What would you be willing to spend for a piece of automotive history?
Classic Alfa Romeo race car sells for record $9.4 million
1935 Tipo 8C-35 Monoposto breaks all-time record for the marque.
As the years pile on, auction sales of classic Alfa Romeo cars are proving more and more that you don't have to be a Ferrari collector to spend a lot of money on Italian cars.
A 1935 Alfa Romeo Tipo 8C-35 Monoposto sold for 5.94 million pounds -- around $9.44 million -- at Bonhams Goodwood Revival Meeting on Saturday, setting a record high for the Alfa marque.
So why was this particular car worth that much money? Well, we know that this is a hot time to be in the classic car world, with values higher than ever and there being few other outlets in which the wealthy can indulge in a truly appreciating investment. But this Alfa Romeo also happened to have been driven by the legendary Tazio Giorgio Nuvolari - a guy that Ferdinand Porsche famously called "the greatest driver of the past, the present and the future." And while we don't necessarily have 9 million bucks to spend on one of his ex-rides, we can certainly see the appeal after breezing through the man's storied racing career.
But more than that, this was the car that Ferrari backed before it started making F1 cars of its own. That's why there's a prancing horse on the hood, kids. So you can now technically tell your friends that Ferrari is so good at winning F1 races that the company was actually doing so before it even built an F1 car!
No, but seriously, though - this car is more important than Ferrari and F1. Did you catch that build date? 1935. This thing was commissioned by Benito Mussolini himself, in an effort to beat cars funded by Adolf Hitler from Mercedes-Benz and Audi. And it did, with Nuvolari piloting it to victory. With an absolutely fascinating history, it's hard to believe that this car sat in a barn for more than 30 years after its owner (an industrialist by the name of Dennis Poore) became tired of using it for local hill climbs and the like, parking it in 1955. It's fully restored now (as the money should suggest) and can even hit its designed top speed. Full article available at source link below.
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Source: [msn.com]