San Diego architect showcases unique Alfa Romeo in Carmel
CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA, Calif. (KION) A SoCal architect who came all the way from San Diego showcased his love for classy cars at the Carmel-by-the-Sea Concours.
The owner is an award-winning architect in San Diego and car enthusiast, Jonathan Segal. He was looking for a unique one-off car and came across this 1950 Alfa Romeo.
"In that era, they made one-off cars. They make a design and try and sell it. Like most small craftsmen of the day, they would. They didn't have a lot of money behind them. They just made what they liked and see if people would buy it," said mechanic Rob Fram.
In 2019, the Alfa Romeo won first in its class for the Pebble Beach Closed O-2: Postwar Touring. That same year, it won the Nethercutt "Most Elegant Coupe."
"Winning your class is fabulous, don't get me wrong," Segal said. "But the Nethercutt thing of the entire field of 200 cars, saying that it was actually the most elegant of those cars that had a closed roof, that was a big deal for us. We've never won that before."
The car was originally created for an American market, but it bever really made it here. The car was built before the rest of Europe transitioned to driving on the right side of the car, so the steering wheel is on the left side.
Segal shipped it to Canada, where Fram was able to repaint it with the chocolatey-gray color it has now, depending on where the sun hits it.
