De Tomaso Takes to the Road - the Vallelunga

 

A Vallelunga at the De Tomaso factory, Modena  Courtesy Sports Car Digest

 

You won’t often catch me saying anything complimentary about Japanese cars – though I did love the Honda CRX I bought for my wife long ago – but it’s difficult to be too shirty about the Mazda MX5/Miata.  It’s often been said that Tom Matano, key figure in the creation of the Miata, was much influenced by the De Tomaso Vallelunga, a car he was very pleased to own himself, (#0134).  An interview with Matano was featured on the website of PI Motorsports, which includes the following passage: 

PI:        We know that you own a Vallelunga.  Have you ever found out who designed it? Norbert MacNamara says it was Mario Fissore.

Matano: I spoke with Trevor Fiori who worked on the Elva BMW with Fissore about the same time the Vallelunga was in the works.  He said that Mr. De Tomaso himself was working with Fissore and he didn’t see any other designer was involved.

PI:        Do you think De Tomaso was trying to do a mini 250LM?

Matano: The original alloy bodied Vallelunga had a more 250 LM-like front end than the production fiberglass bodied car. It also had an entire rear half of the car which opens up for engine service just like the 250 LM.  But, the similarity stops there. The side view profile of the Vallelunga is unique for a mid-ship layout car.

PI:        What parts of the design do you like and what parts would you do over if you were updating it?

Matano: I like the 360-degree visibility the best, thanks to its low engine location.  It is still very contemporary.  It hasn’t dated at all in my opinion.

 

Making allowance for the passage of about three decades, you may find echoes of the Vallelunga in the Miata’s overall form, as seen below:

Left, Vallelunga, courtesy Bonhams Cars. Right, Miata, courtesy Dond90 (BaT)

If there are some visual similarities, the relative production numbers certainly diverged, bringing to mind the old saying, ‘less is more.’ 

But, to linger right in the middle of mainstream thinking, we need to acknowledge the Miata’s debt to the Lotus Elan in terms of concept, style and footprint.  And while there, we can trace a connection back to the Vallelunga, since it too followed a Chapman lead in being built on a backbone chassis and powered by a Ford 4 cylinder engine.  Notwithstanding the considerable circuit motorsport heritage already banked at Lotus by the mid-Sixties, the Vallelunga could be seen as more closely based on a pure racing car than the Elan.  As well as the chassis form, the De Tomaso utilised the Ford block as an integral structural component, front suspension by wishbones with the rear controlled by multi-links, and disc brakes on all four corners – all much as had been seen on the Marque’s single seater race cars – F1, F2, F3 and Formula Junior, (called ‘Isis’) - constructed since ‘59.  Possibly inspired by the Ferrari formula of dedication to motorsport but with funding flowing from the production/sale of road cars, De Tomaso crystalised his ambitions by embarking on the design and creation of a prototype stradale sports barchetta in ’62.  This was put on show at the following year’s Turin Show, but drew no serious interest.  Resilient as he was – some said ‘pig-headed!' -  Alejandro gave Carrozzeria Fissore an order to rebody the chassis as a coupe.  The Turin Show – one year on - was once again chosen to launch the resulting car, with design credited to the Carrozzeria’s stylist, Franco Maina.  Reception was more positive this time and Fissore was contracted to undertake a production run of 15 aluminium bodies.  A surviving prototype was restored in England in 2021 by the specialist workshop of Three Point Four.  Excellent photographs of the car undergoing the renovation process can be seen here.  Head of Business there, Roger Brotton, has told me that all the Fissore prototypes were identified with the same chassis number - #1606.  Fissore, apparently, scrapped its own prototype in-period.

#1606 under restoration in ’21, courtesy Three Point Four

Fissore fulfilled the initial batch order in late ‘64/early ’65, though De Tomaso had already had some ‘developmental’ ideas which led to not all these bodies being used.

