You Could Own Jeremy Clarkson’s Top Gear Alfa Romeo 75

Ever wonder what happened to the cars bought for Top Gear’s many cheap car challenges? A lucky few have ended up in museums, but most, we suspect, end up going to the scrap heap. Some, however, find their way into private hands and crop up again years later – and that’s just what’s happened with the Alfa Romeo 75 bought by Jeremy Clarkson for the £1000 Alfa Romeo challenge, first aired during series 11 in 2008.

The 75 – Alfa’s mid-size exec saloon in the 1980s, and its last rear-wheel drive saloon until the current Giulia, was selected by Clarkson for a challenge that saw the trio of presenters attempt to prove their oft-repeated mantra that you can’t be a true car person until you’ve owned an Alfa Romeo.

With its inboard rear brakes and transaxle gearbox, the 75 was one of the sweetest-handling saloons of its day, and it helps that the one bought for the show also came with the lusty 3.0-litre ‘Busso’ V6 engine.

Having undergone trials like a track day and a concours during its starring TV role (it was for the latter of which it received its, erm, distinctive ‘racing colours of Ecuador’ paintwork), the car was sold on to a new owner. They’re now selling it through Iconic Auctioneers at its upcoming sale at the Silverstone Festival on 24 August.

As the pictures make rather clear, time hasn’t been too kind to the 75. Clarkson’s crudely applied paint job has flaked away to partially reveal the original black colour beneath, and it’s not been MOT’d since 2017.

However, it’s also said that the post-TG owner has spent around £4500 on the car mechanically, and per the ad, it ‘starts, runs and stops’, which is something. It’s also relatively low-mileage, having racked up an indicated 51,000 miles.

The 75 is swiftly becoming a desirable classic, and thanks to this one’s extra helping of fame, any chances of picking it up for under a grand as Clarkson did all those years ago have long gone, even in this condition. Iconic puts the estimate at £12,000 to £15,000. That does, however, include the value of replacement doors and bonnet to help bring it back to its original spec.

Or, you could just sort it out mechanically and keep it as it is as a tribute to an excellent episode of prime era TG. We’d be highly tempted.