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RM Sotheby's Phoenix, Arizona auction on the 18th and 19th of January achieved $36.5 million of sales and 88% of lots sold. The New Year starts with with a number of US auctions over the past week and these sales provide a good insight as to the year ahead. Results of these auctions indicate sustained strong demand for the highest quality, rarest vehicles and increasing values.

The 1955 Alfa Romeo 1900C SS Speciale by Boano -

Chassis No. AR 1900C 01846
Engine No. AR1308 01207

Futuristic designs and energetic creations were the hallmarks of young designer Mario Boano and his creation of this 1900 CSS Speciale, produced for the 1955 Turin Motor Show, demonstrates his style and flair perfectly. Based on one of his earlier creations, a 6C 3000 coupe that had been built for Argentinean president Juan Perón (a former racing driver and avid automobile collector), Boano had hoped to showcase the Perón car at Turin, but it was instead shipped directly to Argentina, leading to the creation of the 1900C SS version.

Boano's futuristic design shows the influences of the aerodynamic B.A.T. Alfa Romeos designed by Franco Scaglione for Bertone and Touring's famous 1900 Disco Volante (“Flying Saucer”? The Speciale has simple, elegant rounded curves, classic long hood, short deck with its proportions set off by delicate chrome bumperettes and small round taillights. The curved glass and B-pillar design would later appear on Boano's Ferrari bodies.

To add performance to the style a competition-style Tipo 1308 engine with large-diameter valves, a ram-type induction system of the type found on period Ferrari four-cylinder racing cars, and twin high-volume Weber 50 DCO3 carburettors mated to a five-speed transmission powers the Speciale.