Pick of the Day: 1960 Alfa Romeo Sprint in decent driver condition

One car I have always loved but have never owned is the Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint. Giulietta Spiders have always been the cars I bought, probably because it always seemed that the Sprint was harder to find.

By the time I really started to look for a Giulietta Sprint, times had changed and they were no longer the $10,000 cars they once were. Instead of paying the freight for the Alfa Sprint, which had climbed to more than $20,000.  I usually ended up buying another Porsche or other car that either cost the same as a Sprint, or seemingly offered a lot more for not much more money.

I regret this.  I have driven a number of these Alfas and always walked away stunned at how great they are.

In the past few years, it has been next to impossible to buy even a driver-level Giulietta Sprint for less than $40,000 as the prices climbed due to the increased values for the Spiders.

This someone’s lucky day as the Pick of the Day is a 1960 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Normale 101 series offered at a reasonable price by a Miami dealership advertising the car on ClassicCars.com.

To my eye, where the Giuletta Spider designed by Pininfarina is pretty, the hardtop Sprint designed by Bertone is more elegant and sophisticated. The interior is similar with the exact same dash, but the seats offer a bit more padding and there are even seats in the back that, while not very comfortable for anyone older than 10, do offer increased storage capacity.

The mechanicals are exactly the same as those in the Spider, with a 1.3-liter twin-cam inline-4 engine mated to a 4-speed gearbox. The suspension is also the same with an independent front combined with a live axle rear. Braking is via Alfin aluminum drums on all four corners.

This Alfa Sprint as a driver-quality example with an older respray now in poor condition, according to the seller, although it received an interior refurbishment at some time. The Alfa runs and drives well, the seller adds.

The pictures are definitely worth a look as the seller took the time to shoot many detailed shots of the car, documenting it from top to bottom. The underside of the car appears to be in good shape for a car of this age. The older paint would probably be described as usable; think of it as a 10-footer. The interior actually looks quite nice.

There are two ways you could go with this Alfa. First, you could completely restore it. Or else you could simply go through it mechanically and check that everything works as it should, then enjoy driving it.

If I were to buy it, I would choose the latter option. There is something appealing about driving a car that has some patina. A mechanically sorted driver with marginal paint to me is a neat car to own, especially with the interior looking as good as it does.

This is a car to take on rallies, weekend drives, and cars and coffee. What’s funny is that a car like this will often get more attention from people than one that is perfectly restored.

Here is the best part. This Alfa Sprint is offered for only $31,900, and if the car is as solid as it looks and runs well, then it is a great buy.

To view this listing on ClassicCars.com, see Pick of the Day.