1953 Alfa Romeo 1900

La Bellezza Non Basta! (Beauty is Not Enough!)
Alfa Romeo is an Italian automobile manufacturer founded in 1910, and it has been a part of the Fiat Group since 1986. The company was originally known as A.L.F.A. which is an acronym for Anoima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili (or: Lombard Automobile Factory; Public Company).

Pininfarina S.p.A. (short for Carrozzeria Pininfarina) is an Italian car design firm and coachbuilder in Turin, Italy, founded in 1930 by automobile designer and builder Battista 'Pinin' Farina. (Following the company lead of combining his nickname and surname, his family name became Pininfarina in 1961). Over the years the company has been contracted by many automobile manufactures, notably Ferrari, Maserati, Cadillac, Nash, Peugeot, Jaguar, Volvo, Alfa Romeo, MG, and Lancia. Since the 1980's Pininfarina has also provided industrial design and interior design consultation to corporate clients. Today, Pininfarina employs more than 3,000 people in subsidiary company offices throughout Europe, as well as in Morocco and China.

Approximately 80 of these beautiful coupes were designed and built by Pininfarina. This example is one of three right-hand cars shown by Thompson & Taylor, of Brooklands fame, at the S.M.M.T. Motor Exhibition at Earl's Court in 1953. This 1900 was meticulously restored in 1992.

The 1900 was Alfa Romeo's first mass-production car, its first road car designed after World War II, and its first car with the body and chassis constructed as a single unit. There were approximately 16,593 Alfa Romeo 1900 sedans produced.

Several Italian coachbuilders were commissioned to build special sporting bodies. There were about 1,796 built by Italian coachbuilders such as Touring, Ghia, Zagato, and Pinin Farina. This is one of about 15 Pinin Farina Coupes known to exist today. This is one of only 10 cars built with left-hand drive.

The car is powered by a twin-overhead-cam, in-line 4-cylinder 1,884 cc (115 cu. in) engine developing 100 hp coupled to a manual 4-speed manual transmission. It has fully independent coil-spring suspension, with rear struts, drum brake, and weighs 2,205 pounds with a top speed of 106 mph.