With the advent of the 1950s Alfa Romeo was forced to rationalise its production in order to survive financially. Unable to resist the occasional indulgence, however, they still built some exceptional competition and 'limited edition' high performance models. One such car was the Sprint Speciale series, appearing first in 1957 with the 1,290cc Giulietta engine and then in 1963 with the more powerful 1,570cc Giulia unit. The exquisite and extraordinary coachwork was the masterpiece of Franco Scaglione, head of design at Bertone, who had previously penned the stunning BAT series of cars, based on the Alfa Romeo 1900. The family resemblance is obvious, with unmistakable similarity of line and a favourable drag coefficient, achieved by drawing heavily on experience gained from the BAT cars. With an all-up weight of under 950kgs, a five-speed gearbox and an output of ll2bhp (in Giulia form) they made excellent road cars and were equally used in competition. The bigger 1,570cc engined Giulia as offered here, replaced the Giulietta and was introduced in March 1963 at the Autosalon in Geneva. The 1,570cc engine made up to 200 km/h (120 mph) possible. The engine with Weber 40 DCOE2 carburettors was taken from Giulia Sprint Veloce and delivered 112 hp of power. Production ended in 1966 with only 1,400 Giulia Sprint Speciale produced.

What is special about this particular car, is that it was sold new to Alfa Romeo UK, London, making this an extremely rare, official UK car. It was manufactured on the 8th January 1964 and sold new to Alfa Romeo UK in London on the 29th May and first registered on the 29th January 1965 to Ian Pelling in Farnham, Surrey and still retains its original registration number.

This fabulous right hand drive car came to the attention of Alfa specialist Nick Nicholas of Lombarda Sport in Notting Hill in 1997 where he was involved in its sale and three years later in 2000, Nick had the opportunity to purchase the car for himself and the car has been with the family and lovingly cared for ever since.

The car is accompanied by a large file which includes email correspondence from Marco Fazio of Automobilismo Storico Alfa Romeo confirming the cars early provanance, the rare and original green log book from 1965, current V5 and an array of bills from well known Alfa specialists including Lombarda, Jamie Porter, EB Spares, Alfa Man, Alfaholics and Alfetta Racing for various parts and work carried out. Also included are 17 old MoT certificates dating back to August 1990 showing 20,556 miles. The most recent MoT is valid for a year and is now showing 29,037 miles; some 9,000 miles have been covered in the last 25 years.

Increasingly distinguished with collectors and enthusiasts, this UK delivered Giulia 800 SS is one of the rarest and most desirable post war Alfa Romeos. This is the first time that FBH 276C has been offered to the open market for 15 years and represents a wonderful example of classic 60s Italian styling.

This car is currently available for viewing at Coys showroom in London. For further information please call the auction department on 02086147888.