Long appreciated by true automotive connoisseurs, Moretti was one of a handful of legendary boutique Italian concerns that flourished in motorsports during the 1950s, routinely giving fits to more established manufacturers in small-displacement racing. This beautifully restored 1200 Sport is understood to be one of only two cars built with this body style, an expressive sporting design by the celebrated Giovanni Michelotti.

In January 1955 chassis number 5007 made its public debut at the Brussels Motor Show, reportedly finished in a lovely color scheme of light blue paint over blue upholstery. Following exhibition, the Moretti was sold to a Belgian enthusiast and subsequently campaigned in at least one competition event, the VII Tour de Belgique Rally of 1955, where it was entered by a Mr. Pennartz and Yves Mathieu.

By the early 1960s, the Moretti was sold to a Dutch fruit vendor who imported the car to the Netherlands and later sold it in 1962 to Mr. Berkhout, the owner of the Erle & Nester Autogarage (ENAG) dealerships in Voorburg. Because Mr. Berkhout was a large man, the car was more often enjoyed by his son, Peter, who even raced across the frozen IJsselmeer (Lake IJssel) during the infamously cold winter of 1963. During this ownership, the car’s original engine was replaced with a Fiat 1100 motor.

In 1965 the Moretti was sold to Hans Oosterbaan, a Moretti collector living in the Hague, and he retained possession of the spider for 35 years, parking the car next to his rare Moretti 1200 Vignale Coupe. In the mid-1990s a refurbishment was initiated, but the work remained incomplete when Mr. Oosterbaan sold the car in 2000 to Martin Dijkhof, a restoration specialist based in the Netherlands.

The Moretti was then gradually restored over a period of 12 years, during which the owner sourced the matching-numbers 1200 engine, which was rebuilt and reunited with the chassis. In addition to a complete chassis refurbishment, the car was cosmetically refinished in the blue-over-blue Brussels-show livery. On the basis of the beautiful restoration, the rare spider was presented at the 2015 Interclassics Brussels exhibition, and it was the subject of feature articles in the Dutch magazines Auto Motor Klassiek and Autovisie.

In 2016, the 1200 Sport was acquired by the consignor, a discerning collector based in Belgium, and he exhibited the car at the 2016 Zoute Grand Prix Concours d’Elegance and the 2017 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Claiming extreme rarity, and sensationally sculpted coachwork, this voluptuous Moretti spider would make a stunning acquisition for any enthusiast of distinctive post-war Italian sports cars.