Matching Number 12h · The Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Veloce AR*1493E04249, engine no. 1315-30486 was delivered on March 19, 1957 and originally registered Roma 317412. Some months later it was sent to the Zagato works in Milan to be fitted with a lightweight body upgrading the car to SVZ. The car had competed in multiple motorsport events in Europe and the most prestigious of these was the class win and 6th overall at Targa Florio on May 24th 1959, with Dario Sepe and Colin Davis at wheel.

Thankfully this is backed up by authentic documentation from the Automobile Club d’Italia and marque expert Gino Giugno who has documented each car built in his books ‘Giulietta Sprint Veloce Zagato’.

Around 1960/61 the owner was apparently deputed to India on assignment from Alitalia. He brought the Alfa with him to Bombay, where she was registered BMF 7081.

The car was regularly raced in India on the popular race tracks of Barrackpore and Sholavaram. Subsequently the car was sold in Coimbatore.

At some point the original engine was sent to the UK, and replaced with that of a Fiat 125, and then around 1991 was sold without an engine. The plan was to restore the car, and moved around a few workshops in the interim without much success. Unfortunately no progress happened, and as the car moved it deteriorated further, with more parts going missing.

After visiting the inaugural 2008 Cartier concours d’elegance some executives from Zagato contacted the owner. By a quirk of fate, they passed on information leading to a seller in Italy offering the very same correct numbers matching engine! The seller had bought the engine from the UK in 2006, and in 2009 it was finally in same ownership as the car. It stayed in Italy for another 10 years before finally being reunited with the car in 2019.

Now this beauty is thankfully all set to be restored in as authentic a manner as possible, retaining and repairing all the original Zagato body panels. Such a historically significant car deserves nothing less than the best.

Any updates on the restoration?