1957 Alfa Romeo 1900 Super Sprint Coupe by Touring

1957 Alfa Romeo 1900 Super Sprint Coupe by Touring
High Bid $280,000
Monterey, California 2015
Chassis No.AR1900C 10473
Engine No.AR1308 10471
Body No.5011
One of fewer than 600 examples built
Original matching-numbers engine
A 2007 barnyard find; three-year ground-up restoration completed in 2014
Eligible for vintage tours and prominent concours d’elegance
Ultimate iteration of Touring’s 1900-based coupe
115 bhp, 1,975 cc DOHC inline four-cylinder engine with Weber carburetors, five-speed column-shift manual transmission, independent front suspension with double A-arms, coil springs, and hydraulic shock absorbers, live-axle rear suspension with trailing links, coil springs, and hydraulic shock absorbers, and four-wheel drum brakes. Wheelbase: 95 in.

In late 1955, Alfa Romeo updated its classic 1900 one last time, equipping the short-wheelbase 1900C platform with the hot 1,975-cubic centimeter motor from the outgoing TI and SS versions. Henceforth known as the Super Sprint, the latest 1900 variant still featured specialized examples of coachwork by Zagato and others, while Touring of Milan continued to build the factory-specified coupe bodywork.

Using their patented superleggera construction technique, Touring introduced a new version of their prior 1900 coachwork for the Super Sprint, accommodating the shorter chassis with one window per side rather than the outgoing coupe’s two-window configuration. The new Touring design was known as the Tipo 4, or three-window coupe, and it eliminated the prior car’s rear-fender bulges in favor of straight, streamlined haunches. Fewer than 600 examples of the Touring Tipo 4 Coupe were built through 1958. It was the foundation from which Pininfarina penned their famous Giulietta Spider design, essentially the forefather of the beloved Alfa that remained in production until the early 1990s.

According to the historic records of Alfa Romeo, the assembly of chassis number 10473 was completed on March 25, 1957, and it was equipped with engine number 10471, making this car a correct matching-numbers example. It was first retailed in June 1957 to Mocar of Lisbon, Portugal, and the 1900 was registered a month later with plates reading MT-26-72, which remarkably still adorn the car today. Later part of a large barnyard-find collection of cars that famously surfaced in Portugal in 2007, the Touring Coupe passed to Italian ownership in March 2011.

The new owner, a member of the Viterbo Historical Car Club and a fervent restoration enthusiast, set about a three-year nut-and-bolt refurbishment, which included a repaint that was color-matched to the original hue of the dashboard, Bleu Cobalto Scuro (Dark Cobalt Blue). All mechanical components were properly disassembled and rebuilt to factory standards with correct original or NOS parts. Every detail was addressed to the fullest degree allowed by the great tradition of Italian craftsmanship, with the Borrani wire wheels, for example, being restored by the Borrani Milano company itself. The Super Sprint was completed to concours standards in 2014 and certified by the Automotoclub Storico Italiano, the regional representative of FIVA and one of the Italian automotive niche’s most esteemed organizations.

This arresting Alfa Romeo is now ideally prepared for finer concours d’elegance or may be enjoyed on vintage tours, like the California Mille, Colorado Grand, and Copperstate 1000. Currently displaying approximately 900 kilometers since the ground-up restoration, this rare 1900 SS is available for the first time in the United States, and it would make a sensational addition to any post-war sports car collection or Alfa Romeo gathering.

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Robert Myrick Photography©