Rare racing car used as a getaway vehicle to go under the hammer at Tennants in North Yorkshire

A rare 1960s Alfa Romeo racing car is expected to sell for £240,000-280,000 (plus buyer’s premium) when it comes up for auction in the Motor Car, Motorcycle and Automobilia Sale at Tennants Auctioneers, North Yorkshire, on May 14.

Once used as a getaway car in Italy, the GTA 1300 Junior has been carefully restored for use as a road car and retains the distinctive ‘Alfa Rosso’ red livery with white detailing.

Alfa Romeo is a marque long associated with excellence in motor racing.

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The company was founded in Milan in 1910 as A.L.F.A (Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili), which in 1915 was taken over by Neapolitan entrepreneur Nicola Romeo who would change the name to Alfa Romeo in 1920. Alfa raced its first car, the 24HP, in 1911 and went on to build sports orientated vehicles and be heavily involved in Grand Prix racing, Formula 1, sports cars, touring cars and rallies.

Heritage Feature Leyburn.. Tennants Auctioneers...25th January 2021..Picture by Simon HulmeHeritage Feature Leyburn.. Tennants Auctioneers...25th January 2021..Picture by Simon Hulme
Heritage Feature Leyburn.. Tennants Auctioneers...25th January 2021..Picture by Simon Hulme

From the 1960s Alfa Romeo raced with cars modified from general production models, and their legendary Gran Turismo Alleggerita (GTA) was a reworking of its successful Giulia coupe into a lightweight race car, using special materials and highly developed engine modifications.

The GTA 1300 Junior, of which the present car is a fine example, was made to enter the race categories for smaller displacement engines where is saw much success. The GTA 1300 Junior was a more affordable and cheaper to run sports car, available as a standard road car or modified for the racetrack.

It is thought that only 450 such cars were made between 1968 and 1975.

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Whilst the early history of the present car is unknown, it seems to have been initially raced in Italy, the base retaining evidence of race modification.

However, it was later converted back to road use. After being used as a getaway car, it ended up in a police pound in Rome, where it was spotted by GTA specialist Richard Banks in 1987, who acquired the car on behalf of the present owner.

A piece of Italian racing history, the Alfa Romeo GTA 1300 Junior offers the chance to own a classic road car, or it could be easily converted into a historic racer for use on the track.

The Alfa Romeo will be on view to the public on Thursday, May 12 and Friday 13 from 10am to 5pm, alongside all the other lots in the sale.

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Prices quoted are an estimated hammer price, which is subject to buyer’s premium of 10% plus VAT on Motor Cars and Motorcycles and 22% plus VAT on all other lots.

A fully illustrated catalogue will be available on the Tennants website at www.tennants.co.uk leading up to the sale.

Tennants Auctioneers is a fourth generation family business and is one of the UK’s largest international Antiques and Fine Art auctioneers.

Situated in Leyburn, North Yorkshire, Tennants holds over 80 sales a year and connects more than 200,000 buyers and sellers a year.

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In 2014 Tennants expanded its Auction Centre to 80,000sq ft with the development of The Garden Rooms - a dedicated venue for events, weddings, conferences and exhibitions.

The venue is one of the region’s largest event spaces with a capacity of more than 600 people.

The venue’s next event will be popular fortnightly Antiques and Interiors Sales on April 29.

These sales attract a loyal following of regular buyers and they are a good source of 20th and 21st century collectables. Including a mix of affordable traditional art and antiques, jewellery, watches and more, the Antiques and Interiors Sales are a great place for novice buyers to begin their collection.

For more information, go to: www.tennants.co.uk

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