display, long-timer owner Karl Heinz Keller's 1938 Mercedes-Benz 540K (page 13) special roadster served up an impressive presence.

For French quirkiness, Pascal Giai's stunning 1967 Citroen DS 21 Pallas sedan (page 35) was a welcome addition to the show field.

And in a very strong field of Italian exotics, two cars were standouts. First was Peter McCoy's 1958 Ferrari 250PF Cabriolet Series 1 (page 28) while the judges were equally wowed by Perry and Judith Mansfield's 1972 Lamborghini Jarrama dual sunroof Bertone coupe (page 39).

Our favorite? It had to be the 1937 Hispano K-6 station wagon (page 11) owned by Peter and Merle Mullen, a design that combined European flair with American-style woody coach work.

Making the transition from Europe to America was Carl Schneider's one-off 1952 Packard coupe (page 17). With coach work first sketched by Pininfarina in 1949, this car bore more than a passing resemblance to its British contemporary, the Bentley Continental coupe.

And for aficionados of classic American muscle two Corvettes stood out in a strong field dominated by 1963-1967 Sting Rays. First was Gary Hiltunen's absolutely perfect first-year 1953 Corvette roadster. Among the Sting Rays, Mike Vietro's 1963 Corvette race car (page 31) had a starring role, along with Elvis Presley and Ann-Margaret, in 1964's Viva Las Vegas. Among the representative selection of muscle cars, the top class honors went to Larry Boord's compact-sized (for the US) 327-powered 1966 Chevrolet Nova L79 sport coupe (page 34).

But the real treat for American-car lovers was Herm Rosenman's 1965 Dodge Coronet 990 WO-51 (page 33). This fully documented, light-weight drag car was first purchased from the legendary Mopar dealership in Chicago, Illinois, Grand Spaulding Dodge.

The car that we would have wanted to drive home from the event was the 1939 Alfa Romeo 6C aero coupe (page 14) brought to the event by San Francisco's Academy of Art University. Another Alfa Romeo, Charles Dunn's 1951 Alfa Romeo 1900 Fangio coupe (page 16), was awarded the Spirit of Motoring trophy by event emcee Keith Martin, editor of the magazine Sports Car Market.

Coming down to the top three trophies, the Reserve Award for third place went to Doug Skeen's 1934 Packard seven-passenger convertible (page 9). Best of Show among the prewar entrants went to Paul Emple's 1937 Bugatti Type 57 cabriolet (pages one and 10) with coachwork by Paul Nee.

And the day's final trophy, Best of Show, postwar, went to Russell and Elena Hook's 1954 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing (pages two and 22). Called Strawberry by emcee Martin, its award was well received by the large crowd who registered its acceptance with sustained applause to end what was a perfect day on the shores of the Pacific Ocean.

For information on next year's event, visit the La Jolla Concours website. For additional photos of this year's Concours d'Elegance, visit the Automotive Traveler/ Fotki website. AT