Even though there are better-handling roadsters from that particular era, the Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce II is in a league of its own as far as styling is concerned. Muhammad Ali used to own this 1976 example, originally bought for his wife together with a Rolls-Royce Corniche luxobarge for himself.
Bought from European Imports in Lake Forest, Illinois, the Spider was then gifted to Tim Shanahan. The peeps at MotoeXotica bought the car from Shanahan, and as you can tell from the photo gallery, the condition of the soft-top roof is fair. After all, what did you expect from an Alfa Romeo this old?
As stated in Running with the Champ, “Ali bought the Alfa for his third wife, Veronica Porché.” She never drove the Spider because she couldn’t drive stick, but for the few years the car was in the champion’s ownership, Muhammad Ali drove it whenever possible and out of necessity because the boxer’s daily driver was stolen at one point.
Rolling on 185/65 R14 radials from Michelin, the Alfa Romeo features the original wheels and 2.0-liter engine. The four-cylinder comes with Spica fuel injection, hence the INIEZIONE badge next to the left taillamp. A five-speed manual and a 4.56:1 differential at the rear complement disc brakes at all four corners of the Italian roadster.
Hop inside and you’ll notice a crack on the passenger side of the dashboard. Patina aside, the wood-rimmed steering wheel looks great and the interior panels all appear to be in good shape. As far as entertainment is concerned, a radio and cassette deck with three-band equalizer will have to make do.
Replacing the Duetto that Dustin Hoffman drove in The Graduate (1967), the Series II is also known as the Kamm tail. The bumpers are also different; there were made from stainless steel at first, then Alfa Romeo decided to go with rubber-clad bumpers.
AR115023049438 is located at the MotoeXotica showroom in St. Louis Missouri. With 80,733 miles on the clock, the car isn’t perfect. But given the lovely patina and famous first owner, this Spider Veloce ticks all the right boxes. On eBay, the “Buy It Now” price is $39,900.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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