It isn't often that I overlook a great classic, especially when it's a sports car and even moreso when it's an Alfa-Romeo. Perhaps it was the 90-degree heat at the 2nd Annual Desert Classic Concours d'Elegance in Palm Springs that caused me to miss seeing the 1961 Alfa Romeo SZ Coda-Trunka and that's a shame, for it was named Best of Show winner. Fortunately the judges, which included Ford design head Freeman Thomas, BMW's Jason Hill, and former GM designer Ron Hill, were more alert than this writer.

By the way, the Alfa SZ (Sprint Zagato) was named Coda-Trunka for a reason: in Italian it means "cut tail." The car's rarity, perfection of restoration, and beauty of design obviously impressed the judging committee, who must have had a difficult time choosing between the 200+ entrants. Back in BCs 50+ degree weather, I'm now a little more alert and will post more Palm Springs images in the days to come.