Rare 1950s Alfa Romeo Cars To Be Sold At Auction
Come October 28th, you’ll get an opportunity to purchase a few of the most exciting one-off cars every made. In the 1950s, Alfa Romeo built a number of one-offs called Berlinetta Aerodinamica Tecnica, or B.A.T. cars. These cars quickly drew a lot of publicity owing to their unique styling.
Right around the same time, Batman was flying his way into mainstream culture, with his own Batmobiles. I can’t say for certain if Alfa Romeo inspired Batman’s cars or vice versa, but a few of the certainly look like something you might find on a superhero or sci-fi film set.
The Alfa Romeo’s heading for the RM Sotheby auction block exemplify the Italian design senses and take them to an extreme. B.A.T. 5, B.A.T. 7, and B.A.T 9, the three one-offs up for auction, look as much like UFOs as they do cars (space engines excluded, of course). While the styling might be a bit strong for modern sensibilities, these Alfa Romeo’s are still stunners and a unique piece of automobile history.
Power and speed wise, modern drivers may be underwhelmed. The B.A.T. 5, B.A.T. 7, and B.A.T 9 are powered by in-line four cylinders producing somewhere around 90 horsepower. Yes, 90, not 290, not 990. Just 90. Fortunately, the B.A.T.s only weigh about 2,400 pounds, so they’re still pretty peppy.
If you want to purchase the B.A.T.s, however, you’d better be loaded. They’re selling as a set and they’re expected to fetch between $14 to $20 million.
