1960 Alfa Romeo 2000 Spider
Coachwork by Carrozzeria Touring
Registration no. 403 XVK
Chassis no. AR 10204 03097
Engine no. AR 00204

"The 2000 Roadster, made for high-speed touring, was fitted with an engine having remarkable reserves of power and torque in order to offer the sport customer the possibility of making fast journeys with the maximum safety." – Luigi Fusi, Alfa Romeo, All Cars From 1910.

The famous Carrozzeria Touring's associations with Alfa Romeo reached back to the late 1920s and this liaison was perpetuated into the post-war era. Replacement for the 1900 line, the 102-Series 2000 cars first appeared in 1958 and were unusual in so far as production of the stylish Touring-bodied Spider version outstripped that of the Berlina, with 3,443 examples of the soft-top produced compared with only 2,804 of the saloon. As Anderloni and Anselmi remark in their book, 'Touring Superleggera': 'An order which was important to Touring in quantitative terms was that for... supplying the Alfa Romeo 2000 convertible.'

Touring's renowned Superleggera (Superlight) method of body construction was employed, though now the panels were machine-pressed rather than hand-beaten, greatly speeding up production. This departure marked a turning point for Touring, enabling them to manufacture bodies in greatly increased volume, though this was still far from mass production.

Beneath the skin the 2000 remained much as the last of the 1900s, with independent front suspension, live rear axle, five-speed gearbox, and drum brakes all round. Nowadays referred to as the 'old' 2-litre, the twin-cam 2000 engine combined elements of the superseded 1900 and new Giulietta, retaining the former's cast-iron block and separate cam covers but featuring the latter's bucket-and-shim method of valve adjustment. Spider and Sprint versions came with 115bhp on tap, good enough for a top speed in excess of 177km/h (110mph). Despite a relaxed high-speed cruising ability and excellent smoothness, the 2000 in its day tended to be overshadowed by the smaller and cheaper Giulietta, and only now is the model beginning to receive the attention it deserves.

Classic Alfa (the UK's largest Alfa Romeo parts specialist) purchased this 2000 Spider in 2016 from VSOC in Holland. They wanted a very original example to study and learn from as they were about to start supplying parts for this era of Alfas. With a lack of specialists focussing on the 2000 Touring model, it was important for Classic Alfa to be able to provide quality parts on the back of their own first-hand experience. When searching for the correct base car, only the best would do. This meant finding a European example. A key point being that these were fitted with simpler and more desirable bumpers without rubber over-riders.

A very rust free and original car, it was stripped back to bare metal and repainted in around 2005. Dutch Alfa specialist Jan Steutel rebuilt the engine and went through the mechanicals around 12 years ago. It was then sent to Caresance Classic Cars in Holland who prepared it for touring around Europe. The interior was stripped and the floors rust-proofed; a new soft top fitted, and the seats were retrimmed. A 123 electronic distributor was also added alongside the dynamo being rebuilt. As any Alfa enthusiast will know, this greatly improves the drivability and reliably of these Alfa Romeo Twin Cam engines. To further increase the cars ability to be a comfortable and usable grand tourer, a retro/modern radio with Bluetooth was installed along with extra 12V sockets beneath the dashboard. Related invoices totalling €12,000 for the period January 2014 to September 2015 are on file (this excludes the trimming work).
On arrival in the UK, electric power steering was fitted (which transforms these Touring Spiders) and the braking system was completely rebuilt including the master cylinder along with all new wheel cylinders, the were drums re-machined and new brake linings were added all round.

According to the vendor, this is a lovely original example in superb order which runs and drives very well and the indicated mileage of just over 54,000 miles (87,000km) is likely to be correct. Offered with an Alfa Romeo Classiche Certificato di Origine.

When compared to the Maserati 3500GT and Aston DB4 convertible (also both by Carrozzeria Touring in the same era) – these beautiful, stylish Alfas seem remarkable value.