Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Speciale, 1961
Alfa Romeo Giulietta I
Alfa Romeo Giulietta I•
•46 views
Chassis No.: AR1012000379
Auction: Monterey 2015
Auction date: August 15, 2015
Lot No.: S15
$120,000 | High bid
- Exterior: Red
- Interior: Black/tan
- Body: Sprint Speciale
- No. 3 out of 742 produced in 1961
- Completed on January 20, 1961 and shipped to Hoffman Motor Car Company
- Car is believed to be the New York, Chicago and Los Angeles Motor Show Car for Alfa Romeo
- Exported to Japan in the late 1980s
- Returned to the United States in 2013
- Comprehensive restoration completed in 2015 by California Dream Machines
- Body stripped to bare metal
- Refreshed in correct Red
- Refurbished interior and trim
- Believed to be 49,810 miles
- 1.9/100 HP engine
- Dual Weber side-draft carburetors
At the 1957 Turin Motor Show, Italian coachbuilder Bertone presented a new design based on Alfa Romeo’s versatile and successful Giulietta platform, the Alfa Romeo Sprint Speciale. Arguably the most beautiful Giulietta variant, the Sprint Speciale was produced in limited numbers from 1959 to 1962. The SS, as it came to be known, boasted a 100 HP version of Alfa’s 1.3L engine using twin Weber twin choke side-draft carburetors, enabling a top speed of 125 MPH. The SS was fast and nimble enough that many owners drove them in competition and they are still popular in vintage rallying and racing today.
This 1961 Sprint Speciale was completed on January 20, 1961, the third of 742 built in 1961, and shipped by air to New York importer Max Hoffman. Because Alfa Romeo did not sell the car until November 3, 1961 to Hoffman Motor Car Company, more than eight months after having been completed, it is believed it was the New York, Chicago and Los Angeles Motor Show Car for Alfa Romeo. In the mid-1980s its owner at that time repainted the Alfa and installed a new interior. Soon afterward it was exported to Japan by a buyer there. In 2013 it returned to the United States with approximately 49,700 miles on the odometer.
Its new owner then commissioned a comprehensive restoration completed in 2015 by California Dream Machines in Lancaster, California, who stripped the body to bare metal and refinished it in the correct Red. They also refurbished the interior and trim, finishing the car to its present outstanding state. Upgraded with a 1.9 L /100 HP engine, this Alfa Romeo Sprint Speciale is a splendid example of the Bertone-Alfa collaboration.
https://www.mecum.com/lots/219893/1961-alfa-romeo-giulietta-sprint-speciale/
