Alex Archbold is the creator of a very successful YouTube channel called ‘Curiosity Inc.’
Alex is an antique expert but he’s also a hardcore car guy, so he dedicates some of his episodes to the classic iron in his garage.
Jerry Sutherland
He had his 1962 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Speciale at a recent car show, and it attracted a crowd from start to finish. Alex is a professional and a natural PR guy, so he answered every question at the show–even if many of them were repeats.
Cars like this are part of an automotive learning curve and Alex is an expert on everything he owns. These cars came from a concept designed by Franco Scaglione—a noted member of the Bertone design group.
Scaglione built three Berlinetta Aerodinamica Tecnica (B.A.T.) cars in the 1950s and the Guilietta Sprint Speciale cars were the real-world versions of the B.A.T. cars. They definitely stood out in ’62 and the trend continues in 2024.
Alex explained how he found this car. He put an ad out for a Ferrari and got a response from a guy who had a large collection of exotic cars, so his ’62 Alfa Romeo was a little neglected.
They didn’t know each other, so Alex assumed the Alfa was thousands of miles away, consequently he’d have to factor in transportation and import costs. Alex said his reaction was “Holy Cow! It’s a ’62 Giulietta SS car” — so his Ferrari quest ended on the spot. Alex said they “went back and forth on the price” but he became the next owner at a number he liked.
There was more good news. The seller told Alex he was a little out of the way in a place called Calgary, Alberta Canada so that might be a problem. Not for Alex, he was about 180 miles away in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada—north of Calgary on a straight-shot freeway.
Alex is a riverboat gambler because you have to be when you bid on old stuff and hope to turn it into a profit. That’s why he jumped on a bus and headed to Calgary to pick up the Alfa Romeo—he decided to drive the car home. These cars are so aerodynamic they don’t let wind in the cab even at highway speeds. Alex’s car has the rare optional vent windows, so it does allow airflow.
Any old car is a gamble on a 180-mile run but an exotic car with a history of sitting for long periods is a bigger roll of the dice—especially when you’ve never driven it before.
Alex said the drive home was a breeze because the little Alfa never missed a beat. It ran like a champ, so that plus the selling price made Alex a happy guy when he got home. In fact, he was really happy because the brakes were completely gone by the time he hit his garage floor.
There was a slow leak in the master cylinder that lost brake fluid at a pace that allowed Alex to safely get home before he had no brakes.
You can’t plan for that kind of luck, but Alex knew he won the lottery on many levels with his Alfa Romeo.
Jerry Sutherland
By: Jerry Sutherland
Jerry Sutherland is a veteran automotive writer with a primary focus on the collector car hobby. His work has been published in many outlets and publications, including the National Post, Calgary Herald, Edmonton Journal, Ottawa Citizen, Montreal Gazette, Saskatoon StarPhoenix, Regina Leader-Post, Vancouver Sun and The Truth About Cars. He is also a regular contributor to Auto Roundup Publications.
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