Tag Archives: alfa romeo

Extralusso 6C

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1947 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Sport Cabriolet by Stabilimenti Farina

Offered by Bonhams | Paris, France | June 30, 2019

Photo – Bonhams

We’ve featured a pair of other Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Sport Cabriolets – each of them different. Here is another one, with styling penned by Giovanni Michelotti while working his first gig at Stabilimenti Farina, which was founded by the brother of Pinin Farina. The body is described as “Extralusso,” which means “extra luxury.” So I guess it’s pretty nice inside.

The 6C dated to 1927, and the 2500 version of the car went on sale in 1938. It would go on hiatus during the war, and return for a brief period until 1952. This post-war example is powered by the same pre-war 2.5-liter inline-six that produced 90 horsepower in post-war Sport trim.

It is thought that only a handful of these cars were bodied by Farina, but all of them had slight differences. Only two are known to remain. It’s an attractive car in nice colors and should command between $280,000-$340,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

4C Artigianale

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2018 Alfa Romeo 4C Mole Costruzione Artigianale 001

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Villa Erba, Italy | May 25, 2019

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

There are few design firms out there willing to take what some consider to be an attractive sports car and try and improve upon it. As to the name of this car, it is kind of a mess – as is the company that built it. Their website has quite a few different names on it. They call themselves Mole Automobiles, Umberto Palermo Design, and Mole Costruzione Arttigianale 001… which sounds more like the name of a model of car than a brand.

But sure enough, that moniker is given to a range of cars on their website. This design is a one-off based on a 40k-kilometer 2018 Alfa Romeo 4C coupe, which was actually the final year for the hardtop version of the car. It is still powered by the same turbocharged 1.8-liter inline-four mounted behind the driver, but the styling has been altered to give the car a much more aggressive look.

I like it. The interior has been upgraded too. It was shown at the 2019 Geneva International Motor Show and now can head home to your garage. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $186,434.

8C 2900B Touring Berlinetta

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1939 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Touring Berlinetta

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 8, 2019

Photo – Artcurial

Now here is something special. First, a quick recap of the Alfa 8C: it was introduced in 1931 in 2300 guise. 1933 brought the 2600, followed by the 2900 in 1935. There were also race cars sprinkled in there for good measure. The 2900B started production in 1937 and these were as grand as cars got before WWII. There are only 32 examples of the 2900B, and we featured the drop-top version of this car back in 2016.

Two wheelbases of the 2900B were offered: Corto (short) and Lungo (long). I believe this is a long-wheelbase car, but the auction catalog is frustratingly unclear on that point. Only five Berlinetta versions were built by Touring, and this is number two.

The engine is a supercharged 2.9-liter straight-eight making 180 horsepower. They were sporty in their day. No one is sure who owned the car first, but it was exported to the UK in 1939 and was purchased by the current owner in 1976. It has never been restored. The Lungo Spider sold for just under $20 million… the estimate on this car is $18,000,000-$25,000,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $18,997,883.

The Gullwing Alfa Romeo

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1976 Alfa Romeo Giulia 2000 GT Veloce Gullwing Coupe

Offered by Aguttes | Lyon, France | November 10, 2018

Photo – Aguttes

The original 4-door Alfa Romeo Giulia went on sale in 1962 and spawned the Series 105/115 Coupes that followed in 1963. There were quite a few variants of the 2-door Giulia. This car began life as a 2000 GT Veloce, a model offered between 1971 and 1976.

Such cars were powered by a 2.0-liter Twin Cam straight-four that made 130 horsepower. They’re great-looking cars, as were most Alfa 2-doors from this era. One thing they didn’t offer from the factory though: gullwing doors.

Some enterprising German decided to build such a car, because, why not? After all, Mercedes-Benz did it 20 years before, so how hard could it be? The car was fully restored and finished in brown. The new doors look seamless – as if this was how the car was born. It’s funky. We love it. It’s a unique one-off creation that is expected to bring between $55,000-$90,000 at auction. Click here for more from Aguttes.

Update: Sold $121,467.

