Alfa Romeo 2000
General: Although Alfa Romeo returned to car production fairly quickly after the Second World War, a new design did not become available until 1950. This was the 1900, a single-piece sedan with a double overhead camshaft 1.884 cc four-cylinder engine. It was the first Alfa to be built on a true production line; all previous cars were largely hand-built, and it was also the first with left-hand drive. Until 1950, Alfa production fluctuated around 400 units per year. With the 1900, this increased almost tenfold. A 1900C Sprint Coupe was introduced with a body by Touring and a Spider Cabriolet by Pinin Farina, both built in much smaller quantities. In 1958, Alfa introduced a new sedan, which, with its larger 1.975 cc engine, was called the 2000. The latter was introduced in 1960. Production of the Spider and Sprint accounted for nearly half of all units sold in 2000: 3.443 units of the Spider and 700 units of the more expensive Sprint Coupé were produced.
General:
Although Alfa Romeo returned to automobile production fairly quickly after World War II, it was not until 1950 that a new design was available. This was the 1900, a one-piece saloon with a double overhead camshaft 1.884 cc four-cylinder engine. It was the first Alfa to be built on a true production line (all previous cars had been largely hand-built), and it was also the first to have left-hand drive. Until 1950, Alfa production had hovered around 400 units per year. With the 1900, this had increased almost tenfold. A 1900C Sprint Coupe was introduced with coachwork by Touring and a Spider Cabriolet by Pinin Farina, both built in much smaller quantities. In 1958, Alfa introduced a new saloon, called the 1.975, with its larger 2000 cc engine. the last having been introduced in 1960. Spider and Sprint production accounted for nearly half of all units sold in 2000, with 3.443 examples of the Spider produced and 700 examples of the more expensive Sprint Coupe. The 2000 sedan had the unusual feature of a column-mounted shifter for its five-speed transmission, while the Spider and Sprint retained the more sport-oriented, floor-mounted shifter.
The 2000 Spider, built between 1958 and 1962, was much rarer than its younger counterpart, the Giulietta Spider (of which approximately 17.000 were produced). Its 1975cc four-cylinder engine was tuned to produce 131 hp, allowing the Touring-bodied roadster to easily exceed 100 mph. The fully synchromesh 5-speed transmission allowed for fairly relaxed high-speed touring, and the large Alfin drum brakes were exceptionally effective.
Specific info about this copy:
Registration number VVS 334. Very few Alfa Romeo 2000 Spiders ever came to the UK as new cars, this left hand drive example was originally exported to the USA. This Touring Spider was imported from the USA around 1990 by its former owner, the late Robert Gharibi, and was restored by him and his friend and business partner, Harry Abrahamian.
Both Robert and Harry were experienced Alfa Romeo enthusiasts, Robert having restored two classic Alfas to concours winning condition prior to 2000. The restoration was carried out in his home garage, which was well equipped with Alfa tools, with all parts used having been sourced from Alfa Romeo dealers or Alfa parts specialists both in Europe and the USA. This extensive restoration culminated in a class win at National Alfa Day in 1993 and a second place (by one point) in the Master Class category the following year. The immediate previous owner, Mr Lodovico Crescenzi, purchased 'VvS 334' in October 1994 and kept the car garaged for the next six years without ever driving it. In June 2000 the Alfa Romeo was offered for sale at Bonhams 'Goodwood Festival of Speed' Sale (Lot 916). After six years off the road, the car was recommissioned before being sold by marque specialists Thorobred Cars of Laleham. Since the Spider was purchased, the Car has won several awards, including at the Auto Italia Festival Concours and the annual Alfa Romeo Owners' Club Concours.
'VvS 334' is considered one of the finest examples of its kind and was previously invited to be exhibited on the Alfa Romeo Owners' Club stand at the International Classic Motor Show.
It has also been featured in Auto Italia magazine, described as a 'stunning concours-winning 2000 Spider'. The car has been used sparingly over the last 20 years. An underrated Italian thoroughbred in concours-winning condition!
The engine was also recently overhauled (by Van Giersbergen) so that there is now an almost new engine in it. A new clutch and pressure plate were also installed. Finally, a new cooler was also installed. All in all a very well-driving Alfa Romeo!