1975 Alfa Romeo Spider S2 2000

The vendor had long wanted to add an Alfa Romeo Spider to his collection, and being a man of impeccable taste, he searched long and hard for the right one. He knew it had to be a series 2 car (as we say, he’s a man of impeccable taste…) and eventually tracked an original right-hand-drive, two-litre example down.

It was very solid, very original, and came with a wonderful provenance. He commissioned a professional inspection from a company he trusts, and they gave it the green light bar some minor blistering on the paintwork following an older restoration.

He wasn't happy with the fit of the doors, so he did the sensible thing and bought it with the intention of having the bodywork fully restored.

Which is exactly what happened. The car was stripped to bare metal – he wanted to check on how much filler was lurking underneath; the answer was not much – and the restorative work occupied the period between March and September 2018. (see photos in the Gallery for the extent of the works)

As thoughtful as he is tasteful, he was keen to preserve the car’s beautiful patina where he could, so he has left a few of the older features, balancing the old with the new in the most delightful way.

However, one thing led to another and he has ended up spending far too much time and money on the car only to find he doesn’t use it as much as he thought he would, which means that it is now up for sale - and he accepts that he will receive back only a fraction of the sum it owes him.

That’s bad news for him, but wonderful news for anyone looking for what might just be the best series 2 Alfa Romeo Spider in the country.

An awful lot of time and effort went into getting the panels properly aligned and with tight, even panels gaps. The fit and finish that has been realized is streets ahead of what would have been achieved in period and is a testament to both the owner’s determination to get it right as well as the skill and patience of those he commissioned to carry the work out.

The paint was applied with equal skill, and the finished car looks utterly stunning. Again, it is probably far better now than it was when the car was new and is in show-winning condition. If you doubt us, just take a look at how well the door shuts and hinge areas have been finished; it really is a joy to see craftsmanship of this level.

In addition to the bodywork and fresh paint, many new parts were fitted as the car was being reassembled, and these include a new grille, new headlights, wiper arm caps, rubber seals and grommets. The mohair soft-top, which fits beautifully, was very fresh having just been purchased a couple of years previously.

The badges are excellent too, as is the exterior chromework. While some of it is new he retained some original bits like the driver’s door mirror. It is a little pitted but was reused because it has the Alfa logo and is deliciously period, details which he loved.

The restorative work was recorded in a series of photographs, which will come with the car.

The refurbished painted steel wheels are in fabulous condition, including the chromed centre caps and new nuts. They are fitted with matching Toyo tyres, which are almost new.

As we will never tire of explaining, our experience shows that matching high-quality tyres like this are an infallible sign of a caring and mechanically sympathetic owner who is prepared to spend the appropriate amount in maintaining their car properly. Their presence does not, of course, preclude the need for a thorough inspection - something the vendor would welcome, by the way – but do give you a shortcut into their attitude towards maintenance.

The vendor’s only criticism of the car is that the Perspex headlight covers are not as perfect as he would like. Well, we’ve looked at them (several times) and, beyond the merest hint of some yellowing, we genuinely cannot see any problem.

The black vinyl seats – including the rare factory rear seats - were retrimmed in 2015 at a cost of well over £1,000. They look like new (again, actually they are probably better than they were when they were new…) and are as comfortable and supportive as they are beautiful. Wonderfully, black leather straps have even been made to stop the front seatbelts sliding down. This is just one example of the incredible attention to detail that is evident throughout the whole car.

The deeply dished, three-spoke Alfa Romeo-badged steering wheel looks wonderful, and makes a change from the more usual wooden one. The owner doesn’t know if this is original or not, but speculates that the car may have been destined for South Africa originally before being diverted to the UK, which would explain why it is leather.

The carpets are good - a new boot carpet had been fitted just prior to him buying the car – and fit well. The door cards and their chrome appointments are excellent too, and have been finished off with new caps.

The whole interior looks amazing, and has just the right amount of minimal patina to evoke the car’s history without being detracting. It’s a hard balance to strike, but we think he’s pulled it off perfectly.

Even the glovebox door is straight and true, when almost every other you will ever see on the model has warped over the years. This might sound like a small thing but its condition was one of its many attractions when he was looking for a car; he reasoned that if the glovebox lid was straight, then that boded well for other, less obvious, issues.

An immobiliser was professionally fitted in 2017, and a modern retro-styled ‘Caliber’ radio has been recently installed.

Problems is too strong a word, but the carpet has worn a little at the base of the passenger’s seat and has wrinkled in the driver’s footwell (please see photo for details). Practically perfect.

The most recent mechanical work on the car was to replace a leaking heater valve in August 2019. The owner took the opportunity to replace it with an upgraded metal one to forestall any future problems.

He also had the clutch replaced in May of this year. Again, as you’ve come to expect of him, he had the job done properly and Codicote Motors replaced it with a three-piece kit from industry leaders Sachs. It also carried out an interim service, replaced the spark plugs, reset the idle and fuel:air mixture ratio, and sorted out a minor problem with the windscreen washer jets while it had the Alfa in the workshop.

