1955 Alfa Romeo 1900 CSS Coupe

The Alfa Romeo 1900 Super Sprint Zagato first appeared in 1954, and production continued until 1956. In September 1954, Elio Zagato acquired an early 1900 C chassis and added lightweight aluminum coachwork, which is regarded today as one of his finest designs. This car proved to be very competitive on the track, and a further 38 Zagato-bodied 1900 Super Springs were sanctioned by Alfa Romeo, including six that were entered in the 1955 Mille Miglia.

This car is the 17th of 21 cars built on the second-series chassis. It enjoyed a brief racing career at the Tour of Sicily in 1955 and the Mille Miglia in 1955 and 1956. A U.S. serviceman brought the car to the United States in 1959 and then sold it to a New York owner in 1962. After the 1900 experienced a minor accident, it was put into storage for 40 years with less than 15,000 miles on the clock. It was acquired by its current owner in 2017 and has just been restored.

In September of 1954, Elio Zagato sourced a 1900C chassis and gave it lightweight aluminum coachwork that featured a sculpted nose and bulged hood with dual inlets designed to provide adequate space for the higher-profile Weber carburetors.

Based on the car's performance and appearance, Alfa Romeo experimental department director Consalvo Sanesi recommended the production of a small batch of officially sanctioned cars. By mid-1956, approximately 39 examples of the 1900 Super Sprint Zagato were built. Six different examples were entered at the 1955 Mille Miglia, and one of its more notable victories was by Joakim Bonnier, who won the 2-liter Sverige Grand Prix in August 1955.

This particular example is believed to be the 17th example of 21 cars ordered in 1954 on the second-series Sprint chassis. It was completed in early 1955 and fitted with engine number 01048. It left the factory finished in metallic grey paint and distributed to Franco Venturi of Rome. He sold the car on February 26th to Sergio Bettoja, who had the cars registered with tags 219047. Bettoja entered the car in the Giro di Sicilia on March 4th, 1955. He then used the Alfa to become the champion of the University of Modena.

The car was sold on April 27th to Vittorio Vittorio Randaccio of Rome, and he also raced the Alfa, entering the XXII Mille Miglia on May 1st, 1955, as #503. It failed to finish the Mille. Its next event was on November 11th, 1955, when it entered the Coppa Inter Europa as car number 94. Next, it wore car number 335 the following May at the XXIII Mille Miglia.

Tullio Pacini of Rome purchased the car in November of 1956. It was sold a short time later, in February of 1957, to Saverio Gravino of Catania, Sicily. It was acquired in 1959 by Richard Hall, who had the car imported to his home in New York and retained possession for three years. Marvin Katz of New York purchased the Alfa in January 1962. While in his care, the car was involved in a minor collision. In the process of repairs, Katz ultimately garaged the car to that end. The damaged car remained in storage for the next four decades, all the while displaying about 24,000 kilometers.

It was brought out of storage in mid-2001 and sold to Norbert Wollner, who re-sold it in February 2002 to A.C. Leerdam of Florida. Mr. Leerdam addressed some of the mechanical elements and had it entered in the preservation-style entry at the Winter Park Concours d'Elegance. Over the next few years, the Alfa was shown three more times at Winter Park, and once at the Radnor Hunt Concours d'Elegance.

In June 2013, the Super Sprint Zagato was sold to its current caretaker. A more thorough freshening soon began, including a complete repaint in the car's original color, refreshing the wiring and gearbox, and restoring and installing the original bumpers.

Currently, this car displays just 26,265 kilometers.

By Daniel Vaughan | May 2017