Evaluation: One of about 20 of these Fiat 500 “Albarella” beach cars built by Carrozzeria Savio near Turin, and has been with the same Italian family since new, kept in their holiday villa on the Adriatic. Never restored, but the soft top is newer and seatbelts were (wisely) added. The car’s condition is as you’d expect from a beach car used for the past 50-plus summers in a row. The underbody is rough and grimy, as is the engine bay. The interior is dirty. Many surfaces are oxidized. But you can’t blame people for using a car for its intended purpose, and this thing is rare enough to be interesting even if it isn’t pretty.
Bottom Line: This car looks like the product of a summer fling between a VW Thing and a Fiat Jolly. It’s nowhere near as cute as the Ghia-bodied Jolly, but it’s probably just as fun behind the wheel and bidders seemed smitten with it, putting up well over estimate and placing more value on the rarity and fun factor than the tired condition.
