1964 Alfa Romeo Giulia 1600 Spider Veloce
Coachwork by Pininfarina
Chassis no. AR1390059

Sporting elegant coachwork designed and built by Pininfarina, the 1.3-litre Giulietta Spider was a huge success and continued virtually unchanged in 1.6-litre Giulia guise when the latter joined the Alfa line-up in 1962. Launched at the Monza Autodrome on 27th June that year, the Giulia was the work of a design team headed by one of the greatest of Italian automobile engineers, Dr Orazio Satta Puliga, who had been responsible for all the post-war Alfa Romeos. A bonnet air scoop, necessary to clear the larger engine's taller block, readily identified the new model. The capacity increase boosted maximum power of Alfa's classic twin-cam four from 80 to 92bhp and the car's top speed to 109mph. Reliability was likewise enhanced and the larger engine was noticeably smoother and less fussy. A five-speed gearbox was standard on the Giulia 1600 Spider, which remained in production until replaced by the Duetto in 1966. Towards the end of production, in 1964, the up-rated Spider Veloce was introduced, which came with the Sprint Speciale's 129bhp engine installed, making it the fastest of the mainstream production Giulias.

This restored Giulia Spider Veloce comes with a copy of an Automobile Club d'Italia Foglio Complementare showing that at some time during the 1970s (the date stamps are indistinct) it was registered in Savona to one Italo Faverio, a resident of Celle Ligure. Also on file is a letter (dated February 2015) from Maurizio Minuto, stating that he purchased the Giulia in 1982 (at which time he was an authorised Alfa Romeo dealer) and had used it very sparingly. The Alfa had a total of 8,284 kilometres on the odometer when acquired, which by February 2015 had risen to 22,125.

The car was registered in the UK (as 'PTU 329B') when it was purchased by the current vendor at Bonhams' sale at the Goodwood Revival meeting in September 2017 (Lot 257). Since then the owner has spent €48,471 to bring the Spider up to standard, which included work on the following: fuel system and carburettors; suspension; gearchange linkages; gearbox service and clutch; tyres; and various cosmetic and other improvements including new seat bases and cleaning and preparation of the chassis. Most of the aforementioned works were carried out by Garage des Moneghetti of Beausoleil, France and all the relevant invoices are on file (inspection recommended).

Described by Cars Illustrated as 'probably one of the most delightful small sports cars which will ever be produced,' the Giulia Spider is certainly one of the most attractive Alfa Romeos of its day and remains highly regarded now, especially in its ultimate Veloce specification, as seen here.