At least two ’64-made Vallelungas exist today, the earliest being chassis #0103.  At this point I have to observe that, not unexpectedly, some of what’s been written previously and/or ‘loose’ record keeping at the factory, (in the Italy of the Sixties, surely not!), undermines the certainty with which I can write this narrative.  In ’97, Thoroughbred and Classic Car published this: 

The Vallelunga coupe was built from early 1964 by Fissore of Savigliano, but after three (some say five, but just one survivor is known) had been made De Tomaso transferred the contract to Ghia over whom he had begun to exercise influence, assuming control by 1967. The Ghia cars were 'productionized' with a one-piece fiberglass body and were on sale from July '65. Engine access was now via a lift-up Perspex rear window and a removable plywood deck lid. . .

Probably the anomaly here is over the understanding of the production date.  This car is recorded as being first registered in the UK on 31^st December ’64.  #0103 is a glass fibre car with opening rear window, whereas other sources suggest that no Ghia production occurred before ’65.  The revised rear is a key feature which differentiates the Maina-designed coupes from the prototype barchetta, including the revised rear quarters where an opening glazed (Plexiglass) screen gave access to the engine rather than the original clamshell format.  This car is also a very ‘pure’ De Tomaso, being to Competizione specification and thus a racing car that might occasionally serve purpose on normal roads.  As such, its kerb weight was low, at around 700 Kg, while the stradale version is usually quoted at 726 Kg.

Courtesy Cottingham Blue Chip London

The car’s description for sale by DK Engineering notes engine power at 135 bhp, ‘thanks to the Cosworth enhanced cylinder head . . .  The Hewland 4-speed transmission is mounted in a VW housing, rotated around for mid-engine placement.’ 

A standard Vallelunga had considerably less bhp on tap.  Contrary to some accounts, the OE engine was the Ford Kent 1498 cc, pushrod unit, not the Lotus twin cam.  However, the engines, on receipt at the De Tomaso factory in Modena, were modified to the extent of an upgraded cylinder head which facilitated a 24% increase in the compression ratio.  Together with twin Weber 40DCOE2s, this enabled a power output of 104 bhp, one third up on its delivery in its original Cortina GT application. 

Chassis #1611 is another Competizione example, equipped with a 1558 cc engine and Colotti five speed gearbox.  Seen in period below:

#1611 Courtesy Bonhams Cars

Repainted in yellow, the car was offered for sale by Bonhams in June 2014.  The description referred to this as being one of only two right-hand drive Vallelungas built by De Tomaso, (other sources say there was only one). It was initially in Colonel Ronnie Hoare’s care when he was considering adding the De Tomaso franchise to his operations best known for the UK Ferrari import business, Maranello Concessionaires.  He decided against this initiative after establishing that it would be impractical to incorporate the Lotus twin cam engine as a series upgrade, and he sold the car to racing driver, Robs Lamplough.  However, #1611 does today benefit from having such a power plant nestling under its rear screen – see centre photograph below.

#1611 Courtesy Bonhams Cars

Made in ’65, #0101, located in Holland, was sold on Bring a Trailer in 2024 for $260,000. The vendor asserted that this is the first glass fibre bodied Vallelunga made by Ghia after De Tomaso had halted construction of the aluminium version at Fissore. A reasonable claim, given the chassis number, which should be read in conjunction with the type number 807DT. Shown below are Vallelunga characteristic features, model-bespoke 13” magnesium alloy Campagnolo road wheels, chassis number stamping, and branded De Tomaso-modified cylinder head:

and drive Vallelungas built by De Tomaso, (other sources say there was only one). It was initially in Colonel Ronnie Hoare’s care when he was considering adding the De Tomaso franchise to his operations best known for the UK Ferrari import business, Maranello Concessionaires.  He decided against this initiative after establishing that it would be impractical to incorporate the Lotus twin cam engine as a series upgrade, and sold the car to racing driver, Robs Lamplough. 

#0101 Courtesy ImageStreetClassics

0101 Courtesy ImageStreetClassics

#1612 is said to have been delivered to its first owner in ’66, but it is likely a ’65 build.  A ‘VL’ designation is associated with the chassis number and the car’s recent vendors, Artcurial, claims this confirms it as a Competizione version.  With this spirit in mind, a previous owner had installed a Lotus twin cam engine.  The Artcurial auction – held in Monaco in July 2020 – resulted in a sale price of €313,200.  Referring back to the Vallelunga’s limited sales success when new, Artcurial pointed out that it was priced the same as a Lancia Flaminia Zagato, causing many to find it poor value given the Lancia’s size, sophistication, including a 2.5 or 2.8 V6 engine, and the prestige/motorsport pedigree associated with Carrozzeria Zagato.