Alfa 155 GTA Stradale

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1993 Alfa Romeo 155 GTA Stradale Prototype

Offered by Bonhams | Padua, Italy | October 27, 2018

Photo – Bonhams

The Alfa Romeo 155 was Alfa’s “compact executive car” built between 1992 and 1998. In some trims, this was a downright good-looking car (and still is). They used it in DTM and various touring car series throughout Europe. After some victory in ’92, Alfa decided to build a road-going series of 155 GTA Stradale cars like Mercedes and BMW had been doing for years.

Built by Abarth, the cars were to use a turbocharged 2.0-liter straight-four capable of 190 horsepower. It’s got 4-wheel-drive and an aero kit was added to make it appear boxier and more DTM-like. Company executives wanted a V6, and then they realized how expensive it would be to actually produce a run of these things…

So the project went nowhere. And this was the only example produced. First road-registered in Germany in the late 1990s, the car has accumulated 40k kilometers through a handful of owners. It’s pretty awesome and will cost a serious enthusiast between $210,000-$250,000 to purchase. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Bonhams’ Padua lineup.

Update: Withdrawn from sale.

August 2018 Auction Highlights, Pt. I

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Before we get to August, we have another one from July: Silverstone Auctions’ Silverstone Classic Sale. The top sale was this 1958 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster for $1,127,595.

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

The TVR Sagaris failed to sell, but the Rinspeed R69 sold for $73,699 and a previously-featured Lola F1 street car brought $69,277. More results can be found here.

First up in August is Mecum’s Harrisburg sale and, big shocker, a 2006 Ford GT was the top sale. It went for $302,500. A previously-featured Continental Mk II failed to find a new home at this sale as well. Full results can be found here.

Photo – Mecum

And now we’re into Monterey… starting with Bonhams. The Mayfair 540K brought $3,277,500 but was eclipsed for top sale honors by this 1948 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Competitzione that went for $3,525,000.

Photo – Bonhams

The Talbot-Lago Coupe de Ville brought $962,000 and the Delahaye failed to sell. Other no-sales included the Simplex Crane and the 1913 Mercedes Phaeton. The 1934 BMW Roadster sold for $134,400 and the wonderful Fina Sport sold for $775,000. Click here for more results.

We’ll cover Gooding & Company next. The amazing SSJ Duesenberg sold for $22,000,000 – the most expensive American car ever to trade hands at auction and easily the top seller at this sale. Other big-ticket items included the Porsche RS Spyder at $4,510,000 and the 1966 911 Spyder for $1,430,000. Most Interesting goes to this 1972 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona NART Spider by Michelotti that sold for $572,000.

Photo – Gooding & Company

A previously-featured Maserati sold again here for $797,500. The Gulf-Mirage GR8 and the Derham Duesenberg failed to sell. Click here for complete results.

And finally, for now, RM Sotheby’s in Monterey. The Le Mans podium-finishing GT40 brought an impressive $9,795,000 – but that was far, far from the biggest sale of the day. Even the $21,455,000 Aston Martin DP215 didn’t come close. No, the honor goes to the much-hyped Ferrari 250 GTO that managed $48,405,000. That cleared the last 250 GTO to change hands by a cool $10 million.

We’ll give Most Interesting to this two-tone 1939 Lagonda V-12 Drophead Coupe that brought $307,500.

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The Plymouth Asimmetrica sold for $335,000, but the Fiat-Patriarca, Isotta-Fraschini Boattail, Ferrari 250 MM, and Ferrari 375 America all failed to sell. Click here for the rest of the results.

April 2018 Auction Highlights

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We’re kicking off April with a sale from Artcurial. The top sale was this 1939 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS Spider for $337,628.

Photo – Artcurial

The Citroen DS 21 Cabriolet we featured sold for $156,745 and the Bristol brought $38,167. Click here for complete results.

Next up, Brightwells Bicester Classic & Vintage sale. The De Dion-Bouton and Scripps-Booth both failed to sell, but the ultra-rare Palladium Sports brought $13,342. The overall top seller was $113,242 for this 1933 Alvis Speed 20 SA Vanden Plas Sports Tourer. Click here for everything else.