The two-litre engine’s cylinder head was removed in September 2018 to sort out a few leaky exhaust valves. The head was rebuilt with new gaskets and carburettor mounts. The engine was fitted with a new oil filter and oil at the same time of course, and the carbs were rebuilt and balanced.

A new offside front brake caliper was fitted too, along with a new heater hose and the ignition wiring was tidied up. The cooling system has also been overhauled with a new radiator, radiator cap (including the correct sticker…), thermostat, expansion tank and cap, and fresh coolant.

Previous work in his hands includes new HT leads, a new bonnet release cable, a fan belt, a propshaft universal joint, and the installation of an electronic ignition system from marque specialists Alfaholics. Even the battery tray, a notorious rust trap, has been replaced.

The Alfa had also had a new fuel tank installed prior to him buying it, which deals with another known weakness of the model.

The owner insists that his cars are reliable, and is prepared to invest the money in making them so – and his faith was repaid as he drove it to us from St Albans without a single problem. There were no faults found on our brief test – exactly as you would expect given the quality and care of ownership.

The engine bay is clean and tidy and beautifully presented, as is the underside, which is as clean, nicely undersealed, and very well-presented as the bodywork. But then you’d guessed that might be the case, hadn’t you?

The online MOT history shows nothing of concern whatsoever and confirms the car’s low mileage. The MOT certificate itself expires in August 2020.

Let’s start with the beautiful, bespoke, embossed wooden box that the vendor always commissions for all his cars. Inside you will find a huge number of expired MOT certificates plus a thick sheaf of invoices, bills and other records to confirm its provenance, including previous sales receipts, a hand-written record of the work that was carried out on it from 1982 to 1990, and a typed record of the work carried out on it from 1992 to 2013. It’s a proper bundle of paperwork, and is well worth leafing through in order to see for yourself just how well maintained it has been.

It also comes with a wonderful boxed history of the Alfa Romeo 2000 Spider Veloce plus the owner’s instruction book, wallet, period maps, and a copy of the original sales brochure.

It also has a stamped service history booklet, a Certificato Di Origine showing its original specification and date of production, and its original warranty card.

Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing where you will find photos of this and other paperwork to support our claim that this car has been restored and maintained to the very highest standard.

You may have read our claim that this is ‘one of the best in the country’, and those who know us will realise we don’t use such statements lightly. Hopefully by now you will have seen why we have dusted off the claim for this Alfa. It is always a genuine pleasure to be auctioning cars of this quality (and to be auctioning a similarly high quality Ferrari 308GTS makes us very lucky indeed).

The cockpit of an early Alfa Romeo Spider has always been a rather nice place to spend time and this one balances lightly patinated with new and fresh better than almost anything we’ve seen for a very long time.

Which is the case for the bodywork, too. While the panel fit is immaculate, and the paintwork is unblemished and in nigh-on perfect condition, odd touches here and there remain to remind you that this is an original classic car rather than one of those dreadful pastiches that abound these days.

Nor has he accomplished it at the expense of neglecting the mechanicals, because they’re fully fettled and ready to go. It really is a wonderfully complete, turn-key package ready to thrill and delight its new owner.

And how much do we think it’s going to sell for? Well, we estimate between £17,000 and £22,000, a sum small enough to make the owner weep and easily in the ball-park of being one of the biggest bargains you’re going to find in the classic car world this year.

And remember that the reserve is even lower, so why pop in a cheeky bid and see what happens? We promise you won’t regret it.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this car can be seen here at The Market HQ in Abingdon; to arrange an appointment please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.

If needed, please remember we have a network of trusted suppliers we work with regularly and can recommend: Classic & Sportscar Finance for purchase-financing, Thames Valley Car Storage for storing your car, AnyVan for transporting it, and Footman James for classic car insurance.

BORING, but IMPORTANT: Please note that whilst we at The Market always aim to offer the most descriptive and transparent auction listings of any auction, we cannot claim they are perfect analyses of any of the vehicles we have for sale. While we use our trade experience to assess every car that comes through our hands (and between us we have bought hundreds of classic cars over the years for our personal use…) we are fallible, and our assessment of a car may contrast with that you might form yourself.

This is why we offer a far greater opportunity for bidders to view, or arrange a professional inspection on their behalf of, each vehicle prior to bidding than any traditional car auction, and we will never stop encouraging bidders to take advantage of this by coming to see it in person.

That said, we do take a good look at the vehicles delivered to our premises for sale, but this only results in our unbiased personal observations, not those of a qualified inspector or other professional, or those formed as a result of a long test drive.

Additionally, please note that most of the videos on our site have been recorded using simple cameras which often result in 'average' sound quality; in particular, engines and exhausts notes can sound a little different to how they are in reality.