1930’s Cars Were Stars At Amelia Island

Though the 1930’s gave us the age of the depression there was nothing depressing about car design in this era.  Radar, Kodachrome and the first high-definition television were invented.  Swing was the thing and Americans were experiencing the height of the Art Deco era. The cars of the 1930’s were big on style and well appreciated at the 2015 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance. Photo: Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance  –  Rashba.com

As another glorious concours Sunday arrived at the finale, two distinct cars were crowned Best in Show winners:

• Concours d’Elegance the 1930 Cord L29 Brooks Stevens Speedster
• Concours de Sport a 1932 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300

Stately bodies with sexy curves punctuating long noses were the head turning cars of the day.  These are the cars from the 1930’s which still emit the Gatsbyesque air of élan before these characteristics completely fade away with the onset of WWII. Here is a taste of the cars displayed on the lawn. These Mercedes-Benz cars seem almost restrained when it comes to comparing them to the big SS and larger K series.In 1934, Frazer-Nash began importing BMW cars into the UK and sold them as Fraser-Nash BMWs until war broke out in 1939. The styling is not quite as refined as the regular BMW328.  This is a very special Cadillac speedster.  Built by Pinin Farina for the Maharaja of Orccha as his hunting car, for tigers of course. Often massive, usually racy and always stylish and the characteristics of these automobiles were everything the new Volkswagen Beetle, introduced in the late thirties was not. But I guess we know who won that race, in terms of cars sold.