Lieutenant Jim Durden drives the
1940 Ford patrol car in the parade.

The Florida Highway Patrol’s 1940 Ford patrol car driven by Lieutenant Jim Durden led the Concours parade as it made its way through downtown Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island. This year marked the 12th anniversary of the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, an event held on the golf course at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. This event is considered by some as one of the top five Concours in the United States. Some of the reasons for the event’s popularity are the wide assortment of rare and prestigious vehicles on display. This year, over 275 rare classics from seldom-seen private collections all across the nation were parked along the 1st and 18th fairway. Attendees of the event were able to get an up-close look at a variety of cars, ranging from European rarities to famous race cars once used by NASCAR legends. This year’s featured guest was World Endurance Racing Legend Derek Bell, who showed off many of the LeMans type race cars he had driven all over the world that were on display at the event. Also on display were antique and classic luxury automobiles from all walks-of-life. There were even a few new Rolls Royce’s available for purchase-- if you had a spare half a million dollars!