Woodcote Park had the right kind of automotive theatre this summer, with concours lawns, collector machinery and a headline auction all converging at the Royal Automobile Club’s Surrey estate.
Among the cars that pulled attention away from the scenery was James Martin’s coachbuilt Alfa Romeo, a deeply restored Italian rarity with celebrity provenance and a shape that speaks fluently in 1960s sports car language.
RM Sotheby’s Woodcote Park Auction gave the Royal Automobile Club Concours a sharper collector-market edge, while Richard Hammond added familiar motoring-world presence as part of the judging panel.
At a glance
- James Martin’s rare coachbuilt Alfa Romeo sold for £314,375 at RM Sotheby’s Woodcote Park Auction on 8 July 2026.
- The Autotecnica del Lario-bodied coupé underwent a meticulous restoration costing almost £90,000.
- Richard Hammond joined the concours judging panel, with the event’s top honour going to a distinctive Jaguar C-type.
A hand-built Alfa with serious collector appeal
The car at the centre of the auction interest was a coachbuilt Alfa Romeo 1900 Speciale, an exceptionally scarce creation by Autotecnica del Lario, the small Italian carrozzeria once based near Lake Como.
ATL operated in the kind of low-volume world that gives classic collectors a headache and a thrill in equal measure, producing cars in tiny numbers with bodies and details that varied from one example to the next.
Martin’s car is believed to be one of around eight produced, which places it in the rarefied category of automobiles that many enthusiasts will never encounter outside a significant concours lawn or a private collection.
Its appeal isn’t simply rarity for rarity’s sake.
The aluminium coachwork carries the spirit of post-war racing berlinettas, with a lightweight Superleggera-style tubular steel structure and Alfa Romeo 2000 Sportiva specification underpinning the design.
The result is a car that sits somewhere between homage, boutique coachbuilding and mechanical passion project.
James Martin’s restoration was anything but cosmetic
Martin acquired the car in 2018 and oversaw a restoration that became a highly personal undertaking.
Nearly £90,000 was spent bringing it back to the standard he wanted, with the project involving a complete strip-down and detailed work across the bespoke body, chassis and mechanical components.
New twin-Weber carburettors were fitted to the engine, while parts that couldn’t be bought from a shelf had to be remade or restored specifically for the car.
That’s the reality of owning a boutique coachbuilt Italian classic, especially one built in such tiny numbers.
Martin has described the car as holding “a very special place” in his heart, and the finished result reflects a collector’s eye rather than a quick auction preparation.
The exterior was returned in an Alfa red tone chosen to better suit the car, paired with a dark chocolate tan leather cabin that keeps the interior in period mood.
Inside, a diamond-quilted finish over the transmission tunnel and sills gives the coupé the atmosphere of a 1960s sports GT, even though this example belongs to the early-to-mid 1970s.
One of the more deliberate changes was the roofline, which gained a Zagato-style double-bubble treatment to improve usability while retaining the car’s period character.
For Martin, who is 6ft 3in, that detail had a practical dimension as well as an aesthetic one.
Light weight, Alfa power and 1960s character
Mechanically, the coupé uses a 105-series Alfa Romeo engine and running gearbox, though much of the car beyond that is bespoke.
The twin-cam engine produces more than 100bhp, which sounds modest until it’s paired with a kerb weight of less than 800kg.
That combination is exactly the point.
This is not a car chasing modern numbers, but one built around response, delicacy and the sort of tactile feel that makes lightweight classics so compelling to drive.
Martin has called it “a beautiful-looking car” that “sounds fantastic,” and it’s easy to see why the shape resonated with a collector drawn to the 1960s Italian school of design.
The rear treatment nods to the Ferrari 250 Short Wheelbase silhouette Martin admires, while the wide wheel arches give the car a more muscular stance than its size might suggest.
Richard Hammond and the concours setting
The Alfa’s sale was only one part of a broader Royal Automobile Club Concours that mixed veteran, vintage, classic, racing and motorcycle machinery across Woodcote Park’s grounds.
More than 200 rare and eclectic vehicles appeared in feature displays, spanning over a century of motoring history.
The event also included anniversary tributes and displays covering everything from historic motorcycles to contemporary supercars.
Former Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond joined a judging panel of distinguished designers, helping award the event’s leading honour to a Jaguar C-type.
That mix of concours authority, auction energy and recognisable motoring personalities gave the gathering a broader pull than a conventional static display.
For collectors, the presence of RM Sotheby’s added the live-market drama that turns admiration into bidding.
Details & Specifications
| Event | RM Sotheby’s Woodcote Park Auction at the Royal Automobile Club Concours |
|---|---|
| Date | Wednesday 8 July 2026 |
| Location | Woodcote Park, Surrey |
| Car | Coachbuilt Alfa Romeo 1900 Speciale |
| Coachbuilder | Autotecnica del Lario |
| Estimated production | Around eight examples |
| Body | Handcrafted aluminium coachwork |
| Chassis | Lightweight Superleggera-style tubular steel structure |
| Engine | 105-series Alfa Romeo twin-cam |
| Output | More than 100bhp |
| Weight | Less than 800kg |
| Restoration cost | Almost £90,000 |
| Sale price | £314,375 |
For all the star power around Woodcote Park, Martin’s Alfa stood out because it offered something more durable than celebrity ownership.
It was rare, obsessively restored and shaped by the sort of Italian coachbuilding culture that continues to define the most interesting corners of the collector-car world.
