Alfa Romeo Berlina Aerodinamica Tecnica B.A.T. 9d 1955, Itália

Alfa Romeo Berlina Aerodinamica Tecnica B.A.T. 9d 1955, Itália

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Following the B.A.T. 7’s show season of 1954, Scaglione began work on a third concept for 1955. Perhaps sensing some missed opportunity—as popular as the prior B.A.T.s were, they looked utterly unlike anything sold by Alfa Romeo—Alfa Romeo’s mandate for the final B.A.T concept was to “make it more practical for road use.”
Thus, for his third act, Scaglione explored a roadworthy gran turismo interpretation of the B.A.T theme. The fins were reduced in size to improve rear visibility, and the rear wheel skirts were eliminated. A pronounced beltline was added toward the rear, while a standard production triangular Alfa Romeo Giulietta grille, including the famed Milano crest, was fitted to the front grille, highlighting the car’s identity as an Alfa Romeo. And, of course, the mechanical components were once again drawn from the Alfa Romeo 1900.
The Turin Salon was again chosen to unveil the new concept car, and the B.A.T. 9d was unsurprisingly lavished with high praise, completing one of the most important automotive triptychs ever devised. After the 1955 show season, this final concept car was sold into American ownership, and it next surfaced in the parking lot of the Sebring endurance race in March 1956. The B.A.T. 9d was discovered there by Chicago dealer Harry Woodnorth, and he, along with Tom Barrett, arranged a purchase after patiently waiting for the car’s owners to return.
Barrett later sold his share of the car to Woodnorth, and in 1958 Woodnorth in turn sold the Alfa Romeo to Ed Beseler of Lansing, Michigan, who repainted the body red. After Beseler’s passing a few years later, the B.A.T. 9d was purchased by Arlen Regis at an estate sale, and he prominently displayed the car at the dealership he managed, Chapin Motors of Greenville, Michigan. In 1962, 16-year-old Gary Kaberle spotted the car at the dealership and began relentlessly hounding Regis to sell it to him, eventually emptying a gym bag of cash onto the dealer’s desk to trigger a transaction.
Kaberle retained the B.A.T. 9d for 28 years, and it served as his transport while he earned his D.D.S. Continually maintaining the Alfa Romeo, he presented the car at the Henry Ford Museum’s annual Sports Cars in Review in the late 1960s. After receiving an invitation to display the car at the Meadow Brook Concours d’Elegance in 1987, Dr. Kaberle arranged to refinish the aging exterior, opting to repaint it in silver.