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"June 24 will be one of the highlights of my career in the automotive industry," says Darren Griffith, Sales Manager at Alfa Romeo Brisbane. "To think that on the actual day marking the 100th birthday of the one of the greatest names in car industry, the very first car to carry the ‘Alfa Romeo’ badge will not be in Milan, it will be here in Brisbane is just remarkable."

Following Neville Crichton's purchase of the G1, it was clear that it was only a museum display car. “Alfa Romeos are made to be driven and the G1 is no exception,” says Neville Crichton. “Therefore we took the decision to have the car fully restored back to driveable condition and the best place to do that was here in New Zealand. The G1 now drives better than ever.” With the G1 in such good driving condition, Neville Crichton also decided that a stationary display was not the right way to mark the 100 birthday of accompany whose name is synonymous with speed and performance. “The best way we could mark Alfa’s 100th birthday is to get the G1 out on the road and the race track so that as many people as possible can see her in action!” says Mr Crichton. “And, with her unique Australian history starting in Brisbane, there is no better place for her to mark the centenary of the company that created her!” The Alfa Romeo G1 is being demonstrated around the country by renowned Australian classic car journalist, broadcaster and classic car restoration expert, David Berthon (above). “There could be no better person in Australia to demonstrate the G1 than David,” says Mr Crichton. “His knowledge and passion is unrivalled, while his skill behind the wheel, as demonstrated by him taking the G1 to second place in the classic car event at the Australian Grand Prix, clearly establishes that the G1 is in safe hands!”

The very first car to be called an "Alfa Romeo" - and the only one left in the world – has returned ‘home’ to Brisbane to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Alfa Romeo tomorrow at Alfa Romeo Brisbane. And to celebrate, Alfa Romeo Brisbane is having a party.

“June 24 will be one of the highlights of my career in the automotive industry,” says Darren Griffith, Sales Manager at Alfa Romeo Brisbane. “To think that on the actual day marking the 100th birthday of the one of the greatest names in car industry, the very first car to carry the ‘Alfa Romeo’ badge will not be in Milan, it will be here in Brisbane is just remarkable. Add to this the fact that this particular car has also played a part in Queensland history just adds to the honour we all feel at having it visit Alfa Romeo Brisbane for the Alfa Romeo centenary.”

The unique Alfa Romeo G1, now on display at Alfa Romeo Brisbane, was imported into Brisbane in 1921 and was hidden on farm in western Queensland to avoid the original owner’s creditors before spending years rounding up cattle and as a water pump. It was then rescued, restored and used to commute between Brisbane and Melbourne. Further restorations have made it fully driveable and an award winning car, as well as a unique part of Italian and Australian motoring heritage.

The history of the last remaining Alfa Romeo G1 is as colourful as the company that give birth to it. Chassis 6018 (the 18th Alfa ever built, and possibly once Enzo Ferrari’s company car) was imported new into Australia in 1921 and was sold, for £850, to a Queensland businessman who, soon afterwards, was declared bankrupt. Since he had seen his financial crash coming, he hid the car to keep it out of the hands of his creditors. Then, three years on, he had the misfortune to die and the G1 remained hidden for 25 years, apparently holding up one corner of a shed in the Queensland outback.

Then it was discovered by a couple of young jackaroos who decided it would make a fine ‘paddock bomb’ for rounding up cattle, chasing kangaroos and all the stuff that blokes do on farms. Eventually they managed to hit a tree and the damaged car was towed back to the farm where it was used to power a water pump. With its massive torque at low engine speed, it was ideal for the job and the work ensured that the engine remained in excellent condition even if the rest of the car was brutalised.

In 1964 the G1 was retired from pump duty and rescued by Alfa Romeo enthusiasts'. The following year the car was bought by Ross Flewell-Smith who, against the advice of some experts who thought the car unrestorable, began to rebuild it, an exercise that took ten years. In this Herculean task he was helped by the fact that he discovered a second G1, this one a wreck, which supplied many of the parts that were missing. Most of the body was missing and, after experimenting with various styles, Flewell-Smith took advice from Luigi Fusi who was then curator of Alfa Romeo’s museum.

Flewell-Smith’s rebuild was good enough to win the 1977 Queensland Vintage Car Concours and to win the 1978 Australian Mile Miglia memorial run. In an historic race at Lakeside it was clocked at 86 mph, remarkable performance for a 1921 car, so remarkable, in fact, it was black-flagged for being so quick! In 1995, Flewell-Smith sold this car he had nicknamed ‘Milly’ from the ‘Milan’ on the engine back, to Julian Sterling who commissioned a restoration to his own exacting standards. All worn parts were replaced with specially-made components built regardless of cost. New tyres were supplied by Michelin, made from the original 1920s moulds, costing $6,000 for the set. The restoration was undertaken up to a standard, not down to a price, and the work was described in the 1998 edition of the Classic Car Yearbook as ‘breathtaking’.

Following a rationalization of Julian Sterling’s car collection, the car was bought by Neville Crichton, the governing director of the new Australian Alfa Romeo importer, Ateco Automotive Pty Ltd. In addition to now being on display at Alfa Romeo Brisbane for the next three weeks it will also be attending local classic car events.