Three Aerodynamic Alfa Romeo’s

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It’s like the Jetsons touched down in this photo. These cars still look like they’re from the future, not from almost seven decades in the past.

When I saw that this collection of Alfa Romeo concept cars was going up for auction, I knew it was a big deal, exponentially bigger than a Chevy pickup with a salvage title, and way bigger than even a Hemi ragtop at Barrett-Jackson. Owning an Alfa Romeo of any sort, at any point in your life, is an achievement. Those cars have a certain stigma that comes with them, and unless you have one in your driveway or neighbourhood, you’re not likely to see one every day. This auction is different, as it’s not the chance to own one Alfa Romeo. Oh no, bidding is on the three-piece collection. If one Alfa Romeo is expensive, three would obviously be a shocking number. These are different. These are concept cars. Expensive? Almost priceless.

Basically, what we have here is a set of three Alfa Romeo show cars: the B.A.T. 5 from 1953, the B.A.T. 7 from 1954, and the B.A.T. 9d from 1955. Franco Scaglione designed each one, while Carrozzeria Bertone handled the coachwork and brought them to life one at a time. All three cars are based on top of the Alfa Romeo 1900, four-cylinder powered running gear. Seemingly underpowered, none of the cars were that slow, thanks to the aircraft-like aerodynamics and overall lightweight. B.A.T. 5 was the first of three, pictured on the right-hand side of the photo, and was designed mainly on the routing of air around or through the vehicle, rather than ploughing into it. It almost looks like the Batmobile but pre-dates it by over a decade. B.A.T. 7 was the second one, and my personal favourite, pictured to the left in blue. Its goal was to be lighter and more aerodynamic than the car from the year before, achieved with re-worked curves and a flattened hood. Keep in mind, it wasn’t a modified B.A.T. 5, but an entirely different car, also built from the ground up as a freshened improvement. Finally, the B.A.T. 9d, the most civilian looking concept car of all. The first two cars were definitely eye-catching and certainly aerodynamic, but they were also hard to see out of and didn’t really look like an Alfa Romeo at all. The B.A.T. 9d brought the concept closer to the brand by incorporating the Alfa Romeo grille shape and taming down all the wild bodywork. All three cars spent decades apart but have been collected, restored, and are up for auction to fill someone else’s collection. The price estimate? Fourteen-to-twenty-million dollars, U.S. funds, I assume. If you want the long version of the story, check out R.M. Sotheby’s website, they’ve got all the cool history between then and now.

Have a question or comment for Kelly? Post it at lmtimes.ca/kirk