#1612 Courtesy Artcurial

 

Artcurial also handled the sale – for €226,480 - of a France-located, ’66 Vallelunga, (registered 801PL68), in 2015.  At that time, it was in unrestored condition and reported to have had light, spasmodic use over the near half century since its original sale.  The auction lot description includes a chassis number - 4236620 - which is not formatted in any similarity with those of other examples and is likely not a reading in error of the engine number.  (This value on a Vallelunga OE block would be 10 position, (8 digits/2 characters), I believe).  I subsequently discovered that Ruote Vecchie had in reporting on the sale, attributed the chassis number #0115 to this car.  However . . . that chassis number appeared again, in October 2017, associated to a red “‘67” Vallelunga, (registered TON41126), on offer by Bonhams at Padova.  I have been unable to contact the author of Ruote Vecchie, so I do not know the basis of their attribution of #0115 to the Artcurial-sold vehicle.  Meanwhile, the latter is shown below, left, with the Bonhams-offered car to the right.    

Left, “#4236620” Courtesy Artcurial; right, #0115 Courtesy Bonhams Cars

Lou Costabile shot a YouTube video of John Weinberger’s Vallelunga, #0134, in ’17.  He reported that John had owned the car long term in company with several other rare vehicles.  John died in 2020 after a long career in automotive retailing and motorsport.  Latterly he had been President and CEO of Illinois-located Continental Motors Group for over half a century.  As seen below, his Vallelunga was fitted with a VIN plate to confirm compliance with required U.S. import technical regulations.  Scott Martin‘s Vallelunga Registry records this as having been owned by Ricci (son of Dean) Martin, Dick Carr and Tom Matano.

#0134 Courtesy John Weinberger/Lou Costabile

€168,560 was the winning bid for #0106 when it was offered at a Belgian Bonham’s sale in June 2024.  The lot description highlights the sporting upgrades featuring on this Vallelunga, including extended wheel arches/wider wheels and an ex-F3 engine with induction by big (48 mm) Webers and a supercharger. Views into the engine bay and of the cockpit are seen below:

#0106 Courtesy Bonhams Cars

Though apparently to standard specification, #0128 was raced in the Sixties by its original owner.  Subsequently it was imported to the U.S. and from’10-’18 it was subject to a full restoration project.  The car featured in Gooding & Company’s Pebble Beach auction in ’18.  It was offered with an estimate of at $400,000-$475,000 but did not sell.

#0128 Courtesy Gooding & Company

Badges: 

A rectangular De Tomaso marque badge is mounted centrally on the upper surface of the front panel:

On the rear panel, centrally pinned on the horizontal plane, are two script badges, ‘VALLELUNGA,’ and, usually above, ‘de tomaso.’  On at least two extant cars, the ‘VALLELUNGA’ script is missing, and, on #0101, the relative positions of the two badges is inverted.

A Ghia ‘BUILT BY’ marque flank badge is applied to both front wings between the trailing edge of the front wheel arch and the leading edge of the front door.  (These are not extant on all surviving cars).

The marque badge features again on the wheel centre caps.

#0101 is fitted with a leather bound Ferrero sports wheel.  Ferrero was a noted supplier to De Tomaso and is possibly also the manufacturer of this wood rimmed example, style and spokes detail very much as typical for the era.  For more on Ferraro see here.  Though an aftermarket fitment, a Momo 'Jackie Stewart' seems a very appropriate wheel for a Vallelunga.  The rotation by 90° of the stripes on the horn button is also seen on some other versions of this component.

Literature:

Brochures:

Lower image is of a '65 edition

The consensus is that by the end of production, a total of 45-60 Vallelungas had been built.  It may be that most of this number were made as a batch, mainly in ’65, though not all sales were completed until ’68.  If, as seems confirmed, #0101 was the first Ghia-built chassis number, and #0146 the last known, 45 would be the built count.  The most likely breakdown was: Aluminium prototypes, (including Spyder): 4; Ghia production, (including Competiziones):45.

