It only took delivery of a few Giulietta Sprints to their new owners in 1954 for word to spread that Alfa Romeo had built something exceptional. Alfa Romeo, caught by surprise, had to quickly figure out how to increase production to meet the demand that far exceeded its expectations. In 1955, it introduced a Pininfarina-bodied roadster called Spider, and, in 1956, a higher-performance model, Veloce. The list of performance modifications on the Veloce is lengthy and resulted in a more responsive, faster car. Higher compression, more aggressive cams, twin Weber carburetors replacing the single Solex, tubular headers, and a finned cast-aluminum […]
It only took delivery of a few Giulietta Sprints to their new owners in 1954 for word to spread that Alfa Romeo had built something exceptional. Alfa Romeo, caught by surprise, had to quickly figure out how to increase production to meet the demand that far exceeded its expectations. In 1955, it introduced a Pininfarina-bodied roadster called Spider, and, in 1956, a higher-performance model, Veloce.
The list of performance modifications on the Veloce is lengthy and resulted in a more responsive, faster car. Higher compression, more aggressive cams, twin Weber carburetors replacing the single Solex, tubular headers, and a finned cast-aluminum sump featuring a built-in oil cooler were standard on the Veloce model of Sprint and Spider.
One of only 835 Spider Veloces built in 1958, this car has benefited from a frame-up restoration. The owner reports that the entire tub was media-blasted, zinc-chromated and primer-etched, then finished in Alfa Romeo white. The engine was completely rebuilt in Italy using all-original Weber DCOE-3 carburetors, valued at $2,000. The car is also outfitted with its original Zagato air cleaner-a rare item-valued at $10,000. It has a set of original Borrani wheels with original decals. Other original components consist of original steering wheel with horn ring and horn button, and Alfa Romeo radio blanking plate.
The owner reports that this example was a rust-free Californian car showing no damage, found in Ventura in 1989 and fully restored this year. Fresh restoration included new carpets, rubber mats, paint, seats, windshield, tires, hubcaps and hardware, all done to the highest standards. This is an excellent example of a very important car that is sure to bring its next owner miles of pleasure and reliability.
{analysis} This car sold for $28,600 on August 16, 2002, at RM’s Monterey Sports Car auction.
Slowly but surely, Alfa prices have been climbing over the past three years. And unlike in the past, when Veloces and Normales would bring about the same money when they crossed the block, buyers have finally figured out that the Veloce is the one to have.
I remember when I first saw a Veloce engine, in 1968. At the time, the twin SUs of my MGA-and its crude cast-iron headers-were my idea of exotic. When I looked at the Alfa’s all-alloy engine, with its twin-overhead cams and dual Weber carburetors, I felt like I was looking at a Formula One car.
The ’60s and ’70s were the era when we turned our Solex-carbureted Normales into “Abnormales” or “almost-Veloces” by throwing on a pair of Webers, like replacing the Autolite two-barrel carb on a 260-c.i. Mustang with a Holley four-barrel and hoping for the best.
But a true Veloce is a completely re-engineered beast. From a different rear-axle ratio to thicker front brake shoes, the Veloce was a true café racer, designed to be revved to 8,000 rpm over and over again without complaint. In fact, the tachometer on the 1300-cc Veloce didn’t start until 2,000-after all, who would bother to run one below that level?
This car appears to be complete and correct, although I would take issue with the auction company’s description of the $10,000 Zagato air cleaner. If it means the air filter canister that bolts to the firewall, that’s a difficult but not impossible piece to find, and shouldn’t set you back more than $1,000. If it means the cold air box, I once had one made of magnesium that was stamped Zagato. If that’s a $10,000 piece, the fellow I gave it to as a gift for buying six Alfa gearboxes from me will be one happy customer when he reads this.
(As an aside, the Borrani stickers for the wheels are as far away as your nearest bicycle shop.)
Alfas have always been known for being far more sophisticated than nearly any other comparable sports car of their era. And yet, their values have lagged behind those of MGs, Triumphs and Austin-Healeys. Perhaps it’s because their installed base of fans is smaller, perhaps because their engines can be more difficult to tune, perhaps because Americans prefer tractor-sourced powerplants with lots of torque in their small-displacement sports cars.
In any event, it appears that Alfas are finally having their moment in the market sun. I would expect to see properly restored Veloces, both Spiders and Sprints, bringing $30,000 with some regularity during the next couple of years.
Alfas are much easier to restore now than they were in the late ’80s. Whereas today you can order up nearly every piece of rubber trim imaginable-from the trunk mat to the rubber around the windshield-from firms such as Matt Jones’ Re-Originals, back then we would buy entire cars just to get a set of original floormats.
Further, the amount of enthusiast knowledge concerning what goes into a proper restoration is much larger, and, with the Internet, much easier to access, than it was 15 years ago.
So, other than lack of funds, there’s no excuse for restoring a Giulietta improperly. If you don’t have the money to do one right, please just pass it on to someone who does. We certainly don’t need any more botched Spiders floating around out there.
This car should be considered fully priced at the current time, but it represents a curve that is moving upwards. So let’s call it both bought and sold well.-Keith Martin{/analysis}