Amelia Island Concours dElegance

Pope's Mercedes 600 Limousine Comes to the U.S.

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Events

As part of the 125th anniversary celebrations for Mercedes-Benz, a 1965 Mercedes 600 Pullman landaulet (above) custom built for Pope Paul VI will be on display at the 16th Annual Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance in Florida on March 11–13. The historic vehicle is making its first appearance on U.S. soil as part of a featured Class of Mercedes-Benz 600s at the prestigious event. The 600 Pullman was originally presented in September 1963 at the Frankfurt International Motor Show and quickly became the vehicle of choice among the world's wealthy elite; in addition to the Pope, Elvis Presley, John Lennon, Hugh Hefner and Coco Chanel owned one. The luxe limousine was equipped with Mercedes' first ever V-8 able to reach 0-62 mph in 10 seconds.

This vehicle built for the Pope was specially constructed with an individual seat for the pontiff that could be raised and lowered during the car's procession through crowded streets. An elevated roof, extended rear doors, and raised floor were also fitted along with other special equipment such as bulletproof glass. Over two decades, the car was used by three popes including John Paul I and John Paul II and was returned to Mercedes-Benz's Stuttgart, Germany headquarters in 1985. It comes to Amelia courtesy of the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart where it is one of many famous and priceless cars in its collection.

Tags: Amelia Island Concours dElegance, celebrity cars, classic cars, Coco Chanel, Elvis Presley, Hugh Hefner, John Lennon, John Paul II, limousine, Mercedes-Benz, Mercedes-Benz 600, Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman, Mercedes-Benz Museum, Pope, Pope John Paul II, Pope Paul VI, The Pope

16th Annual Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance To Celebrate A Century of Chevy

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Auctions

The Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance will hold its 6th annual event March 11-13, 2011 at the Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island. This year's event will celebrate 100 years of Chevrolet and will include an appearance of the 1955 Biscayne, considered one of Harley Earl's most intriguing designs. The concept vehicle will be on hand courtesy of Joe Bortz of the Bortz Auto Collection in Highland Park, Illinois.

The Biscayne was a four-passenger car with a pillar-less hard top design complete with suicide doors, indented side panels, and "Stratospheric" windshield. Swivel front seats allowed the front passengers easy exit from the low-slung car and front and rear ashtrays and lighters were located on the driveshaft tunnel between the passengers. The Biscayne was produced for the popular Motorama shows of the 50s, which were sponsored coast-to-coast by the automotive manufacturer and to showcase a forward-thinking approach to automotive styling and production. All of the Motorama cars were built by hand and most had no engine, electrics or interiors. The Biscayne featured a fiberglass body.

"This is one of the really rare concept cars that luckily survived after the Motorama shows ended," says Bill Warner, Amelia Founder and Chairman. "One of the unique features of the Biscayne was that it was a motor car – meaning it had full running gear and was not a 'push mobile' like so many of the Motorama cars."

Tags: Amelia Island, Amelia Island concours, Amelia Island Concours dElegance, chevrolet biscayne, ChevroletVolt, chevy biscayne

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