As a ‘first attempt’ the Vallelunga had established De Tomaso as a maker of road cars and facilitated a great deal of learning about the management of series production.  It thus was a positive factor in the company’s next development phase involving the creation of a considerably more complex model, the Mangusta.  With a Ford 4.7 litre V8 engine and imposing coachwork by Giorgio Giugiaro, it was well received on its launch in ’67 and was in production until ’71, with 400 units sold.  In turn, the Mangusta was followed by the Pantera – a car that gave De Tomaso a serious presence in the American market and was in production for over 20 years.  Over 7,000 had been built by ’92, so De Tomaso’s progress in terms of manufacturing volume was impressive. But, more importantly from my viewpoint, all three models were charismatic beauties!

Small but Perfectly Formed

Giovanni Moretti established his motorcycle manufacturing business in 1925 in Fabbrichetta, an area in the Grugliasco district, just to the west of Turin’s city centre. Though it was not long before he began to experiment with vehicles which would today be termed ‘microcars,’ the first Moretti recognisable as a conventional ‘car,’ the Cita, did not appear until ’46. Subsequently, an unusually wide and diverse range of models emerged. With the following decade came a model line utilising Moretti’s own 4 cylinder 747 cc engine, a development of the Cita’s 350 cc twin cylinder and ‘600’s’ 592 cc 4 cylinder power units . Although mainly known for his work for Alfa Romeo and Maserati, Ing. Alberto Massimino is thought to have been responsible for the design of this engine. Development soon resulted in a twin cam version, subsequently enhanced with additional main bearings, (5 in total), allowing a high rpm capability, opening up Moretti’s sport and racing ambitions, power output being a competitive 55-60 bhp, (twice that made by the original, single cam version. In competition barchetta applications, this engine was capable of over 70 bhp).

750 Moretti Twin Cam engine. Courtesy VeloceToday

Thinking about Moretti also brings to mind Tecno and its racing cars. Mostly the Etceterini were in effect modifiers of Fiat vehicles and parts. Both Moretti and Tecno were intent on designing/making everything for their products including the engines – and Tecno didn’t hesitate even when it came to the ‘need’ for something as complex and challenging as a Flat 12.

The ‘750’ would be utilised to power twelve Moretti models from ’52 through to ’60 by which time the basis of new products and ongoing production was switched to Fiat models in a methodology similar to that adopted by Abarth after its split with Simca.  By far the most charismatic Moretti of the Fifties was the Gran Sport Berlinetta.  A range of introduction dates have been suggested, but it is probably accurate to say that the model was made only in the years ’53 and ’54.  In considering this model, it is useful to also refer to the barchetta ‘Sport,’ of similar configuration.  Only three of these were initially constructed, (with a further two in ’56 for Le Mans).  In comparison, the coupe’s built-count is heady at around twenty!  Testifying to the esteem in which the model is held, no less than twelve survivors are currently catalogued in the Moretti Registry, (https://moretti-registry.com/ ).

The bodywork, styled by Giovanni Michelotti, sits on a spaceframe chassis - not a backbone type as misreported elsewhere – constructed with square section tubing.  The body itself has been said to have been made at Motto, but I have not seen any certain confirmation of this, and the Carrozzeria’s badges are not evident on the cars.  The possible confusion may result from a misunderstanding of the two similar company names.  A proportion of Motto’s work was as a subcontractor, including commissions from Vignale, the carrozzeria with which Michelotti was associated from 1949 onwards.  Additionally, around the same date, Moretti created another coupe model, differentiated by being powered by a ‘1200’ (1204 cc) version of the twin cam engine.  This model’s body is generally accepted as having been Motto-built.

 

750 Gran Sport chassis frame. Courtesy Karl Ludvigsen

A wide range of values has been quoted for the kerb weight of the Gran Sport, all the way from 655 Kg down to 495 Kg. The latter figure is credible given the car’s size and the usually-given 0-60 mph time of around 11 seconds, (for the 57 bhp output version engine).  For comparison, early versions of the Abarth 750 GT Zagato weighed a touch under 600 Kg and deployed about 47 bhp maximum power from the engine, enabling a 0-60 mph capability of around 17 seconds. 

