Giulietta (Type 750) 1959 - 1965

Extract from Car and Classic 2019

“This absolutely magnificent 1958 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider isn’t so much a car as it is an art piece. We’re massive advocates of getting out there and driving your old car, here at Car & Classic. However, while we would be more than keen to drive this Alfa, we could also happily pull up a chair and just look at it. The design is so delicate, the lines perfect and the overall look of the thing is just utterly beguiling. It makes your heart flutter like your first schoolyard crush.

Of course, this being a 1950s Alfa, it would be beautiful if it was rough. This one isn’t though, in fact, it’s been rumoured by some magazines that this particular car could well be the best *clears throat* in the world. Clarksonisms aside, it really could be. The pictures show a flawless machine, one that appears to be showroom fresh despite its years.

Built for export to America, Alfa Romeo Automobilisimo Storico report that Chassis Number AR 1495 04289 was manufactured on 11^th July 1958 and sold on 1^st August 1958 to the famous  Max Hoffman Motor Car Company of New York. The little Alfa found its way back onto UK soil in the late ‘90s via Bob West of MG fame. The first UK owner was none other than Architect Jim Marland. Yes, the same Jim Marland of Proteus Cars.  He founded Proteus in 1980 in Little Lever, near Bolton, England.  Originally named “Copycats”, the company was renamed Proteus in 1983and his replica and upgraded Jaguar C types were and still are highly sought after. Jim lavished a no-expense, no detail spared restoration on the Alfa, bringing it to concourse standard in just 18 months.

On the car’s first post-restoration outing in 2000, it won the overall Concourse award at the national Alfa Romeo Day. Impressive stuff, but as you can see from the pictures, it’s hardly a surprise. This car has been rebuilt with no nut left un-turned. It is automotive perfection, and we’re not the only ones to think so. Once the car was completed, another Alfa Romeo enthusiast managed to secure the car and from there, the Giulietta was maintained in the same standard to which it had become accustomed. As such, it went on to win more awards seemingly at every event it travelled to.

This particular car has an interesting and somewhat emotional history. The owner after Jim Marland, a chap by the name of Tony Ranson, adored the car. However, he was presented with the opportunity to buy another rare Alfa, so the Giulietta had to go and was sold to Gareth Jones. In the end, Tony got his other Alfa, but passed away after a few years of ownership. After his passing, Tony’s wife, Elene, bought this car back to keep as a cherished memory, opting in February 2014 to sell it so someone else may better enjoy it, and as a result was purchased by Chris Robinson.

This car is truly special, but one could say that of any Alfa. They’d be right, too, as all classic Alfas are capable of charming our socks off. However, this one is on another level. It’s led a life through which it has been cherished beyond what even the most exclusive of cars are accustomed to. Now it’s not only a shining beacon of the good work of previous custodians, it’s also one of, if not the finest 1958 Giulietta on the planet.”

to Julian Richer of Richer Sounds fame