ISLAND TIME OUT; Amelia Concours takes us back to Steamers, `Big Bangers' and Lone Star J.R.(News)(Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance )

Byline: PETE LYONS

Wreathed in lace and steam, ladies with parasols ride in softly chuffing Stanleys and Dobles over the genteel greens. Barely cracking their Can-Am throttles, small boys of all ages try to refrain from burning out the grass as they drive to their awards. Event honoree "Lone Star'' Johnny Rutherford, three-time Indy 500 winner resplendent in blazer and blue jeans, hobnobs happily with TV stars and old racing cronies alike.

A safe harbor from the turbulent torrents of time; that's what the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance feels like. The world may be mad with strife and change outside the gates of the Ritz-Carlton, but all is ageless serenity within.

Or that's the impression concours founder and chairman Bill Warner hopes to foster. "This thing is like a swan,'' he enjoys saying with a chuckle. "We like it to look like it's just gliding across the water, but underneath we're paddling like heck.''

Not many ripples showed during this, his 11th event, March 10-12. Drawn by spectacularly fine weather and a record entry of 292 vehicles, an all-time high of about 18,000 visitors contributed an estimated $100,000-plus to local charities.

Amelia's success arises in part from its eclectic variety. Warner, a master motorsports photographer and lifelong race fan, makes a point of embracing historic competition cars and stars along with conventional concours fare. Sharing equal billing with the Best in Show 1931 DuPont Model H Sport Phaeton entered by Richard Riegel, Peter Sachs' Le Mans-winning 1961 Ferrari 250 TRI/61 was judged Best in Show in the Concours de Sport category.

Also sharing the fairways with the elegant Duesenbergs, Packards and Rolls-Royces were several of Rutherford's old rides, including his Indy winners of 1974 (McLaren) and 1980 (Chaparral). Nearby was an impressive lineup of 20 "big-banger'' sports racers from the U.S. Road Racing Championship and Can-Am eras. One, Jim Hall's 1966 Chaparral 2E, rightly earned the AutoWeek Most Historically Significant Can-Am Car award. Forty years ago this wild, winged Road Runner looked startlingly advanced. It still does.