Amelia Island Concours Announces Penske Indy Winner Cars and Visionary Innovators

Amelia Island Concours Announces Penske Indy Winner Cars and Visionary Innovators

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Amelia Island Concours Announces Penske Indy Winner Cars and Visionary Innovators

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Jacksonville, FL — Five Team Penske Indianapolis 500-winning cars will form the core of the Silver Anniversary Amelia’s “Penske Indy Winners” class, and Special Honoree Roger Penske is among the visionary innovators/innovations the March 5-8 event will celebrate.

Penske’s first Indy winner, Donohue’s McLaren M16B. Photo: Gerry Swetsky

• 1972 McLaren M16B/Offenhauser: Mark Donohue’s record setter and Team Penske’s first of 18 500 winners

• 1988 Penske PC-17/Chevrolet: Rick Mears’ Indy pole car and 500 winner

• 1994 Penske PC-23 Mercedes-Benz 500I: Al Unser Jr.’s winner, “The Beast”

• 2009 Dallara IR-06/Honda: Helio Castroneves’ third 500 winner

• 2019 Dallara DW-12/Chevrolet: Simon Pagenaud’s pole winner and Team Penske 500 win number 18

In addition to Penske, others being honored for visionary contributions to cars and racing include:

• Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrows

Mercedes dominated the 1937, 1938 and 1939 Grand Prix seasons with the variants of these new cars, and in the 1950s, a new generation of Silver Arrows won the 1952 24 Hours of Le Mans, the 1954 and 1955 Formula 1 World Championships and the 1955 World Sports Car Championship. The concours will include a special class of the cars.

• Harley Earl

Earl set the design and esthetic parameters for the American car industry, leading General Motors from a 12% market share in the 1920s to a more than 55% market share in the 1950s. The Cars of Harley Earl class will feature the stylist’s most famous dream cars and successful production cars.

• Porsche Firsts

The concours will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Porsche’s first – of 19 – victories in the 24 Hours of Le Mans after the company created the Porsche 917.

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