1953 | Alfa Romeo 1900 C Sprint

1953 ALFA ROMEO 1900 C SPRINT TOURING

• Participant in the last 6 Mille Miglia’s

• Mille Miglia Eligible

• Elegant aluminum ‘Superleggera’ coachwork by Carrozzeria Touring Milan, Italy

• Exquisite recent restoration to original specification of Grigio Marina

• Alfa Romeo built approximately 650 1900C Sprint Coupe’s, of which around 420 were bodied by Carrozzeria Touring

• Of the 420 Touring bodied cars there were 270 Series 1, Type 1 cars and 150 Series 1, Type 2 cars

• One of six Right Hand Drive examples ever made

The Alfa Romeo story began in June 1910 when A.L.F.A. was founded in Milan, Italy.

In 1915 Nicola Romeo took over the company.

On February 3, 1918, with World War I slowly drawing to a close, the new company called Alfa Romeo was officially registered.

In the early 1920’s Alfa Romeo quickly made a name for itself in motor racing. Drivers like Antonio Ascari and Enzo Ferrari won several races driving various Alfa Romeo race cars.

In 1950, Alfa Romeo thought it was time to replace the glorious but now old pre-war 6C 2500 and to make a car keeping up with new technologies that now were proposing the body integrated into the chassis: a car, so to speak, modern.

The Alfa Romeo 1900 was built between 1950 and 1959 and was the first entirely new post-war project of the company and the first Alfa Romeo with left-hand drive.

The car was offered as a two door and a four door model and was one of the very first automobiles in the world to adopt radial tires.

The heart, as in every Alfa Romeo, was the engine. It was powered by a new 1,884cc 4 cylinder twin cam engine.

Alfa Romeo contracted Carrozzeria Touring to build a sports coupe version of the 1900 known as the 1900C Sprint and later 1900CS Sprint.

Pinin Farina also built a coupe and cabriolet version of the 1900C.

The 1900 remained in production through until 1959 and it was a great success for Alfa Romeo with 21,304 cars built.

The sporting variants were built in very limited numbers. Alfa Romeo built approximately 650 1900C Sprint Coupe’s, of which around 420 were bodied by Carrozzeria Touring and 188 were bodied by Pinin Farina.

Of the 420 Touring bodied cars there were 270 Series 1, Type 1 cars and 150 Series 1, Type 2 cars.

The Touring bodied 1900CS Sprint were built in greater numbers with around 1,060 examples built.

The Touring bodied cars were all ‘Superleggera’ construction with hand crafted aluminium panels wrapped around a tubular steel frame.

ABOUT THIS SPECIFIC EXAMPLE

This stunning First-series, right-hand drive Alfa 1900 C (C for Corto) Sprint Series 1 Type 1 by Carrozzeria Touring), is one of 270 examples ever built and one of just six Right Hand Drive examples ever built, making this an exceptionally rare 1900.

The documentation on file from Centro Documentazione Alfa Romeo confirms this is a factory Right Hand Drive.

The Alfa Romeo is finished in an attractive and original Grigio Marina with a lovely Black leather interior and Borrani wired wheels.

This Alfa Romeo has been most of its life in Australia.

The first known Australian owner was Mr. Colin Hyams and later Mr. Terry Valmorbida, who is a prolific collector of Italian cars.

On the 18th. of September 1989 the car was purchased by Mr. Alf Barbagallo a former racing car driver in Perth, Western Australia and owner of Barbagallo Motors.

He later sold it to Mr. Don Mason in North Melbourne, Australia.

Mr. Mason sold the car in 1990 to its next owner Mr. Tony Coates in Northern Victoria. He owned the Alfa till 2015 and sold it to a Mr. Nick Pane.

Subsequently the car went back to Europe and was purchased by a Dutch gentleman and registered in the Netherlands in 2017.

The gentlemen who bought the Alfa in 2017 is still the owner of the car.
We know this gentlemen since many years and during the years he built an extremely impressive collection of cars.
If we think of his collection we can only conclude that he is very precise and keen on quality and reliability. He restores and maintains his cars without looking at expenses. Quality is more important then costs.
Therefore, we can say that this Alfa is very well maintained over the years.

Since 2019 the gentlemen used the Alfa on a regular basis and successfully participated in the 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 Mille Miglia.

In the history file there are a number of pictures showing the car competing at the Mille Miglia.

This rare Alfa Romeo 1900 C comes with FIVA Class Passport and the Mille Miglia Registro Certificate. The Mille Miglia Registro is the official Certifying Body that registers and certifies all cars that are eligible to enter the Mille Miglia.

CONDITION EXTERIOR

The paint retains a strong depth of colour and nice gloss finish.

The colour really suits the car and emphasises all of Touring’s sculptured lines and curves. The more you look at the car the more details you notice!

It all starts at the front, which features the ornate Alfa Romeo grille and air intakes which are encased by beautiful curved body lines.

The sinuous lines continue towards the rear of the car where the sweeping roof line flows down to the boot and the very elegant tail section.

The exterior of the car is very nice. The car has driven several Mille Miglia’s and received a beautiful patina.

All the glass and lenses on the car are in a very nice condition even as the paint and chrome / aluminium parts. Not in new condition but very nice.

CONDITION INTERIOR

The interior of the Alfa has benefit from a retrim in the Netherlands in 2021. Invoices are available on file.
Due to the careful use of the current owner the interior still is in a beautiful condition.
The seats are period correct re-trimmed and the headlining is in a wonderful condition.
Also the carpets are fully restored and still in a beautiful condition.
The dashboard has kept it’s original / since new appearance with a fantastic patina.
An extra rally tripmeter can be found on the dashboard but this meter can easily be taken out when requested.

DRIVING EXPERIENCE

The 1.9 litre engine sounds superb and has never ever failed to start during the last Mille Miglia’s.

Once the engine is running the car has a raspy exhaust note with that typical Alfa Romeo pedigree evident.

The engine sounds strong and idles nicely.

Out on the open road this Alfa Romeo is a fun car to drive. It is a very early fifties car and quite well ahead of its time in terms of the drive. The car feels solid and it is quite responsive.

The steering is direct and the car handles exactly the way you expect from an Alfa Romeo of this era. Needles to say the car also has a real presence on the road.

Please note, this vehicle is sold for a customer on commission base.

Disclaimer

The information provided on this website has been compiled by The Houtkamp Collection with the utmost care. The information contained within this advert is provided ‘as-is’, without warranties as to its accuracy whether expressed or implied and is intended for informational purposes only. The Houtkamp Collection is not liable for any errors or mistakes.