Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider, 1959
Alfa Romeo Giulietta I
Alfa Romeo Giulietta I•
•33 views
Chassis No.: 149504729
Auction: Indy 2024
Auction date: May 18, 2024
Lot No.: S174
$35,200 | Sold
- Odometer: 12,024 miles
- Engine: Inline 4-cylinder
- Transmission: Manual
- Exterior: Blue
- Interior: Black
- Body: Spider
- 1290cc Inline 4-cylinder engine
- 4-speed manual transmission
- Blue exterior
- Black convertible top
The unibody Alfa Romeo Giulietta Berlina four-door sedan of 1955 was fine-handling, fun to drive and helped put the company on a more secure financial footing, spearheading its renaissance in motor sport with the legendary Zagato racing lightweights. As well as a nimble driver’s chassis with coil and wishbone independent front suspension and a live rear on coils, another key ingredient was Alfa’s lightweight and high-revving, all-alloy, 1290cc, twin overhead-cam inline-4, which featured hemispherical combustion chambers.
An attractive coupe version penned by Bertone was already in production, but the even more glamorous Spider convertible might not have come into being had it not been for Max Hoffman, the maverick importer who persuaded Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Porsche to produce exotic open roadsters for American tastes. Hoffman perused some Pininfarina mock-ups in Milan and made recommendations including insisting on wind-down windows, and thus the Spider was born. It’s a testament to Hoffman’s vision that from 1955 to 1963 more than 17,000 Giulietta Spiders were built, with many finding their way to the U.S., where enthusiasts found the performance of the 1290cc unit a revelation.
With a 0-60 MPH time of 11-13.2 seconds and top speed approaching 100 MPH or exceeding it, depending on specification, it humbled the British rivals of similar capacity and challenged others with considerably larger engines; indeed, the Alfa was only marginally off the pace of the 6-cylinder 2639cc Austin-Healey 100/6. Its appointments were also a step up in sophistication, compared to the rustic British MGs, Austin-Healeys and Triumphs. This 1959 example in light blue with a black interior has the sensible addition of seat belts and rides on factory standard drilled steel wheels with Alfa-Romeo-badged center caps.
Its “Roma” plates and 1959 Italian road tax disc in the windshield pay homage to its country of birth. If there’s any question about how much the Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider delivered, it is perhaps worth noting that it attracted a devoted U.S. following despite costing considerably more than the Austin-Healey 100/6 with an engine of two more cylinders and twice the cubic capacity. Just as with the Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster, BMW 507 and Porsche 356 Speedster, Hoffman’s judgement was once again spot on with this Italian sophisticate that a gave a taste of La Dolce Vita.
https://www.mecum.com/lots/1115397/1959-alfa-romeo-giulietta-spider/
Cost
129,272 AED
