This late UK registered 2000 GTV is truly exceptional, it has covered just 19,000 miles from new in the hands of five owners and remains in excellent, very original order throughout with no real wear evident anywhere on the car. Finished in Grigio Chiaro, options fitted from new include the rare blue cloth interior and tinted glass, the original Radiomobile radio/eight track player remains with the car. 

The original owner, a resident of Hertfordshire took delivery of his new Alfa in March 1974 and retained it until October 1998 covering only 14,700 miles during this time. At this point the Alfa was offered for sale in the Alfa Romeo Owners Club Gazette and a copy of this advert is on file. Due to the advanced years of the owner the car had been in dry storage for the previous twelve years and was described as being very genuine and original with only minor fettling required. The accuracy of this description was confirmed in the pre purchase inspection report carried out for the second owner which is also present in the history file. Interestingly the Alfa sold very quickly for £9000 at a time when most were being offered in the £5,000 to £6,000 range.

Chris Holey, the second owner, began a renovation programme following purchase with the emphasis on retaining originality wherever possible. In 1999 a bare metal repaint was carried out as detailed in invoicing, comments on file and photographs confirm the absence of corrosion other than limited minor surface rust – however the paint had gone flat over time. At this time all seals were replaced and the drive train and ancillaries were refurbished as required. 

Following this work the Alfa won a number of concours awards, including the Michael Morris Award for best 105 Series plus Class Winner at 2000 Alfa day.           

The second owner Mr Holey sold the Alfa in February 2002, now with 16,400 miles recorded to a resident of the Channel Islands where it remained until 2016. 

In 2016 I purchased the car, following a detailed inspection. I have owned a very good 1750 GTV for many years and could not believe that this 2000 GTV could be this good and mostly original. The Alfa had seen little use since 2002, the mileage rising to just 17,435 miles. Following a full check over, major service and new tyres, we sold it very quickly to well-known motoring scribe and collector, Harry Metcalfe. 

Harry enjoyed the Alfa for a year but a new purchase by him resulted in the sale of the Alfa back to us. Once again the car did not stay around for long, it sold quickly to a Surrey based collector who bought the GTV to complete his Car Magazine 1971 “Group Test” collection, the other cars being a Lancia Fulvia 1.6HF and a BMW 2002 both of which are also now available for purchase from Hairpin.

We have subsequently sold the Alfa to two further regular Hairpin customers, both with significant car collections and it remains in lovely order throughout, a perfect balance of original and refurbished. I have driven it several times on recent dry days and cannot believe how well it performs. I know I keep saying it, but no restoration can emulate the feel of a lightly used and carefully looked after original car. 

It comes with a good history file, all original books, including the AA Owners Club Manual from 1974 and has only just clicked over 18,000 miles. A sublime example of the very usable and charismatic 105 Series Alfa.

You just cannot find them like this.