The earliest-produced car for which I have images is #1037.  This is the single recorded Gran Sport with a Zagato body.  The basic outline of the car is similar to the Michelotti design as seen in the illustration below:

Left: #1037, Gran Sport Zagato; right: Gran Sport #1293

Notable variations as seen in these photographs: nose profile/intake aperture; bonnet panel; wheel openings; roofline; rear side windows/C post; rear wings.  (Note – the grille in the front aperture of #1293 is customised in egg-crate style – a horizontal slatted style is standard). 

Some previous citations about this car attribute a single cam engine, unlikely in my view with its apparent competition history.  Source Picryl comments on a photograph of the car starting the ‘54 Mille Miglia, “The Moretti Registry thinks this was the only one, and that it was more recently owned by Stuart Schaller in the USA before sold to Japan (seen in white/red at a Concours d'Elegance in Tokyo with license plate "S85264 ROMA". They also claim that Elio Zagato raced it early 1954.“  I have tried to verify the latter claim, but without success.

#1037. Courtesy Carrozzieri-Italiani; Angelo Giambra II

#1037 on ’54 Mille Miglia. Courtesy Cliff Reuter

#1290 is a very well known Gran Sport on both sides of the Atlantic.  On the East Coast of America, Max Hoffman established not only a business, but also an interest-culture in European cars immediately after WWII.  As his portfolio of agreements grew with various manufacturers -notably Jaguar, Volkswagen, Porsche, Alfa Romeo, Mercedes Benz and BMW – his business became highly profitable given the great volume of cars distributed and retailed from the New York base.  On the other coast, a garage proprietor/racer, Ernie McAfee shared Hoffman’s interest in Europe’s more sporting automotive products, though the scale of his vision was nothing like as heady.  With a particular expertise in customisation and liking for high performance – for example taking William Doheny’s Ferrari 121 4.4 LM Spider to a series of victories in ‘55/’56 – McAfee began to explore opportunities to import lesser known Italian cars with competition potential, notably OSCA, Siata and Moretti.

 

'56 McAfee advertisement. Courtesy HobbyDB

The performance in competition of the Moretti 750 Barchetta inspired McAfee in ’53 to order a batch of Gran Sports – usually cited as a batch of ten.  #1290 is one of these.  Its first owner, customising bodyshop (Rich & Jones) joint-proprietor, Harry Jones, was persuaded to loan it to Road & Track for a road test, the report of which was published in the magazine’s August ’54 issue. This was concluded with the summary: 

Summed up, the Moretti Coupe is one of the most appealing automobiles we’ve ever seen or driven.  Its few faults could easily be corrected by any enthusiast-owner and the price is reasonable* for a custom bodied machine that can go out and bring home a class H** win at any sports car event you can name. 

*At the beginning of the article, mention was made that the Moretti was twice the price of the other cars featuring in road test reports that month – Volkswagen, Nash-Metropolitan and Austin A30.  The retail price of $4200 for an aluminium-bodied Gran Sport in ’54 has been quoted by Conceptcarz.  **Class H was for 500-750 cc cars.

  

#1290. Courtesy Erik Fuller

After a brief spell in Europe around ‘05, the car was sold at Monterey by RM Sotheby’s ex the Skip Barber Collection in ’16 for $132,000.

The next available chassis number, #1291, was assigned to another Gran Sport which has spent time both in the U.S. and in Europe.

 

#1291. Courtesy Moretti Registry

Restored around 2010, the car was repainted in a near-maroon, darker red, and the condition of its engine and its interior was considerably ‘improved,’ as seen below:

 

#1291. Courtesy Bonhams

The Moretti Registry records that #1292 was in August 2017 in the USA and undergoing restoration.  Some in progress photographs are posted, including a view of the bare bodyshell, seen below:

#1292. Courtesy Moretti Registry

Another Gran Sport familiar to enthusiasts in the U.S. is #1293.

