An Italian Jeep Love Affair
What’s better than an open-top Jeep from the ’50s? An Italian open-top Jeep from the ’50s! What we have here is a 1952 Alfa Romeo 1900M AR51 “Matta”, and I will not make the ,“What’s a Matta you that you don’t know what a Matta is,” joke. The Matta was built by Alfa specifically for the Italian military, but like all government surplus, things tend to end up in civilian hands after a bit.
The Matta really didn’t see much success, which means it is now pretty rare. Just over 2,100 Matta’s were built, but there are only a few handfuls that are still known to exist. The vehicle is powered by a gloriously beautiful twin-cam 1,884cc engine that just looks so good in the engine bay that I would hate to get it dirty.
I definitely still would, but come on, that’s a piece of art. The truck’s overall layout is almost a carbon copy of the original Willy’s Jeep, but in typical Italian fashion, it almost seems more presentable, or rather more concerned of its image.
According to Bring a Trailer, the Matta is almost completely restored, and only a few things are left needing to be done, but the rig runs and drives beautifully. The seller is asking $19,000 for the Alfa Romeo-Jeep hybrid, but what do you think? Is an Italian Jeep worth that kind of cash?