Going up!

Finally.

An Alfa Romeo that’s been stuck in a basement for 35 years was sold at an Italian government auction last week, and let’s just say the treasury should be pretty pleased with the result.

The 1962 Giulietta SZ was discovered among the belongings of a mechanic in Turin who died in November, according to the Alfa Romeo Giulia & 105-Series Facebook page. Apparently the elevator he’d lowered it underground with broke down afterward and was never fixed.

Since he died without a will or any heirs, the time capsule car was claimed by the government, removed with a crane and sold at the nondescript auction for a whopping $650,000.

That’s one of the highest prices ever paid for the model, and above the Hagerty Price Guide estimate for a show-quality example. Fewer than 200 are believed to have been made, many of which were used for racing and either modified or wrecked over the years.

ALFA ROMEO GIULIA QUADRIFOGLIO TEST DRIVE: