What makes the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance different is that the show features personalities as well as classic automobiles. Each year it invites famed racing drivers of the past to greet the spectators and participate in seminars. For the 2009 event on March 13-15, veteran racer David Hobbs is the honoree. Hobbs will be familiar to anyone who watches F1 on Speed Channel, co-hosting with Bob Varsha. But he is best-known for his competition successes. He was the 1971 Formula 5000 champion, the 1983 Trans-Am champ, and was on the podium three separate times at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Also appearing at Amelia Island will be the veteran driver Lloyd Ruby. During Ruby's nearly 20 years running USAC champ cars he won seven races, finished on the podium 29 times, and captured eight poles. There were numerous road-racing wins along the way, including the 24-hours of Daytona and Sebring 12-hours. Ruby also drove stock cars and midgets and even raced in Formula 1.

Amelia Island is still about the classics, though, and this year is celebrating the elegant creations of noted Southern California coachbuilder Bohman & Schwartz. Appropriately one of the star cars will be the 1938 Phantom Corsair, arguably the most futuristic-looking vehicle of its period. The Corsair was created by Rust Heinz, son of HJ Heinz of "57 Varieties" fame. Abandoning his naval architecture studies, he set up an industrial design studio in Pasadena. His dream was to build his own car, but his family wouldn't provide financing so a sympathetic aunt did. In 1936, Heinz arranged to have Bohman & Schwartz tackle the project, basing it on a Cord 510 front-wheel-drive chassis, with the Lycoming engine modified to produce 190 hp. Heinz had planned a limited production run of the 6-seat coupe but sadly was killed in an auto accident at the very young age of 25.