Imagine this scenario: you have a rare Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ and you usually keep it in a basement where you transport it by elevator. One day, this elevator breaks down. What are you doing? Do you have it repaired or do you leave the car in the basement for 35 years?
The answer may seem obvious but apparently the former owner of the 1962 Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ we were talking to you about today had a different opinion. Discovered last November in Turin, the car belonged to a mechanic who, after seeing the elevator break down, never took the car out of the basement.
Now, after 35 years away from everyone's eyes, the Alfa Romeo has been rescued, having been sold at an Italian state auction on January 31 for €567,000 . According to Italian Facebook group Alfa Romeo Giulia & 105-series, the car was auctioned off by the state because the former owner died without leaving a will.
The history of the Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ
With only 217 units produced, it is no wonder that this specimen in good condition and without ever having been restored, was sold for 567,000 euros. With its origins going back to 1956, the history of the Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Zagato (yes, that's where the SZ comes from) is, to say the least, curious.
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The Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ raced at Le Mans, Targa Florio and Nürburgring.
The Italian sports car owes its origins to an Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Veloce that was damaged and recovered by Zagato in 1956, which was renamed the Giulietta Sprint Veloce Zagato and from which 16 units were born.
Given the success that the cars created by Zagato were experiencing on the tracks, Alfa Romeo decided it was time to put the model into regular production.
Thus, in 1960, the Giulietta Sprint Zagato was made known at the Geneva Motor Show. Weighing just 785 kg and with 100 hp extracted from a 1.3 l engine, the little Italian was capable of reaching 200 km/h.
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