YELLOW DEVIL CAPTIVATES JUDGES AND ENTHUSIASTS AT 2024 AMELIA CONCOURS D’ELEGANCE
Colorado Springs, CO — The storied history of The Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, brought to you by Gran Turismo, was on display recently at the Amelia Concours d’Elegance, known in concours circles simply as The Amelia. One of the most spectacular and crowd pleasing entries was the #16 Broadmoor Special, known since its early racing days on Pikes Peak as “The Yellow Devil”.
The 1918 Pierce Arrow, one of several models owned by Spencer Penrose, founder of the PPIHC, was converted to a race car to challenge the 156 turns and driven by Harry McMillin in 1922 and 1926, and by Angelo Cimino from 1927 through 1932. The best time for the Yellow Devil was in 1932 when it finished in 19:59.9. It’s remarkable that this race car reached the summit every year it raced on Pikes Peak.
The color, “Coach Yellow” was a special mix made for Mr. Penrose. Other notable features of the car include it’s 4,300lb weight, and the fact that it was entirely stock when it raced, with the exception of three carburetors. It made 150 horsepower and rode on wooden wheels.
Former competitor and PPIHC Hall of Famer, Frank Peterson, along with his wife, Kaye and two generations of his family restored the car to running condition in his Lakewood Manufacturing machine shop near Denver. The project was completed in time for the car to be part of the 100th Anniversary celebration in 2016 – the race Mr. Penrose launched a century before.
The award-winning car is on exhibit in Colorado Springs at Penrose Heritage Museum.
The Amelia, based in Amelia Island, Florida was created by the public relations team at the Amelia Island Ritz-Carlton and Bill Warner, a Jacksonville, FL native and successful automotive photographer, journalist and driver. Hagerty acquired the prestigious brand in 2021. The March event marked the 29th year of this premier automotive showcase.
Matt Ordendac, Vice Chairman for the Hagerty Concours, shared, “To host this Pikes Peak Class was a labor of love and a dream come true. The all-star cast, including Jeff Zwart, Fred Veitch and David Donohue who shared their personal experiences made it so special and relatable.”
For the first time, a Cars of Pikes Peak class was featured at The Amelia, preceded by a well-attended panel discussion and film night moderated by PPIHC competitor, Ray Evernham. Jeff Zwart, PPIHC Hall of Famer, screened several short films that creatively told the unique story of racing on America’s Mountain, including the classic Climb Dance with Ari Vatanen behind the wheel of a Peugeot, Ken Block’s Climbkhana, which Zwart co-directed, and the teaser for the Race to the Clouds – 100 Years in the Making documentary film.
Seven-time PPIHC competitor, David Donohue, and competitor and PPIHC Board Chairman, Fred Veitch, rounded out the panel sharing stories and insight into what has drawn competitors from around the world to race to the 14,115′ summit of Pikes Peak year after year.
The Yellow Devil was awarded the Hagerty Drivers Foundation Automotive Heritage Award. PPIHC Race Director, Randy Ruyle and Board Chairman, Fred Veitch, dressed in vintage attire, accepted the trophy. “Amelia was a rare opportunity to present the Yellow Devil and a handful of winning Pikes Peak cars to a vast and diverse group of automotive enthusiasts,” explained Fred Veitch. “Many were surprised and delighted to learn not only does Penrose’s car still exist, but that it runs and was at The Amelia.”
The Best in Class award was bestowed on the Speedway Chevrolet, courtesy of the Museum of American Speed. Robby Unser drove the car to an Open Wheel division record of 10:05.85 in 1994. “Everyone here at the Museum of American Speed was ecstatic to learn that our record-setting ‘Winged Wonder’ was chosen as Best in Class at The Amelia. The 1994 Robbie Unser Pikes Peak Open Wheel Racer signifies an important era in our history when racing on Sunday really equated to selling parts on Monday,” explained Tim Matthews, Museum Curator. “Setting the record in 1994 not only signifies a great triumph for racing endeavors, it highlights a relationship we have had with the Unser family dating back nearly 40 years. The Unser family is one of the legendary families in automotive racing history and are excited about our recent merger with the Unser Racing Museum so we can continue telling their story of winning for generations to come, like we did at Amelia.”
From 2017 through 2019, Peter Cunningham raced the Acura TLX GT on Pikes Peak and won the Pikes Peak Open division every time. His best time was in 2019 when he clocked a 09:24.433 for a division record. The Acura was honored with this Amelia Class Award.
Ray Evernham’s 1936 Chevrolet Sedan “The Ghost” also received an Amelia Class Award. Evernham entered his first PPIHC in 2019 easily capturing a win in the Exhibition division in 10:11.334.
The #59 Porsche GT2 RS Clubsport, in this Brumos Racing livery, won the Time Attack 1 division on Pikes Peak for the past two years.
Driver, David Donohue explained, “This was my first time at Amelia and it was great to see so many Pikes Peak friends before June. Seeing the Broadmoor Special alongside Robby Unser’s open wheel car and our Brumos Porsche really highlighted the diversity and creativity found at the Peak.”
The immediately recognizable Audi Sport Quattro driven to victory on Pikes Peak in 1985 was also among the entries. France’s Michele Mouton set a course record of 11:25.39 on Pikes Peak in the Rally division, making her the overall winner and only Queen of the Mountain.
Layne Schranz presented his 2016 Chevrolet Camaro SS. Schranz, a second-generation racer on Pikes Peak competed for 29 years, first on a quad, and later in the Stock Car and Pikes Peak Open divisions. Schranz captured multiple division titles. His best time on the mountain was a 09:40.630 set in this car in 2019 in the Pikes Peak Open division.
Mobil 1 and BBI gave a sneak peak of the #92 Porsche that fourth-generation Loni Unser will drive in the 2024 PPIHC. Unser is set to compete in the Pikes Peak Open division in this 2015 Porsche GT3 Turbo Cup.
Lisa Haight, Communications Manager / Historian
Pikes Peak International Hill Climb
(719) 685-4400
