Boxing and Italian sportscars may not be a combo most of us are used to but, you have to admit, it does kind of cool, amirite? If both Italian carmakers and boxing greats are your areas of interest, Muhammad Ali's 1976 Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce Series II has just been put up for sale for a price of $39,900 (Rs 28 lakhs, approximately). It is currently listed on eBay. However, what's make this car unique is the interesting back story attached to it.
The car has been listed by Moto Exotica and was found by Silodrome. As per a video by Moto Exotica, which has a clip from the book 'Running with the Champ' by Ali's close friend Tim Shanahan, Ali had set out with his car-loving friend Tim to purchase a Rolls-Royce. Both of them decided to visit a store in Illinois, U.S.A, to go ahead buy a green Rolls-Royce Cornish and possibly a Mercedes-Benz SL for Ali's wife.
After getting to the store, Ali found that the dealership did not have the Mercedes SL in stock. What's was the alternative then, you ask? A 1976 Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce Series II. Ali decided to buy the car and get it home for his wife. There was one small hiccup, Ali's wife did not know how to drive a manual transmission car, and supposedly, had no intention to learn it either.
Hence, the 1976 Alfa Romeo was driven mostly by Ali's assistants for rare errands. As fate would have it, Shanahan's personal car had broken down not a very short time later. Ali, being a kind-hearted individual, gifted the Alfa Romeo to Shanahan. A case of what goes around, comes around? Fate definitely had a hand to play in this situation. Ali's friend Shanahan ended up owning the car for more than 40 years!
The 1976 Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce Series II has about 80,000 miles (1.30 lakh kilometres, approx) along with some wear and tear. The classic Alfa was resprayed recently but the real icing on the cake is Ali's signature on the real registration.
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