#1293. Karl Ludvigsen on the 1998 Mille Miglia. Courtesy VeloceToday

Knowledge about this particular car was much increased by its ownership from ’79 to ’01 by the prolific automotive/motorsport author, Karl Ludvigsen.  From his writing it is evident that Karl greatly enjoyed his Gran Sport and was confident enough in its performance and reliability to run it in the Mille Miglia in ’98.  Generally, he was complimentary about its characteristics, though I was amused by what he recently told me about the steering: “Its worst feature is the steering, which wanders its way up and around the front of the engine to get to the right front wheel. But it manages to work pretty well.”

#1293 Whilst in England (‘80s/90s). Courtesy Moretti Registry

Over a quarter of a century before Ludvigsen’s acquisition, #1293 was just one half of deal McAfee made with Mrs Alejandro De Tomaso, (then with the maiden name, Elizabeth Haskell, and liking to be known by her middle name, Isabelle, she was of a very wealthy family and with a love of fast cars, to the extent that she held a competition licence).  McAfee supplied #1293 as a new vehicle to Isabelle along with the similar specification #1294 – apparently, one for road use, the other primarily as a racing car. 

Various circumstances have led to the curious position whereby each car nowadays runs with the other’s original engine.  Furthermore, according to the Californian dealer, Fantasy Junction, #1294’s current unit has been substantially modified – in its description for sale of the car in circa ’08, the dealer stated: “This car was recently restored by Butch Bucciarelli of Southern California with vintage racing in mind. The motor was rebuilt and re-engineered with Carrillo rods, billet Moldex crank, arias pistons, and Mazda Miata oil pump thus solving a historical oil circulation issue with the 750 engine.“

 

#1294 at Walterboro, South Carolina, ’58. Courtesy Moretti Registry

#1294. Original chassis plate, and, centre and right, as restored. Courtesy Moretti Registry

 

Noted in the Moretti Registry in 2017 as an exhibit in the Autoworld Museum in Brussels, #1296 is another Gran Sport painted in red/black.  A YouTube video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=X-u9mVVioFA – provides a 360° view of the car on display in the Museum.

 

#1296 at Autoworld, Brussels. Courtesy Perico001 (Flikr)

The view of the car above emphasises the unusual dimensional nature of the 15” wheel : body size ratio.  Similarly notable is how narrow the tyres are by contemporary standards, tending to undermine the impression of the car’s performance capability from this viewpoint.  The ‘look’ is compounded by the relative lack of negative wheel offset, (seen below on #1290).

Courtesy Erik Fuller

Mirbach Schuttenbach is a dealer located at Anzing near Munich.  Its corporate ‘number plate’ is attached to #1297 in the photograph below, date unknown.  At some point the car apparently suffered from some ‘blow-over’ repainting, with items such as the front grille and window frames finishing up in the same overly-bright red hue.  Captioned, ‘ex-Tanner, Fronrath and Noble,’ there are several photographs of the car in competition on the excellent Cliff Reuter Etceterini website, but I have been unable to trace the specific races events involved.

#1297. Courtesy Moretti Registry

Ada Pace – also known as Sayonara – was Turin-born race/hillclimb/rally driver active from the late 40s (initially on scooters) through to ’64.  She owned and raced a Moretti 600 early in the 50s and the Moretti Registry has posted a photograph of her at the wheel of #1298, as below.  The car was apparently destroyed long ago and further information about it has not been discovered as yet.

 

#1298. Courtesy Moretti Registry

The ’54 running of the Mille Miglia saw the first appearance of the Gran Sport in a major motor sport event.  Indeed, it was a double debut as #1332 and, as mentioned above, the Zagato-bodied #1037 were entered.  #1037 was driven by Rinaldo Pravettoni and Piero Moscatelli, while #1332 was crewed by Fontana/Gino Munaron.  Unfortunately, neither car completed the course.  There are six period photographs of #1332 in competitive events on the Moretti Registry website, including that below which was taken at Montlhery in ’54 with race number #53.

#1332 at Montlhery, '54. Courtesy Maurice Louche

An unusual feature of #1459 is its right hand drive configuration.  From late in the production run – in ’54 – the car is also distinctive in its competition history, appearing in the ’54 Tour de France and the ‘55 12 Hours of Hyeres.  In the first of those events, in the hands of Ernest de Regibus, it was disqualified, while there is no detailed information about the following year’s 12 hour race.

