LONDON.- This streamlined 1965 Alfa Romeo coupe which has been in the same family since 1969 and in storage for three decades, was sold for £66,700 by
H&H Classics at Duxford Imperial War Museum last week, (June 19th 2019).
Its pre-sale estimate had been £30,000 to £40,000. The sale achieved a sell rate of 71%.
This fabulously rare 1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint Speciale is believed to be one of only 25 that Ruddspeed were commissioned to convert to right-hand drive when new by Alfa Romeo UK. Contemporary import duty meant that a standard Giulia Sprint Speciale had a far higher showroom price than a Jaguar E-Type so the RHD versions were only for real enthusiast. This was a true sleeping beauty with a mere 42,000 miles on the clock.
Made even more collectable as it is a ‘matching numbers’ car it comes with its original leather interior. This charming car has recently emerged from long-term storage and appears to be totally original and unmodified. It was put into storage in 1987 due to bereavement and not a mechanical issue and has remained unused since.
Upon inspection it was found to have a coating of wax on the underside and in the boot floor which explains the apparent lack of corrosion to the underside or on the body. It has an excellent history file with tax discs from 1972 until 1987 and it still wears the dealer sticker from where it was purchased in 1969.
Roger Nowell of H&H Classics, comments: “This was a unique opportunity to obtain an original car that obviously will require an amount of recommissioning for a return to the road.”
Unveiled as a prototype at the 1957 Turin Salon, the Bertone-penned Giulietta Sprint Speciale entered production two years later. Homologated for competition after 101 'low nose' cars had been made, the Sprint Speciale boasted a drag coefficient of 0.28 and evolved through Tipo 101.20 and Tipo 101.21 guises. Introduced at the 1963 Geneva Salon, the latter utilised more modern Giulia mechanicals and thus boasted a 1.6 litre engine, five-speed manual gearbox and front disc brakes. Only 1,366 Giuletta SS and 1,400 Giulia SS cars were built.
As Giulietta is the diminutive for Giulia in Italian, the Giulia name was a wordplay hinting that the newer car was a grown-up version of the Giulietta. In spite of a Giulia SS prototype, Alfa Romeo decided to retain the Giulietta-shaped SS in production. The 1570cc engine made up to 200 km/h (120 mph) possible. Fed by twin Weber 40 DCOE2 carburettors and taken from the Giulia Sprint Veloce, it delivered 112 hp (84 kW) of power. Production ended in 1965, with a last single Sprint Speciale completed in 1966.
‘GARAGE FIND’ 1936 ASTON MARTIN MARK II 1.5 LITRE SPORTS SALOON – ONE OF 24 BUILT
This highly desirable 'garage find' Aston Martin Mark II 1.5 Litre Sports Saloon - which has been in storage since the early 1970s was sold for £69,000 by H&H Classics at their Duxford Imperial War Museum sale on June 19th. The car has been untouched for 50 years.
It was bought in 1953 by a brilliant self-taught electrical engineer, Philip Kenyon, who worked for radio companies on the development of the first Radar system during WW2 and spent time with the Radio Secret Service.
Often these cars were ‘chopped’ in the 70's and 80's to create open top tourers, as that was then the fashion. But this car has virtually had no modifications at all. Aston Martin fans see features in this car that they have never seen before. So this incredibly rare example of an iconic historical car, a piece of British automotive history, would add significant lustre to the most select classic car collection.
Supplied new on 31/1/36 by Watson & Co Ltd of Liverpool this car was originally finished in green with green upholstery. Much of the car's history is known and documented.
The Aston Martin has stayed with the Kenyon family since then, bequeathed to Ann Marks, and they were offering it for sale yesterday. Joan Kenyon, recalls travelling in the car with her father at the wheel all over the Lake District and into Wales, driven hard across mountain passes and thinking of that as nothing unusual. It was only when the cable on the handbrake went that the car was laid up for decades.
Nick Lumby of H&H Classics says: “This is a wonderful opportunity to restore a rare and charismatic pre-War Aston, one of just 24 of these historic cars built. When new the car was capable of an 80mph top speed from its 1.5 litre four-cylinder engine. Its predecessors in the years between the wars had established the marque’s reputation on the racetrack.”
Once restored this pre-war Aston Martin will surely reward its happy new owner with a superb driving experience as well as the opportunity to continue the preservation of an historically significant motorcar.
Introduced in 1934, the replacement Mark II model sported a new, stronger chassis and a revised engine incorporating a counter-balanced crankshaft and dry sump lubrication.
