Lot Ended
Description
1955 Alfa Romeo 1900 Berlina
Complete car for
straightforward restoration; rust-free shell; factory RHD; exciting winter
project with lots of potential
From 1910 to 1939 Alfa Romeo was famous for making
expensive and semi-bespoke racing cars and luxury tourers. During World War Two
the factory in Milan was devastated by Allied bombing and when production
resumed in 1947, company boss Vittorio Jano decided to take the marque in a
completely new direction, installing a modern production line suitable for
producing sports cars in large volumes using new unitary construction
techniques.
The first fruit of this new strategy was the Alfa Romeo
1900 Berlina, a sporting saloon designed by Orazio Satta and launched at the
1950 Paris Motor Show. Billed as "The family car that wins races" (alluding to
the car’s success in the Targa Florio, Stella Alpina and other prestigious
events), it was powered by a new 1,884cc four-cylinder twin cam engine producing
90bhp. Mated to a column-change four-speed manual gearbox, this gave the car a
top speed of 95mph with equally potent Alfin drum brakes and sophisticated
independent front suspension (double wishbones, coil springs and hydraulic
telescopic shock absorbers) with an exceptionally well-located live rear
axle.
A higher performance twin carb version soon followed, the
TI Super Berlina, along with a raft of special bodied coupe and cabriolet
versions by coachbuilders like Touring, Zagato, Farina, Ghia, Vignale and Boano,
the unibody chassis having been specifically designed to accommodate such
bespoke tailoring – a typical Alfa touch which not only protected the
livelihoods of the traditional carozzeria but also widened the
appeal of the 1900 platform and put it high on the wish-list
of the well-heeled motoring elite. Today these special bodied 1900 coupes
and cabriolets routinely fetch £200k+ at auction which makes the mechanically
identical Berlina look like a steal by comparison.
This 1900 Berlina is an original factory RHD example that
dates from 1955 (all Alfas were RHD prior to 1950, the 1900 being the first
model to be made available in LHD). Nothing is known of the history of the car,
but we are reliably informed that it was imported from New Zealand about 20
years ago, our vendor acquiring it in a dismantled state about five years ago
from a gentleman in Birmingham.
A retired motor engineer, the vendor was planning to
restore the car and has already replaced the floor pans and repaired the bottoms
of the doors, these being the only areas of the bodywork that required attention
– the rest of the structure proving remarkably rust-free. He has also stripped
the engine down and reports that it appears to be in good shape with minimal
signs of wear to the bores.
He believes that the car is largely complete, the only
parts he knows to be missing being the dash instruments and the centre section
of the front grille. However, it is entirely possible that other minor items may
also prove to be missing when the process of reassembly gets underway, so it is
being sold here strictly on a ‘what you see is what you get’ basis.
We
have photographed all the parts that come with the car (as shown on the website)
but potential bidders are welcome to come and inspect them in person prior to
the auction. The rolling chassis is already on site at Brightwells but the parts
are being stored separately at the vendor’s workshop about 15 miles away and
will need to be collected from there once the car is sold.
There are no
documents with the car but its identity has already been verified by a marque
expert from the owner's club, the chassis and engine numbers are correct and
clearly visible, so getting a V5C should be straightforward using the usual
channels.
Only reluctantly for sale because the vendor has too many
other projects on the go and not enough room to work on them all, this rare and
sporting Alfa is rock solid structurally and should keep someone gainfully
amused as they piece it back together over the coming months. Pull your finger
out and it could be back on the road for the summer…
Documents: There
are no documents with this vehicle
For more information contact James
on 07970 309907 or email [email protected]
* All charges are subject to VAT