The Alfa Romeo G1, which is owned by Australia and New Zealand Alfa Romeo importer Neville Crichton, is being displayed to celebrate Alfa Romeo’s Centenary. It has been travelling around the country to attend a wide range of classic car, motor sport and club events, including racing at Philip Island and in the historic car event at the Australian Grand Prix, as well as events in Melbourne, Canberra and Brisbane, with several more events to come this year, but its display at the Concours d’Elegance Australia will be the pinnacle of its Australian tour.

“Given that the Alfa Romeo G1 owes is very survival to the fact that it was sent to Australia, it is highly appropriate that it is one of the stars at the Concours d’Elegance Australia as its history is as much an Australian story as it is part of an Italian legend,” says Neville Crichton. “And we also took the decision, as Alfas, whatever their age, are designed to be driven, that the best way we could mark Alfa’s 100th birthday is to get the G1 out on the road and the race track so that as many people as possible can see her in action!”

The Alfa Romeo G1 is being demonstrated around the country by renowned Australian classic car journalist, broadcaster and classic car restoration expert, David Berthon. “There could be no better person in Australia to demonstrate the G1 than David,” says Mr Crichton. “His knowledge and passion is unrivalled, while his skill behind the wheel, as demonstrated by him taking the G1 to second place in the classic car event at the Australian Grand Prix, clearly establishes that the G1 is in safe hands!”

The History of the “Aussie” Alfa Romeo

The history of the last remaining Alfa Romeo G1 is as colourful as the company that give birth it. Chassis 6018 was imported new into Australia in 1921 and was sold, for £850, to a Queensland businessman who, soon afterwards, was declared bankrupt. Since he had seen his financial crash coming, he hid the car to keep it out of the hands of his creditors. Then, three years on, he had the misfortune to die and the G1 remained hidden for 25 years, apparently holding up one corner of a shed in the Queensland outback.

Then it was discovered by a couple of young jackaroos who decided it would make a fine ‘paddock bomb’ for rounding up cattle, chasing kangaroos and all the stuff that blokes do on farms. Eventually they managed to hit a tree and the damaged car was towed back to the farm where it was used to power a water pump. With its massive torque at low engine speed, it was ideal for the job and the work ensured that the engine remained in excellent condition even if the rest of the car was brutalised. In 1964 it was retired from pump duty and rescued by Alfa Romeo enthusiasts. The following year the car was bought by Ross Flewell-Smith who, against the advice of some experts who thought the car unrestorable, began to rebuild it, an exercise that took ten years. In this Herculean task he was helped by the fact that he discovered a second G1, a wreck, which supplied many of the parts that were missing. Most of the body was missing and, after experimenting with various styles, Flewell-Smith took advice from Luigi Fusi who was then curator of Alfa Romeo’s museum. 

Flewell-Sinith’s rebuild was good enough to win the 1977 Queensland Vintage Car Concours and to win the 1978 Australian Mile Miglia memorial run. In an historic race at Lakeside it was clocked at 86 mph, remarkable performance for a 1921 car, so remarkable, in fact, it was black-flagged for being so quick! In 1995, Flewell-Smith sold this car he had nicknamed ‘Milly’ from the ‘Milan’ on the engine black, to Julian Sterling who commissioned a restoration to his own exacting standards. All worn parts were replaced with specially-made components built regardless of cost. New tyres were supplied by Michelin, made from the original 1920s moulds, costing $6,000 for the set. The restoration was undertaken up to a standard, not down to a price, and the work was described in the 1998 edition of the Classic Car Yearbook as ‘breathtaking’. Following a rationalization of Julian Sterling’s car collection, the car was bought by Neville Crichton, the governing director of the new Australian Alfa Romeo importer, Ateco Automotive Pty Ltd.

Following his purchase of the Alfa Romeo G1, Neville Crichton undertook a full restoration of the G1 to return it to full running order. The quality of this restoration was rewarded in 2005 when the car was entered under stewardship of Australia’s leading classic car journalist, David Berthon, in the World’s most important classic car event, the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance and the Third in Class Trophy, beating more than 60 classic Alfa Romeos from around the world, including seven cars entered by Alfa Romeo’s own museum.

Following his success in classic car events in Australia and the USA with the G1, David Berthon is campaigning the car during its 2010 100th Anniversary tour. The Alfa Romeo G1 started its birthday year in the National Motor Museum in South Australia, but, as an Alfa Romeo, it has to see a race track and its appearances will started in Victoria when it appeared at the Alfa Romeo Owners Club of Australia annual event at Phillip Island. The following weekend the G1 was be back at Phillip Island for the Classic Festival of Speed. Alfa Romeo is the ‘Marque of Honour’ at this year’s event and the Alfa G1 was part of a unique historic display of Alfa Romeo’s finest racing and road cars.

On Wednesday 24 March the Alfa Romeo G1 joined more than 120 classic cars on display in Argyle Square, in the heart of Melbourne’s little Italy. At the Qantas F1 Australian Grand Prix, the Alfa Romeo G1 was one of 43 classic and historic Italian racing and road-going cars that on display in a marquee celebrating 100 years of Alfa Romeo and it joined a much more select group of cars that took part in events on the track during the Grand Prix weekend, with David Berthon steering the G1 into second place in the Historic Grand Prix. The G1 than moved to Canberra where the Italian Ambassador held a special event at Embassy to welcome the G1 to the Australian Capital before going to Brisbane, where it was on display on 24 June, the actual 100th anniversary of Alfa Romeo.

Alfa Romeo G1 – Technical Specification