Photo – Brightwells

Onward to Barrett-Jackson in Palm Beach. Both of our feature cars sold: the Kaiser Club Sedan brought $44,000 and the DeSoto Fireflite sold for $225,500. The top sale was this 2012 Lexus LFA Nurburgring Edition for $770,000. With a price like that, expect to see more of these at auctions soon. More results can be found here.

Photo – Barrett-Jackson

Now we have Osenat and a small selection of modern cars. We didn’t feature anything, but this $177,745 2012 Ferrari FF was the top seller. See everything else here.

Photo – Osenat

And finally, H&H Classics’ Pavilion Gardens sale. We didn’t feature anything here either but this 1960 Daimler SP250 Dart topped the charts at $60,282. Click here for other results.

Photo – H&H Classics

Alfa 6C 2500 Speciale

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1942 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Cabriolet Speciale by Pinin Farina

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 9, 2018

Photo – Artcurial

The 6C was a long-lasting Alfa Romeo model, having been built in a variety of different series between 1927 and 1954. What we have here is a 6C 2500, which were built between 1938 and 1952. It was the ultimate 6C model as the 6C 3000 never really went beyond the prototype stage.

This 6C 2500, which is powered by a 2.4-liter straight-six making 90 horsepower, was delivered as a bare chassis to Pinin Farina in 1942 (along with 13 other chassis). The first owner, a wealthy Milanese woman, had Pinin Farina body it for the first time in 1946. The body was an instant hit, winning awards at car shows upon introduction.

It had a slew of American owners later on before being faithfully restored between 2008 and 2013. This is an extremely stylish car wearing a unique, one-off body that was way ahead of its time (for comparison, here is what the standard Pinin Farina Cabriolet looked like from this same era). As a rolling piece of art, this car is expected to bring between $1,225,000-$1,600,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Artcurial.

Update: Not sold.

Alfa 1900C SS Speciale

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1955 Alfa Romeo 1900C SS Speciale by Boano

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Phoenix, Arizona | January 18-19, 2018

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The Alfa Romeo 1900 was Alfa’s executive car introduced at the 1950 Paris Motor Show. Produced through 1959, it could be had as a four-door sedan, two-door coupe, or two-door convertible. This is not the standard coupe.

There were a few sub-models of the 1900, including the 1900 Super, 1900TI, and the 1900C – which was the short wheelbase version. This SS version is powered by a 115 horsepower, 2.0-liter straight-four.

Quite a few of these were coachbuilt specials and many of those were one-offs, including this Turin Motor Show car by Mario Boano. Sold after that show to a Milanese buyer, it remained in Italy for quite some time, finally finding a foreign owner in 2013. The restoration you see here wasn’t complete until 2017 – and it has been restored back to as it was on the Turin Motor Show stand.

The styling on this car is very Jet Age, carrying bodywork that fit right in with other coachbuilt specials from the era. When it crosses the block in January, it is expected to bring between $1,250,000-$1,750,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $1,270,000.

The Oldest Alfa Romeo

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1921 Alfa Romeo G1

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Phoenix, Arizona | January 18-19, 2018

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Alfa Romeo traces its roots back to the Italian Darracq company that was founded in 1906. That company became Societa Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili, or A.L.F.A., in 1910. During the First World War, Nicola Romeo became the director of A.L.F.A. and after the war he changed the name of the company to Alfa Romeo.

The new company’s first model was designed by longtime Alfa designer Giuseppe Merosi. Introduced in 1921, the G1 as it was called, was built in limited numbers through 1923 before being replaced by the more popular RL. It should also be noted that there were a few A.L.F.A.-branded G1s that made it out of the factory before the branding switched.

The G1 is powered by a 6.3-liter straight-six making 70 horsepower, quite a decent amount for its day. This car sports a racer’s body, having been most recently restored in 2000. It’s early years were spent on a farm in Australia before being rescued in the 1960s and it’s remained in the collection of New Zealand’s Alfa importer for some time.

Only 52 examples of the G1 were ever built and this is the only one known to exist, making it the oldest Alfa Romeo-branded automobile in the world. It should bring more than a million dollars when it goes under the hammer in January. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $445,000.