Every year on July 24, Americans celebrate National Amelia Earhart Day, honoring one of the nation’s most courageous innovators—a woman whose determination, intelligence, and fearlessness forever changed aviation and expanded opportunities for women in America and around the world.

At The JBS Collection, owned by Jack Boyd Smith Jr., Earhart’s remarkable legacy lives on through one of the most historically significant automobiles in all of existence: her 1937 Cord 812 Phaeton Convertible, carefully restored to its exact original condition by Smith Jr. and his restoration partners at Nappanee, Indiana’s acclaimed LaVine Restorations, Inc.

Much more than an award-winning classic automobile, the Cord—famously captured in one of the most iconic photographs of the famed aviator, as she stands proudly beside it and her cherished Lockheed 10-E Electra aircraft—represents the same qualities that defined Earhart herself: innovation, boldness, independence, and the relentless pursuit of excellence. 

Delicately preserved to the exact appearance, specifications, and “Palm Beach Tan” color it had when Earhart purchased it off the production line in 1936, the Cord is a tangible reminder of a pioneering woman whose influence extended far beyond the dimensions of her Lockheed’s tiny ‘cubbyhole’ cockpit.

“Amelia Earhart looms large, and remains one of the most inspiring figures throughout American history,” said Jack Boyd Smith Jr., whose assemblage is ranked among the top 100 collections in the world per The Classic Car Trust’s The Key publication. “She challenged expectations, broke barriers, and proved that courage and determination can redefine what is possible. The story of how we came to acquire this vehicle deserves its own book, and the restoration process itself required an incredible amount of research and time. It’s been an honor and a privilege to own Amelia Earhart’s Cord and share it with the world, and on National Amelia Earhart Day, it means even more. I’m proud that, through our work, future generations have been able to experience this automobile and learn more about the extraordinary life Amelia Earhart lived.”

Earhart purchased the sleek Cord less than a year before embarking on her ill-fated attempt to circumnavigate the globe. In one of the most iconic photographs ever taken of the famed aviator, she stands proudly beside two machines she cherished: her Lockheed 10-E Electra aircraft and her new Cord 812 Convertible. After her disappearance in 1937, her husband, George Palmer Putnam, sold the automobile, which eventually passed through numerous owners before being disassembled for spare parts over the decades.

Through years of painstaking research, the Cord’s original components were reunited by a Texas automotive enthusiast named Ray Foster, who sold Smith Jr. the vehicle in 2018. Smith Jr. then commissioned Travis LaVine and his team at LaVine Restorations to return the Cord to its original glory, and since its restoration—completed just in time to debut at the 2021 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance—the Cord has become one of the most celebrated historic automobiles across the globe.

In its 2021 debut at Pebble Beach—widely regarded as one of the world’s foremost concours events—the Cord earned Second in Class honors, and at the 2021 Auburn Cord Duesenberg Car show it won 1st-in-class, Best Cord, and Best-in-Show honors.

In 2023 the vehicle was inducted by the Hagerty Drivers Foundation into the National Historic Vehicle Register, becoming just the 33rd vehicle ever recognized by the federally supported program administered in partnership with the Library of Congress. To commemorate that distinction, the Cord was later displayed under glass on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., allowing thousands of visitors to experience one of America’s most significant automobiles firsthand.

Recognized the World Over

In 2024, the automobile received First Place at the Concours of Elegance at Hampton Court Palace in England and was showcased beneath the famed rotunda of the Royal Automobile Club in London, where it stood among some of the world’s finest historic automobiles. More recently, the Cord completed a six-month featured installation at The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation as part of its National Historic Vehicle Register exhibition, introducing Earhart’s story to hundreds of thousands of museum visitors.

The Cord was on display through July 19, 2026—at the Studebaker National Museum in downtown South Bend, Indiana—as part of the museum’s lauded “Five Driven Women” exhibit, which coincided with the 2026 Concours d’Elegance at Coshaholm.

On Aug. 4, the Cord will be included in a new National Historic Vehicle Register exhibit at the Savoy Automobile Museum in Cartersville, Georgia. 

“Sometimes history arrives on four wheels,” said Smith Jr., who featured the Cord in the Season 1 finale of his popular automotive series, The Journey. “Automobiles have the power to inspire and excite people, and they can also tell important stories about the people who owned them. Amelia Earhart’s Cord reminds us that history isn’t just confined to textbooks or museums, sometimes—if you look close enough—you can see history driving right down the road. Every award this car receives, everywhere it goes, every exhibition it joins, and every person who pauses to admire it creates another opportunity to celebrate Amelia’s unique and extraordinary story.”

Nearly nine decades after Earhart’s disappearance, her accomplishments continue to inspire people around the world. As the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean and one of the most influential pioneers in aviation history, she helped redefine what women could accomplish in science, exploration, business, and public life. Her legacy continues to encourage new generations to pursue ambitious goals, challenge convention, and venture beyond perceived limitations.

The Cord—which stands not simply as an automotive masterpiece, but as a rolling tribute to a woman whose courage changed history—is featured in Season 1, Episode 6 of The Journey, The JBS Collection’s documentary series exploring the remarkable stories behind historically significant automobiles. 

The episode chronicles the extraordinary effort to reunite, authenticate, and restore Earhart’s beloved Cord while examining why its preservation remains so important today.