• Dry climate - largely solid

• In need of full restoration

Introduced in 1952 and produced for two years until 1954, the Alfa Romeo Matta (also known as the AR51 or AR52 depending on its usage) was designed and introduced by request of the Italian MoD, who required a light reconnaissance vehicle for use over rough terrain, with the civilian AR52 version finding plentiful use in the utility and agriculture industries. 

Power for both versions of the Matta came from a 1884cc, eight-valve inline-four engine, which featured an aluminium cylinder head, hemispherical combustion chambers, dry-sump lubrication and a cast-iron engine block. 

This particular ex-army A51 Matta is offered for sale as a total restoration project, from a large collection of cars.

Unfortunately, other than being able to identify the fact that it is an ex-army AR51 (rather than a civilian AR52) there is no known history specific to this vehicle. Instead, what it does offer is a clean slate for a full-on or sympathetic restoration, with the perks of having been stored in the dry Mediterranean climate that Italy is famous for.

The registration document is present with the car, but otherwise there is no known paperwork or history with the vehicle.

As you can see, this is a full-on restoration job, so there is no particular interior to speak of.

From what we can see, the lower seat frames appear to still be in-situ, as do the steering wheel, shifter, gauge pods and window frames, though we could not say with any certainty whether the interior is largely complete or not.

The sun-baked paintwork certainly appears to be somewhat beyond rescue, though our vendor has stated that due to the dry, hot climate the car has been stored in, the bodywork is mostly solid and largely complete.

All four wheels are present, and we can’t see any missing bodywork panels, though a new roof would need to be sourced at a minimum, along with a passenger door window.

It should be noted that this example is not a running, driving car, and requires a full mechanical restoration before it sees the open road again.

However, the engine and transmission are both present, and the engine bay itself doesn’t have any tell-tale signs of being used as a parts bin, so we’d wager that a large proportion of the engine and its ancillaries are present.

Offering the chance for a ‘blank canvas’ restoration to the next owners specification and desires, this is a rare opportunity to obtain an ex-army AR51 Matta, with endless potential for restoration, whether that is to concours standard, a sympathetic restoration to retain the patina or somewhere in-between.