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Photos of the Alfa G1, when it was in Australia (Tasmania).

12K views 31 replies 9 participants last post by  sportiva  
#1 ·
I thought some might be interested in some photos of the original Alfa Romeo, the G1, before it was altered as more recently displayed at Pebble Beach, and has been the centre of a lot of discussion previously here on the BB. I forgot I had these photos.

The guise it is in, was when it was owned by Neville Crichton, and as per how it was when restored back in the 1980s or so.

The photos I took of it was when it was on display at the National Automobile Museum in Launceston, Tasmania some years ago.
 

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#5 ·
Heh heh you are a funny man Pete. Hope life over the ditch is treating you and your family well. No need for that 101, the intent of the photos was simply to share the love :).
 
#8 ·
Apologies.

Neat old car that at first I didn't understand what the fuss was all about, ie. the first car after ALFA became Alfa Romeo. Strangely the badges still say ALFA ...

Life over here is getting considerably better as we finally have our own house :) ... and I have an Alfa that I can drive as I bought a 156 v6. Awesome car built around even more awesome engine ... strangely missing cup holders and a convenient place for your sunglasses.
Pete
 
#6 ·
At least we know it did in fact hit the track once in its life! I'd imagine Barry Edmunds will have some pictures if it at an early Spettacolo as well. I'm pretty sure it turned up there at least once.
 
#7 ·
Don't get us started again on what those dudes have done to it!
 
#10 ·
Enzo from Toowoomba. Well known as the owner of the first pizza home delivery service in Queensland.
 
#13 ·
They shouldn't be allowed to get away with that. It is false advertising and patently untrue. It was a big old sedan in outback Queensland from new, for God's sake! Let's hope potential buyers do their research. Talk about shonky!
 
#15 ·
I reckon this deception was possibly the plan all along.
 
#16 ·
Maybe or maybe not. However, there is a distinct lack of correcting mis-information, both among owners and perhaps event organizers, magazine publishers etc, who all no doubt just fuel the fantasy to sell their own product.
As for the G1, while it is a nice representation of what a sports type G1 in Italy MIGHT have looked like, it was originally an upmarket family vehicle for a cattle/sheep farmer way out in the western country back blocks of Queensland, which is 2.7 times the size of Texas, so you can imagine how remote. From memory of the restoration in the 80's, what was actually found was part of a damaged chassis and a crudely re-jigged engine pumping water from a dam to the cattle watering holes......so when I read things like "It's amazing that the car has survived so long in driveable condition" it does make you wonder about the place of editorial integrity & self interest in selling copy etc. The same for event organizers & auction houses too I guess.
 
#17 ·
It's scary and kind of sad to see how a well documented history is being so blatantly ignored. In the quest for making a quick buck. Can't see how you can call it any other way.
 
#18 ·
I cannot find any auction listing the G1 as an entrant ... ??

I'm also sick and tired of reading articles saying it is the oldest ALFA is existence, it isn't, it is the oldest Alfa Romeo in existence and the first model built after ALFA became Alfa Romeo!

The museum has an ALFA 15hp and 24hp and they were produced from 1910 to 1914 according to it's site, plus there is the weird 1914 40/60 Aerodynamica and other 20/30's + 40/60's out there.
Pete
 
#19 · (Edited)
G1.... 1921-22 as a large limo and as Torpedo sports model
And the 20-30 ES..... 1921-22 the first with Alfa Romeo Milano on its emblem
No mention of Mr Ferrari with the G1 or the 20-30 ES
There is that photo of him in a 40-60 tipo corsa before the start of the Targa Florio in 1920
From the two volume set Alfa Romeo catalogue raisonne 1910-1982
As Enzo was a works driver at the time he may have driven one of the race versions !!!
I haven't seen a photo of race G1 but the book does mention them.
I think it's drawing a long bow to suggest Enzo had anything to do with the pebble beach car


sorry about the poor scanning
 

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#20 ·
He couldn't have because it was in Australia form new and that is a fact as far as I know. It is pretty obvious what is happening here.
 
#23 ·
From a book by Maurizio Tabucchi A guide to the identification of Alfa Romeo cars . The author has put it forward that the Enzo connection to the G1 model is that Enzo Ferrari suggested the model and certain engine specifications. I am curious as to where the author got this information . The book is dated 2000 so its long before any of this discussion about Enzo and the peeble beach G1. I found this while researching something totally unrelated and thought I would share with you all
 

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#24 ·
So, our car certainly wouldn't have been the one and only racing version, but a limousine like the one in the picture then. Do you think there were indeed 52 of them out here at one time?
 
#26 ·
FWIW, Fusi's "Tutte le Vetture dal 1910" has some information that indicates 2 prototypes were raced and that there were other body types as well.
 

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#25 · (Edited)
I don't think 52 cars would have come to Australia in one consignment. A time frame of manufacture from books that I have show 1921-22 you would think that 52 cars would take a while to build so the cars must have been imported over a period of ? months or years. And why Australia our population back then was very small, where would you find buyers for car like that and the expense to get them here. you think they could have sold them to a larger European market at a loss. the Australian importer must have done a great deal and ALFA found a place to dump an unwanted car. and if the cars were unwanted in Europe because of the economy and high taxes why did Alfa build so many
 
#28 · (Edited)
This picture is from a past eBay auction (item #391086397175) referring to "Marcia automobilistica per la Coppa del Garda 1920." It appears the cars did have race numbers. However, the resolution in insufficient to identify the G1, if it even is in the picture.
 

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#30 ·
Whether a G1 was in that event or not, the point is that the one in question was not driven by Enzo in an event and came here when it was new as a sedan chassis. An outback Queensland farmer would not have bought a racing car. It sounds like the G1s were a bit of a failure for Alfa and they wanted to offload them somewhere far away. It is one thing putting a different body on it, (which was also done by Flewell-Smith), but is entirely another if it is being represented as having been raced by Enzo, which it wasn't.
 
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