I got an email from reader Joe about this car with some question marks. Anyone recognize this car” It’s a new one for me. Has some cues from Pininfarina.
Don’t hate me, but it looks a bit like the bastard child of a 330 GTC and an Austin America… Anyone recognize this?
Update 8/13/10: Sold and on its way to Milan.
Update 7/6/10: Spider did 2 tours of eBay with no takers. A purchase like this requires some serious non-coincidental provenance corroboration so I’m not surprised it didn’t sell. I think as I state at the end of the market review that this car needs to go through an auction that can authenticate it if the seller wants this kind of money.
Giulietta Spider 750D 1495*00007, 1315*40009. This Spider, one of the Pininfarina prototypes, is available now on eBay for $225,000. I have no real side by side comparison to make any comment on the value of this car but would say that the asking is in line with what I would ask if I had it.
Why? I think the Bertone Spiders (00002 and 00004) are probably million+ dollar cars these days. Pininfarina Spider 00001 (or is it 00003?), now residing at the Alfa museum and 00005 (I think), in the hands of the collector who also has the Bertone Sprint convertible and SVZ ‘Goccia’, both having the wrap around windscreen and side-curtain style windows are probably $300,000 – a million. Official numbering of the Spiders started in the mid-teens in Fusi and the cars between those mentioned above and 00016, the first production car, are likely similar to this car and close to the production models cars and hence not as valuable, maybe $100k to $500K depending on lots of stuff. I seem to recall having seen two or three other pre-production Spiders like this but can’t remember where. Early race history usually adds value but I can’t say for sure if it does for a car like this.
As an aside, there is a chance that Ghia made a Giulietta Spider prototype. Anyone know anything about this?
I guess what I am saying is that in my opinion, the more the prototypes diverge from the standard cars, the more they are worth and this car is fairly close to the production version. Condition is the kind of ‘nice original driver’ I prefer.
Mythical beast: one of the Pininfarina prototypes. ‘Points’ on the grill tusks are the only visual cue that you are seeing anything special here, beyond your usual 750D.
In the last Spider prototype post I looked at was 1495*00002. Alfa liked that car but found it a bit alienating for their more traditional customers so Bertone was sent back to the drawing board and this car, 1495*00004 emerged. There are definitely cues from 00002 that carried over, but there are also new elements. This design is attributed to Franco Scaglione.
This picture from google images. I have a picture of this car form Pebble Beach a few years back somewhere. It does share the look of the BAT cars but to me also seems to predict the Zagato treatments that Giulietta’s would see. Note lack of a top cross bar on the windshield assembly and the cut down angled side windows.
Giulietta 10591 prototype. This car is available right now out of Finland. It is said to have been made by Bertone but the styling cues seem to me to be a little later than 1959 though (1969?) I do see a Sprint under there if a squint just a bit. Anyone know the story here? Sellers story is below. Oh, and it’s 40K Euro’s.
Looks a bit like this modified car. Kind of approaches something sort of Opel or??
While off on a tangent (FIAT Record Monza/Abarth Zagato) I came across this car. From what I could find about it, mainly an Alfa Digest synopsis of a Dutch article I can’t seem to find, this car is the result of the unique vision of Luigi Colani and his lucky acquisition of one or possibly two Alfa Abarth 1000 prototypes that had been wrecked during testing. It is believed that at least three of the Abarth Alfa 1000′s were made and I will try and track down more about them later.
Colani’s designs are usually described as ‘organic’ and ‘visionary’, I would add ‘otherworldly’. This is the kind of car we were supposed to be driving in our Jet-age future. If you have some time to spend do some internet searching and check out some of the interesting stuff Colani has been doing, unexpected is a good word to describe his designs from furniture to cars and trucks.
From this years retromobile, the Colani-Alfa-Abarth on display for auction. I don’t think it sold.
This friendly looking chap is Spider 1495*00002, the first of two Giulietta Spider prototypes designed by Scaglione and built by Bertone. The top two pictures of it are from the mid 1970′s when it was in the Bobcor showroom that I found on google images, not sure who’s they are but would love to hear from the photographer.
It is said that Alfa deemed the design a little too futuristic for their clientele and Bertone went back to the drawing board and 1495*00004 emerged. Can you imagine if this car made regular production? I would have called it the Spider Speciale and fitted it with a Veloce kit. Alas what could have been…
Strong personality of Scaglione shows through and ques from cousins the BAT cars, Sportiva and SS can be seen. Also evident is front trim and headlight treatments destined for a home on the Duetto.
