A FIRST INSIGHT AGAINST THE FALSIFICATION OF CLASSIC CARS: CHARACTERISATION OF STEEL FROM ALFA ROMEO MUSEUM VEHICLES

As the classic car auction market has seen a stunning growth in values over the past decade. The trade in fake vehicles it is becoming more significant. Identifying a fake classic car is extremely difficult due to the exactitude and talent of the counterfeiters that manufacture these objects. At present, the best practice in authentication is an accurate survey of the car made by an experienced specialist with knowledge of the particular model, with inspections of the serial numbers. The use of chemical testing of the alloys or metals has been reported in non-scientific articles. The aim of this research, in collaboration with the Alfa Romeo Museum of Arese, is a first attempt at developing an analytical method able to discriminate between fake and original historic cars, through the investigation of the alloyed steel used in the chassis. Drastic technical changes occurred in the steel industry over the last 100 years, and one of the results has been an approximately constant reduction in the level of impurities (Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Sulphur, Phosphorus, Copper, Tin and Lead) in the alloy [1]. Steel samples and certified reference materials have been analysed with a handheld portable XRF, ICP-MS and C-S instrumentations for the purpose of validation and developing a successful and non-destructive analysis protocol for the use of handheld portable XRF in classic vehicle workshops. Having developed the analytical protocol, cars with different ages (the majority of which were Alfa Romeo) have been chosen and investigated. All the data acquired was processed using multivariate statistical techniques such as Principal Component and Cluster Analysis.