Update, same day: Alex, a faithful reader, italian classic car connoisseur and collector, has found a period photo of the 1949 edition of the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este where there can be seen a car similar, very similar to this one. The caption says that the car is made by Colli and that’s painted in pea green with cream interior and wheels. That car is equipped with a beautiful deco set of bumpers: there are many, many probabilities that the car is the same. Thank you Alex!
Sometimes it seems that the number of the italian sports cars built starting from a Fiat basis is countless, and that is even more true if you imagine how many of these cars were scrapped of destroyed in the last 40 years.
This barchetta is (or rather should be) one of those cars which has survived until the present era in, must say, a very good and original shape. Of course this is a restored car but it seems that it has hold many features of the past era.
Indeed in the past years many of these cars were found as being modern reproduction for sale as “period” race cars: we are absolutely not suggesting that this car is one of those but only that with these cars you must be very careful. Generally, the best warranty is to have at least one period photo of the barchetta you’re going to purchase. This car is clearly based on a Fiat 500A but the body is probably made during the late fourties: The engine has a cool dual carburetor setup and that is a typical sign of a racing past. Some other details like the covered headlight and their cover trims are exquisite. Find it for sale at €100,000 (today $126,000) here in Milano, Italy.