Auction: Saturday 13th April 2024, 1:00pm at Unit6 Harbour Close, Cracknore Industrial Estate, Marchwood, Southampton
Viewing: Tuesday 2nd April 2024, 9:00am - 5:00pm to Saturday 13th April 2024, 9:00am - 1:00pm
Although any Alfa Romeo 105 Series Coupe is a wonderful thing, in the mind of the true enthusiast, the 1750 GTV is the most desirable of them all. Introduced in 1967, not only did it have the best engine, the fantastically zingy and rev-hungry 1,779cc twin cam, it also had the best interior with supportive deep-ribbed seats and a wood-veneered central dash pod with additional instruments and switches.
Putting 122bhp and 137lb/ft at the driver’s disposal, it could sprint to 60mph in 9.2 seconds with a top speed of 116mph. The finest affordable sportscar of its era, it was in a different league to anything that the British motor industry could pit against it. No wonder that 44,269 were sold before it was replaced by the slightly less eager 2000 GTV in 1971.
This 1970 Alfa Romeo 1750 GTV is in very good, original condition and is presented in red with a black interior. The car spent the first 52 years of its life with its original owner in Johannesburg in South Africa, and was used for about 20 years before being put into storage. The owner could not bear to sell his beloved Alfa and was hoping to get it back onto the road at some point, so he ended up keeping the car in storage for about 30 years, despite numerous attempts to buy it from him by a South African Alfa enthusiast and associate of the vendor. Eventually the owner was no longer able to keep the car due his advancing years, so he agreed to sell it in 2022.
The last photo is before Paintwork which shows previous condition
The car was then sent to the well-known Alfa Romeo specialist Gilberto of GT Motors in Johannesburg where it received an engine rebuild and was given a mechanical overhaul in order to get it back into a roadworthy condition. It was then imported into the U.K by the vendor and arrived in January 2023 when all import duties were paid and the car was U.K registered.
Once in the U.K, the car was kept inside during the winter and used on a few dry summer days. The vendor has continued to work on and improve the car, refurbishing the wheels and fitting 4 new tyres, fitting a new exhaust system, replacing some small bits of trim, and doing numerous other small jobs and bits of fettling (as required to keep any classic car going). A small bit of welding was required in the spare wheel well due to some cracking which was likely caused by the spare wheel not being strapped down properly rather than because of rust.
The car is described as being in very good, original condition, with the most important aspect of its condition being that it appears to be rust free, which is very rare for a 1970's Alfa. The dry, inland climate of Johannesburg has been very kind to the car over the years, and being in storage for about 30 years has meant that the car has been kept very original. As with most South African cars, unfortunately there isn't much paperwork with it as the paperwork from its time in South Africa was lost many years ago, and the vendor has completed most of the work himself whilst he has owned the car in the U.K. These cars are incredibly beautiful and are becoming very rare, and this is a very useable and original example. The last photo is before Paintwork was carried out, which shows previous condition and only reason for paint was a few areas of damage to the paint finish.