Words: Elliott Hughes | Photography: Hagerty
The Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance is one of the world’s largest and most prestigious car events, and it has just been acquired by Hagerty. The Michigan-based company is a world-renowned provider of classic insurance, car valuations and automotive media.
The 27th Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance is scheduled to take place on March 3-6, 2022, and is set to display “more than 250 significant classic and historically relevant vehicles”.
The news follows Hagerty’s recent acquisitions of other top-tier US automotive events including the Greenwich Concours d’Elegance, Concours d’Elegance of America and the California Mille.
As well as acquiring top automotive events, Hagerty is also taking active measures to protect the future of the classic car industry. It aims to achieve this through schemes such as the Hagerty Drivers’ Foundation, which was founded to “champion car culture, education, and innovation”. The Foundation provides scholarships to students in automotive fields and financial support to automotive businesses, and is building the National Historic Vehicle Register.
Bill Warner founded the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance 26 years ago, and Hagerty says he will remain in his position as the event’s chairman emeritus. In its press release, Hagerty explains that it plans to “work with the concours’ existing operational team to expand the annual event”.
Hagerty will be hoping that it can do this by tapping into the 650,000 people who are members of the Hagerty Drivers Club. This year, Amelia Island attracted around 13,000 guests, despite the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Our objective is to knit the enthusiast community together in a way that supports and protects the future of car culture,” Hagerty CEO McKeel Hagerty said. “Amelia Island is synonymous with concours and motor sports heritage due to the steadfast efforts of Bill Warner and his team. We are incredibly proud to have the opportunity to build upon and scale Bill’s vision.”
Warner added: “When I founded the concours I wanted to infuse the calm, traditional concours environment with the energy of motor sports. We achieved that, and raised more than $4 million for charity along the way. In Hagerty, we have a passionate and highly skilled team that will bring these themes to a larger audience.”
For more information on next year’s Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, click here.
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