﹒FIA papers referencing race history from new, including events in 1965 and 1967
﹒Invoices for the last 24 months totalling £60,000

﹒Recent engine rebuild, only two hours of running since

﹒New differential, exhaust, and fuel tank

﹒Fantastic to drive!

Alfa Romeo’s Giulia GTA might make the headlines, but the Giulia of the 1960s wouldn’t have existed without the groundwork laid by the Giulietta that arrived in 1954. The car wasn’t just the brand’s mass-produced family car of the era but thanks to sophisticated engines and underpinnings it quickly made an impact in racing too.

First launched as the rakish Sprint coupe in 1954 the Giulietta range quickly blossomed into Berlina (Saloon), Spider and sporty Berlina T.I. (Turismo Internazionale) variants, while the Sprint range was later joined by the quicker Sprint Veloce, sleek Sprint Speciale and subsequently the lightweight alloy-bodied Sprint Zagato. The large majority of Giuliettas regardless of body style used a 1.3-litre twin-cam four-cylinder, albeit in different outputs, and powered the rear wheels.

This car was built in June 1964 as one of fewer than 2000 Giulietta 1300 Sprints built between 1963 and 1965. As a later example it benefits from front disc brakes, and it appears to have been a competition car from new, with old FIA papers referencing events such as the 1965 Rally of Spa, and the 1967 Zandvoort Nordsee Cup. Further paperwork confirms the car was raced throughout the 1990s with previous owners such as Hans Schütt and David Hart.

In 2017 the owner prior to the current seller spent over €10,000 to update and re-prepare the car for historic racing, and this work also granted it current “Period F” FIA papers that are valid until 2027.

The engine was also rebuilt during this work, but was found to have some issues when the current owner bought the car in 2018. In March 2020 the engine was completely rebuilt once again, along with the differential, with invoices for £28,000. Since then the car has completed one test day at Goodwood and a race at Donington in July, so has only around two hours of running since the rebuild. A new fuel tank was installed in August, and the current owner also had a new exhaust fitted. This is only but a small summary of the commensurate amount of work that has been done on the car over the last two years bringing it to the condition that it is in today. In total, we have invoices from 2019 until now totalling a whopping £60,000. With only these invoices and the purchase price of the car from 2018 combined, we arrive at a figure that is well over six figures.   

Offered with the car is its original cylinder head along with four spare wheels. The car is now being offered for sale as the seller has an eye on another car. 

The seller has a considerable quantity of invoices for work carried out on the Giulietta, with detailed itemised bills for the parts and labour of the engine rebuild from Bedfordshire-based Woolmer Classic Engineering. There are also invoices for other repair and preparation work carried out by CKL Historic Cars & Racing, while the car also has FIA papers confirming its eligibility for racing until 2027. The car is road registered, and while it has no available MOT history it is also exempt - and clearly fastidiously maintained given its racing history.

The odometer currently reads 87,397 miles - However, with this being a rebuilt race car, it would be prudent to expect this mileage warrants all  the parts of the vehicle.

The driving environment of a race car is somewhat different from most road cars so where normally we’d be describing the quality of finely-trimmed leather seats and inspecting the wooden rim of a large-diameter steering wheel, here things are a little more simple.

Broadly speaking the interior has the same high level of presentation as you’ll find on the exterior and under the bonnet, applied to a cabin that still retains plenty of period charm, thanks to original gauges, the painted dashboard with its factory grab handle and Bertone logo, and the unique view over those distinctive front wings through that highly-curved windscreen.

You’ll do so from a Sparco Sprint bucket seat and from the security of TRS harnesses, while the three-spoke wheel in your hands is a Momo item. The original pedal box with its floor-hinged clutch and brake pedals is retained, as is the long gearshift wand sprouting from further up the transmission tunnel. Traditional Veglia dials are joined by an oil pressure gauge mounted on the dashboard alongside a prominent warning light, with other necessary safety toggles for the plumbed-in fire extinguishers and an electrical cutoff.

Naturally there’s also a roll cage, equipped with door bars, and there’s an AIM data-logging system mounted on the dash which also includes a camera attached to the roll bar behind the driver, which is included with the car. A spare seat is also included. Everything is in good condition, with only expected wear and tear to certain surfaces, such as scuffs on the door card and roll cage where a driver enters and exits. The boot is as tidy as the rest of the interior, and contains the car’s battery and the fuel filler neck.

If there’s one thing that looks better than a road-going Giulietta Sprint it’s a race-prepared version, and this car’s a true joy to behold from any angle. Pretty but also purposeful, it’s also as finely presented as you’d expect from such a well-prepared and studiously-maintained race car.

That means this section is going to be rather short as there’s not a great deal to draw your attention to! The red and white paintwork is in excellent condition, as are the wheels and Dunlop Racing tyres, while all the light fittings, attendant brightwork and glass is also in very good condition. The driver’s side plexiglass sliding window features the expected scuffs from use but otherwise you’ll struggle to find blemishes.

It’s a similar story underneath the car. While the car is road-registered it’s clearly not often exposed to the kind of conditions that road driving throws up, so the underbody is clean and free of corrosion, while the mechanical elements all appear very well-maintained, perhaps not a surprise given the car is given a thorough inspection before and after every race meeting.

Invoices with the car show just how much mechanical work has gone into the Giulietta, and the seller confirms the engine is now far happier after its recent rebuild and developing healthy power. Peer under the bonnet and aside from the wonderful simplicity of the layout and distinctive shape of Alfa Romeo’s twin-cam rocker cover, it also looks like it could have been installed yesterday, with items like hoses, plug leads and fixings all like new.

Components underneath the car are as tidy as those in the engine bay, with the recently-installed fuel tank clearly visible and the new exhaust system looking similarly shiny. There’s no evidence of leaks, and the brakes and suspension are in great shape - it really is ready to race.

The car had no complaints being shuffled around for photography, starting up quickly and cleanly every time, and the seller reports that it’s great fun to race too. The engine enjoys being worked hard and relishes high revs, the chassis is at its best sliding through corners, and the whole package is designed to be used just as it was in its early days in the 1960s!

What? Surely you don’t need us to explain the appeal of owning and racing an Alfa Romeo from the 1960s. Doing so admits you into an enviable and exclusive club and puts your name onto the roster of all those who have come before, while Alfa Romeos are guaranteed crowd-pleasers at historic race meetings – there’s little better than watching such a beautiful shape being hustled through a few corners as its twin-cam howls away.

Thing is, you could also have plenty of fun on the road in this car. The owner says with the space he’d be keeping it and doing just that, installing one or two extras to make it just a little more pleasant for touring and visiting events overseas, and it’s difficult to think of a more appealing concept than taking this car down to the Spa Classic or the Circuit des Remparts in Angoulême, whether simply visiting or making use of those FIA papers and racing it too.

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