Model G1 was produced in 1921 and the 6-liter aggregate with a four-speed gearbox is capable of developing an impressive 137 kilometers per hour. Designed by Giuseppe Merosi.
This model is the first one designed under the brand Alfa Romeo, after Nicola Romeo joined the company A.L.F.A. (Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili).
G1 should have been competing with American and British luxury models, but due to the high cost of fuel and economic chaos after World War I, this extremely “thirsty” athlete was not overly interesting to customers, so only 50 vehicles were produced with two prototypes.
This model with the chassis number 6018, like all 50 units, was shipped to Australia, is the only known surviving specimen, and was detected at one farm at the end of 1940, before it disappeared again, and then finally appeared in 1965.
It was then bought by Alfa Romeo enthusiast Ross Flewell-Smith, who restored the car in the 1970s. It was restored once again in 2000, and since then, it’s appeared at the Pebble Beach Concours, the Mille Miglia and the Goodwood Member’s Meeting. It should sell for around $1.5 million at RM Sotheby’s annual Arizona auction in January.