1955 Moretti 1200 Spyder Roadster

Located in northern Italy, along with Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Fiat, Lancia, and Maserati, F.A. Moretti SpA in Turin produced a range of minicars. Giovanni Moretti's first car of 1927 established the trend that continued into the 1950s when costs drove production toward adopting Fiat chassis and drivelines for Moretti custom bodies, moving away from wholly in-house production vehicles. The most successful of the line was the diminutive LA Cita introduced in 1946 with a vertical twin-cylinder engine of 350 cc and 14 horsepower, giving a top speed of almost 60 mph and about 80 mpg.

During the early 1950s, the Moretti 750 made its debut, followed by the 1200S of 1955 (S for Spyder). It arrived two years prior to Fiat's introduction of its own 1200 models. With coachwork by Vignale from the roadster design of neighbor Michelotti, only two of the 1200S were produced, both in 1955. The benefits of having the resources of an industrial giant, Fiat, made Moretti cars more reliable and serviceable, enabling increased freedom to produce higher-style cars.

This 1955 Moretti 1200 Spyder, with coachwork by Michelotti, was specially built for the 1955 Milan Auto Show. It is one of two 1200 Spyders built in 1954-1955.

This car was raced in Cuba in 1958 and found its way to a Miami sports car enthusiast in 1959.

In 2001, it was found in a barn in Alabama, where it had been since 1965. A nut and bolt restoration was completed in 2004 by Zagato in Italy and it was shipped back to the U.S.

The 1200S led the way to future Moretti cars tending toward the exotic and limited distribution while Fiat marketed its highly successful 1200 that sold about 400,000 units in three styles, including a roadster.