Regularly serviced. Full books. Low mileage. Only driven once by its previous owner… Jeremy Clarkson.
Celebrity and pop-culture provenance can drive up the prices of already collectible classic cars, but what if the car in question had been somewhat abused by its big-name owner?
This hand-painted green and black 1989 Alfa Romeo 75 V6 looks, from a distance, to be a poorly kept and run-down machine, now seemingly far from its days of high-speed touring on the autoroute, but the truth is far more interesting.
For the past 11 years, the Alfa has been kept in this condition, but mechanically maintained to the value of £4500 ($AU9350), as back in July 2008, the car starred in an Alfa Romeo challenge on an episode of Top Gear.
Driven by Jeremy Clarkson, who hand-applied the green paint, the car was reportedly purchased for just £450 ($AU900) and went on to win the show’s challenge against a GTV and classic Spider.
The car was sold after production ended, with the same owner keeping it for more than a decade.
The Alfa Romeo was sold last week at the 2025 Classic Sale At Silverstone Festival auction for £12,075 ($AU25,000), and included replacement panels (three doors, bonnet, front and rear guards and both bumper bars.
Its mechanical maintenance included a belt replacement and a rebuilt gearbox.
Named to commemorate the Italian brand’s 75th anniversary in 1985, some 375,257 examples were produced over the model’s seven-year life. Just 6753 of the 138kW/250Nm 3.0-litre V6 version were built.
When new, the 3.0-litre V6 Alfa-Romeo 75 manual cost more than $46,000 in Australia, and good examples can still fetch over $40,000, classifieds show.
To see a car with ‘celebrity’ and prime-time history go under the hammer for nearly half that, suggests that the new owner scored something of a bargain.
You can view the auction listing here, and also a video in which a publisher adjacent to Clarkson and Top Gear co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May, DriveTribe, tested the Alfa ahead of the auction.
With over 20 years of experience in digital publishing, James Ward has worked within the automotive landscape since 2007 and brings experience from the publishing, manufacturer and lifestyle side of the industry together to spearhead Drive's multi-media content direction.
