A 1953 Alfa Romeo 1900C Sprint Supergioiello with both coachbuilt bodywork and a rallying history will be auctioned off by U.K.-based online auction site Car & Classic September 17.
The compact 1900 was Alfa's first postwar production model, launching in sedan form in 1950. It marked a pivot away from the exclusivity of prewar Alfas toward more affordable models that could help get Italians back on the road as the country rebuilt from World War II.
1953 Alfa Romeo 1900C Sprint Supergioiello (photo via Car & Classic)
The 1900C Sprint coupe followed the sedan in 1951, and Italian coachbuilders Pininfarina, Zagato, Touring, and Ghia reached designed their own bodywork for the two-door. The Supergioiello ("gioiello" means "jewel" in Italian) was Ghia's design.
Ghia produced bodywork for 18-20 cars, but only six were completed according to the auction listing. The car up for auction was allegedly the last one completed, rolling out of the factory in 1953 and being delivered to an owner in Spain in 1954, and one of only three known to survive today.
1953 Alfa Romeo 1900C Sprint Supergioiello (photo via Car & Classic)
Gumersindo Garcia Fernandez used the Alfa as a rally car, entering it in the 1955 Monte Carlo Rally and other events. A subsequent owner, Salvador Ros, also rallied the Alfa between 1958 and 1961, after which the car was retired from competition and kept out of the public eye.
The Alfa reappeared in 1990 in the hands of a collector, before passing to another collector. At some point it was restored to its factory appearance, and has covered just 48 miles since, the auction house claims. The car is expected to sell for around 640,000 British pounds, or about $797,000 at current exchange rates. That considerable sum buys a rally car very different from the winged sedans and hatchbacks that prowl today's rally stages.
