Last time we bought an Alfa GT, circa 1980, it cost $900. It was a hobby then.
Photos by Alessandro Gerelli
Since in these electronic pages we constantly discuss or present or otherwise dither about French and Italian classics, we should, from time to time, check to see what the price of our hobby actually is these days. As one reader pointed out, the price of most classics have escalated far beyond most people’s ability to purchase them. Witness above, the Alfa Giulia GTV which reached a bid of twenty three thousand dollars and yet remained unsold.
We sent Alessandro Gerelli to the RM Auction in London in search of a bargain but there weren’t any. Only the two wheel variety is still within reach. Below, the Italian and French cars are listed by prices from low to high, and included the 10 percent commission.
A Ferrari for only $6400, a self powered Colnago race bike.
Prices went skyward from there. $22,000 bought this 1954 500C Topolino.
Testa Rossas are still relative bargains though, this one sold for $50,000.
For a good Lancia Astura Limo, $58,000.
A museum piece like this 1900 Clement Panhard Type VCP sold for $68,000.
A 1902 Peugeot Type 54 found a buyer at $85,000.
Alfa 1900C Super Sprint was bid to $90,000 but remained unsold.
In this market, then, this Lancia B53 Michelotti/Alemano seemed a good deal at $105,000. it looked in original condition.
Ordered by Chinetti, planned at Zagato and hammered by Marazzi, this 330GTC Zagato went for $170,000.
Sketch made during planning stages accompanied the 330GTC Zagato.
A Mistral spider did better than the Ferrari Zagato, bringing home $200,000.
Back to the turn of the century, was this 1904 Societe Manufacturiere d’armes 24/30 HP landaulette which sold for $210,000 dollars.
1974 De Tomaso Pantera Group 4 Competition ready for historic racing sold for $265,000 dollars.
$275,000 was offered for this 1930 Isotta Fraschini 8V convertible sedan but not sold.
It will take a good $300,000 to bring home a 1947 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500SS cabriolet of the type that carried Rita Hayworth and Aly Khan away after their wedding.
Lambo Miura did not sell despite a high bid of $365,000.
1949 Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport sold for $490,000.
We are now half way toward a million dollars. And that will buy you a 166 Inter with pretty Farina body from the Schermerhorn collection.
Or add another 100k and you could have trailered home this ATS, one of the five assembled after the fact by Alf Francis.
Perfectly restored Fiat Otto Vu Ghia sold for $565,000.
Bugattis were always expensive, even when they could have been bought for $1500. But today this T57 Stelvio coupe fetched $730,000.
1929 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 GS sold for $865,000
Engine shot of the 6C 1750 Alfa.
Simply beautiful pedals, slippery when wet. Note center throttle location.
At RM, Monaco May 1st 2010: this wonderful Ferrari Superamerica chassis number 3309SA will be there waiting for bidders. We’ll get there by bike.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks Alessandro for this great photo summary for those of us who cannot attend such auction events without weeping.
I was surprised to see that the 6C 1750 Alfa fetched more than the Bugatti T57. This bodes badly for me. I clearly will never be able to afford more than a 1/18 size of any vintage Alfa during my lifetime.
Mary Ann
I would put those Alfa pedals on my wall.
You’re spot on with the Guilia GT veloce pricing. I bought one for £900 19 years ago to use as a daily driver as I had just restored my 1750 long tail spider and with long bow and stern was just too vulnerable to leave on the streets of London where I was living at the time. This was a mechanically superb low miler with slightly tatty bodywork, ideal for London and those weekends on the English seaside. Unfortunately it was backended by a Jaguar XJ6 one damp Saturday morning at Wandsworth bridge roundabout and written off by the insurance company. I tried to by it back to restore it but apparently it was sent to Japan. A great shame as it was a sweet car to drive with delicate balance and a good turn of speed, it had no problems in modern traffic. I still have the spider which I am ashamed to say still only has 50,000 miles on the clock but it just isn’t as practical as these pretty little coupes! It is almost impossible to find a veloce version here in the UK and if you do the price will be higher than the equivalent spider!
Mark Bennett-I just had my 74 GTV restored(bare metal) with 24 ooo original miles.It was the very last one imported into th US>
An Alfa collector offered me $35 000 at a recent vintage race event.,a good price ,but I turned him down, couldn t part with it.
Through the years I’ve owned perhaps more than my share of Alfas, most of which being common as can be and certainly not in the collectible class. I began with a ‘64 Spider, then a bit later a ‘74 GTV and currently a ‘90 Spider Graduate. I live in Texas with its long, hot summers and even though Alfa air conditioning is worthless, the number of top-down days are probably 275 a year. However, I’ve been dismayed to see the value of my current car drop drastically since I purchased it about a year ago. Quite puzzling when coupled with the revived interest in Alfa returning to the States via their interest in Chrysler.
gtv?????gta my friend and yes its worth the price.