg SJN Arlington Torpedo Sedan was awarded Best in Show Concours De Elegance. Both cars are former Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance Best in Show winners as well, with Yeaggy winning in 2007 while the Nethercutts took top honors in 1980.

“I've never seen so many Duesenbergs on display in one place,” said Jack Nethercutt. His car was made for the 1933 Chicago World's Fair. The car underwent a complete restoration in 1979 prior to winning the award at Pebble Beach the following year.

Likewise, the Mormon Meteor, so named because driver Ab Jenkins (who was, in fact, a Mormon) set a record in 1935 driving the car an average of 135 mph for 24 hours on the Bonneville Salt Flats.

“There were a lot of cars here,” Yeaggy said, “and this is just fantastic to win the award. I don't show a lot of cars and I didn't really know what to think about our chances this year. But what a great show, and this is the same thrill I had winning with the car at Pebble.”

By Roger Hart