A 1974 Nissan Cherry X-1R is parked near several racing cars at the inaugural Japanese Automotive Invitational up on Peter Hay Hill at Pebble Beach | Larry Edsall photos Amelia Island concours d’elegance founder Bill Warner called it “a coup for us,” the featuring of a Japanese car on the show field back in 2004, when one of the Bob Sharp Datsun 240Z racers was displayed. More recently, in 2017, the northern Florida coastal concours had a “major showing” of Japanese race cars, including the 1965 Honda F1 driven by Richie Ginther, as well as every Japanese car that had won at Daytona, Sebring or Le Mans, as well as the SCCA C-Production national champion.