SOLD

• Engine: 2584cc twin-cam in-line six cylinder

• Transmission: 5 Speed Manual

• Year: 1965

• Registration: YRD 410C

• Mileage: 65,000 kms

• Exterior Colour: Graphite grey

• Interior colour and material: Tan cloth and vinyl

VIEWING BY APPOINTMENT ONLY PLEASE.

** This car was entered into and sold at the H&H Auction at the Chateau Impney Hotel in Droitwich, Worcestershire, on December 9th 2015. **

- According to the Alfa Romeo Museum Archives this very rare car was manufactured on November 12th 1965 and sold by Alfa Romeo to their dealer in Genoa, Italy, on February 5th 1966. The original colour was graphite grey, as it is now.
- Only 2,069 Berlinas were manufactured between 1961 and 1968, and it is expected that only about seventy five remain in the world, if that. There is believed to be only one other 2600 Berlina in the UK in running and roadworthy condition, a right hand drive car that was imported from South Africa in 2014.
- The engine is a 2,584cc double Solex carburettor equipped straight six twin-cam unit which the factory quoted as delivering 130 Bhp. This was transmitted to the road by a five speed gearbox with steering column change.
- According to the Automobile Club d'Italia Public Register document that I have for this 2600, it was first registered for road use in Genova, Italy, on February 10th 1966 as GE-278429.
- The first owner was a Pietro Bibolini of Genova. Bibolini were an important and historical shipping name of Genova until the company closed in 2000 due to the retirement of its owners. With the 2600 Berlina being a very expensive car when it was new, it is understandable that the head of such a company would have a 2600 Berlina as their means of transport.
- I was delighted and extremely grateful to the grandson of Pietro Bibolini (also named Pietro Bibolini) who made contact with me in April 2015 having seen the car listed on my website. It was wonderful to learn the complete history of the car from him.
- The Alfone, as it was known in the family, was a much loved car. Pietro recalled that in the late 1960’s his family used to spend the summer holidays in the Dolomites. His Father used to drive Pietro and his family in their Mercedes-Benz 220 S Ponton (which his father still owns) with his grandfather in convoy with the 2600 Berlina being driven by his chauffeur, Amleto. He joked that whereas the Ponton could reach the Dolomites on one tank of fuel, Amleto had to refuel the 2600 twice!
- Pietro Bibolini sadly passed away in 1978 and in August 1979 ownership passed to his three sons; Francesco, Giovanni, and Ignazio. The Pietro we were communicating with is the son of Francesco.
- For the majority of the next ten years the 2600 sat idle in storage as the family found it to be a large and cumbersome car to drive around the narrow streets of Genova. In July 1988 the 2600 was sold to a Signor Princiotto, and the Bibolini family expected the car to be scrapped. One can therefore imagine the surprise and delight of Pietro Bibolini when he saw the car on my website. Signore Princiotto cancelled the GE-278429 registration in April 1990, presumably to either place the car into storage or to export it.
- Pietro informed me that when the 2600 left his family it was still wearing its original paint and the original black and white steering wheel was still fitted (it now has a 2600 Sprint/Spider item). He was also certain that the car had never had the twin chrome strips on the sides as many 2600 Berlinas had, and that the car had only travelled between 50,000 and 60,000 kilometres from new when it left them. It is therefore expected that Signore Princiotto had the car re-painted and the steering wheel changed before the car left Italy, sometime between 1990 and 1994.
- In September 1994 the 2600 Berlina was registered in Holland as DL-05-25.
- While I was at a classic car dealer in Holland in November 2010 looking at a Giulia Spider for a client, I found the 2600 there looking slightly forlorn and neglected. Feeling sorry for it and with having a love of the unusual, I purchased it and imported it into England. After some work to the brakes I had it registered for road use in the UK in February 2011 as YRD-410C.
- I found accommodating the large 2600 Berlina in my showroom an awkward affair, so I sold it in May 2011 to a local Gentleman, who strangely sold it just a few weeks later to an Italian Gentleman from Frosinone, just south of Rome. He bought it for use in a film but it was then not required and was placed in storage. I noticed it advertised for sale in Italy in early 2014, but after much resistance I weakened and purchased the car from him in September 2014 and had it transported back to England.
- Sadly, as much as I loved the car, it needed to find a new home again as I was loosing the storage space that it had been occupying, so it was sold in December 2015 to a new owner in Germany.
- The floor of this large and stately car is in superb condition and the body is generally good, however the bottoms of the doors and trunk lid edge are corroded. Although the paint has a good shine on most panels as can be seen in the photographs, it is old and cracked in a few places, mostly on the tops of the front wings and the trunk lid. The interior is in good condition with the exception of the driver’s seat where the original and fragile seat cloth has worn away (hence our old Giulia Super vinyl seat cover in place). The car is wonderful to drive and performs well following my recent spend of about £3,800, which included the fitting of a new head gasket.
- The door mirrors seen on the car in the photographs have been replaced by more period appropriate chrome round Alfa Romeo items since the photographs were taken. The mirrors shown were generally fitted to later Alfa Romeos.