 

#1459 om '54 Tour de France

21st century photographs of the car while it was still located in France are posted on the Moretti Registry website, example below.  Apparently, it is now in Germany.

 

#1459. Courtesy Moretti Registry

#1508 is another Gran Sport with some documented competition history, including four hillclimbs in ’58.  It is pictured below on display at the Museo Mille Miglia, Brescia.

 

#1508. Courtesy Pablo Rivas (Facebook)

The car was recently featured on Facebook with an indication that it had been long-term operated in and around a village near Avignon, France.  It was apparently restored late last century with the bodywork aspect handled by Carrosserie Alesi Franck, a specialist business owned by Franco Alesi, father of Jean, the former F1 driver.

 

#1508 is the latest known survivor by dint of its chassis number.  In ’54 a new series of ‘Gran Sports’ began to emerge from the Moretti factory, this time equipped with a 1200 cc version of the 4 cylinder twin cam engine.  By the beginning of the new decade a transition was well underway, resulting in Moretti’s role changing from that of a manufacturer to modifier/upgrader in contractual association with Fiat – an arrangement eventually also adopted elsewhere, for example with BMW/Alpina and Mercedes Benz/AMG.

 

Further points to ponder:

It may seem fairly obvious why Max Hoffman was moving so many more imported cars in the U.S. than Ernie McAfee managed during his period of activity trading as Ernie McAfee Engineering from the late '40s through to April ’56, (when Ernie was killed at the Pebble Beach Roadway Course).  However, a factor beyond his control was the Moretti policy of requiring up-front payment amounting to 50% of the projected purchase price before a car’s (built-to-order) manufacture was initiated.  It is telling that McAfee did not vigorously market the Gran Sport Moretti – he probably had enough leads/prospective customers available to him, through networking on the West Coast motorsport/custom car scene, relative to the time he could spare from his other strands of business.  Note his ‘56 advertisement below, in which no mention is made of the Moretti marque:

 

After McAfee’s death, Jack Brumby’s Italia Motors, East Hollywood, took over the importation of Moretti cars. 

As with other small-scale, specialist Italian makers, a lot of Moretti’s production could be thought of as ‘one-offs,’ as the built-to-order process meant that only rarely were two cars exactly the same in terms of detailed specification.  At a high level, there was the option to have a Gran Sport in either Stradale or Competizione form.  The latter would come with an aluminium body and this accounts for the inconsistency seen across the internet in published specification summaries, where the quoted kerb weight for the model simply named as ‘750 Gran Sport’ is given, variously, as 494 Kg (VeloceToday), 499 Kg (Sports Car Market), 520 Kg (Roarington), 544 Kg (Conceptcarz), 562 Kg (AutoCatalog), 665 Kg (Auta 5P) and 667 (ZePerfs).  Some of this may be the result of confusion with the overtly race-purpose Grand Sport Barchetta model. 

A similarly loosely defined situation applied also with engine performance.  Maximum output in the model’s basic form was quoted as 51 bhp, the figure given in the Road & Track road test of Harry Jones’s Gran Sport mentioned above.  Not surprisingly, this resulted in the test’s data including a 0-60 mph time of 15.5.seconds.  Elsewhere a 71 bhp peak was cited, presumably for a car in Competizione form.  Such examples would be capable of a sub-10 seconds 0-60 mph time. 

The Moretti 750 Gran Sport won a great deal of affection and respect in the U.S., though this was mainly confined to the West Coast.  Without McAfee’s energetic enthusiasm and with escalating pricing – reaching to $4,500 -  from the factory, the 1200 failed to maintain momentum in the Marque’s American presence.  However, the number of survivors is high considering the small number of cars made and it’s clear that present day owners are more than happy to fund expensive restorations and ongoing maintenance.  Auction-paid prices in excess of £100,000 in recent years seem to me relatively modest for such a characterful and rare classic GT.

The Moretti Registry has been by far the most valuable resource in my researches and I'd like to thank originator, Fred, for all the excellent work he has put in to build the database and website.  He has just advised me that Moretti will be featured at the 2025 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance on 17th August 2025 - a celebration of the Marque's 100th anniversary.  Also, later this year, I'll be posting a survey of the Fiat Moretti Sportiva models