1955 Moretti 1200 Spyder Roadster

This Moretti 1200 Sport Spider with coachwork designed by Michelotti was completed early in 1955. It was given a light blue exterior paint over a blue leather interior. It is one of two examples built with similar coachwork and the only one in a left-hand drive configuration. It was first displayed on the Moretti stand at the International Motor Show in Brussels, Belgium, in 1955. After the show, it was sold to a Belgian collector. That same year it was entered in the VII Tour de Belgique Rally where it was entered by the team of Mr. Pennartz and Yves Mathieu, and wore number 78.

The Moretti remained in Belgium until 1962 when it was acquired by Mr. Berkhout of Holland. By this point in history, the car had been painted red, but still retained the original blue interior. After an engine failure, the powerplant was removed and replaced by a Fiat 1100 engine and gearbox.

In 1965 the car was sold to another Dutch individual named Mr. Hans Oosterbaan. Restoration began in the 1990s, and work progressed slowly. Unfortunately, Hans Oosterbaan had to stop the project before it was properly finished. The unfinished car remained in Mr. Oosterbaan's care until 2000, when it was sold to its 3rd and current owner.

The current owner completed a thorough restoration, including sourcing the Moretti's original engine that had been separated from the car after its failure. The restoration process took a dozen years to complete and included many years of research.

By Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2019

Giovanni Moretti founded his company in 1925 to build and sell racing motorcycles, then in the late 1930s, he designed his first car. These were modest sports cars with 600cc engines; as with many small Italian sports cars, the Morettis were inspired by the Mille Miglia. At the 1950 Turin Auto Salon Moretti presented his own 750cc twin-cam engine, and it was used in at least two cars in the 1956 Le Mans 24 Hour Race. A 1200cc version of Moretti's 4-cylinder engine was later installed in this car, one of two Spyders designed by Giovanni Michelotti. The car was shown on the Moretti stand at the 1955 Brussels Motor Show, where Pierre Haverland of Liege purchased it. He kept it for nearly 20 years, racing it in the Tour de Belgique Rally in 1955 and at a local event held on a frozen lake in the winter of 1962. After he sold the car, it was later abandoned, but it was saved in 2000 by Martin Dijkhof, who oversaw its complete restoration.