An extremely rare 1962 Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ has been sold for a whopping $650,000 after being found in a basement in which it had been trapped for 35 years.

The 1962 Giulietta SZ is one of the sweetest Alfa Romeos ever made and is one of the most sought after, with just 217 cars manufactured in total. So it's hardly a surprise that it went for so much after being discovered collecting dust in a basement in Turin, Italy.

The car, which boasts a beautiful Blu Chiaro Metallizato finish, was owned by a mechanic who was unable to get it out of the basement he parked it in due to the elevator being damaged. Quite amazingly, it remained there for 35 years before being discovered in November, following the owner's passing.

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via Facebook

The mechanic did not leave a will behind so the Italian government auctioned the car and raked in €567.000 (just under $650k when converted).

That is all according to the Alfa Romeo Giulia & 105-series Facebook page, who posted the following along with images of the car:

"This very rare 1962 Giulietta SZ was discovered in a basement in Turin around the end of November. The car sat there for 35 years after the lift broke down. The owner (a mechanic) died without leaving a will, so it was put up for auction by the government this morning.

It sold for €567.000."

This particular model is one of the best performing versions of the legendary Alfa Romeo. The car boasts the iconic hand-manufactured aluminum bodywork on the shorter chassis of the Giulietta Spider and features more weight reduction measures such as Perspex windows and a stripped-down interior.

The SZ weighs just 1,730 lbs and was able to reach 120 mp/h with its highly-tuned, 1.3-liter four-cylinder that delivered 100 hp. Given those specifications, plus the weight, it was able to shadow race cars with much bigger engines under the hood.

Most of these were raced in various events such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Targa Florio, and the Nurburgring. This one, in particular, is believed to be all-original and has never been restored, making it quite the find.

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