1959 Alfa Romeo Sprint Speciale news, pictures, and information

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Coupe
Coachwork: Bertone

The Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Speciale was one of the world's first production body designs to be based on the experimental aerodynamic 'B.A.T.' (Berlinetta Aerodynamica Technica) cars that were developed by Bertone and Alfa Romeo in the early 1950's.

To homologate the design racing, production of the Sprint Speciale began with 100 pre-series cars in 1959. To save weight, these racing versions had aluminum hood, trunk and doors, as well as plexiglass rear windows, and had no bumpers. Vehicle weight was less than 1,900 pounds. Compared to the later production cars, these pre-series cars also had a lower, more rounded front end, and are therefore commonly referred to as the 'low nose' configuration.

The Giulietta Sprint Speciales had 1300cc double overhead came engines and 5-speed transmissions, and approximately 1,400 were produced. In 1963 the model was replaced by the Giulia version, which looked nearly identical but had a 1600cc engine.

The car displayed is one of approximately 15 (possibly 14) surviving low nose Sprint Speciales. It is believed that the original owner was an Alfa Romeo mechanic who brought the car with him when he moved to America and raced it here.

The actual number is not known but the serial numbers show that no more than 105 units were produced. These early cars had no bumpers and the hood, doors and deck lid were aluminum. The quarter and back windows are Plexiglas for additional weight savings. The car has a top speed of 112 mph powered by a twin-overhead-cam, in-line 4-cylinder, 1,290 cc (1.3L) engine developing 80-90 hp, coupled to a 4-speed, all-synchronized transmission.

Coupe
Coachwork: Bertone

This is the Sprint Speciale, designed and created by Franco Scaglione with Giuseppe 'Nuccio' Bertone after they met in 1957; only 1,366 examples of this Giulietta model were produced. This vehicle implemented many design concepts originally explored in the three BAT cars (Berlinetta Aerodinamica Technica), studies featured by Alfa. The next evolution was the Spinta, meaning 'pushed' or 'super tuned,' which was very popular at the 1957 Turin show. The SS Giuletta, the first production model, was designed through a scientific approach based on wind tunnel studies and aerodynamics thanks to Scaglione's background in industry; it had the lowest drag coefficient of any car for many years, and was a major achievement even by today's standard. Although the SS won 13th overall in Targa Florio in 1960 (as well as other wins in other races), because of its grace and design it became known more as an elegant aesthetic masterpiece than a racing vehicle.

In Italy this SS originally sold for $2,600,000 lira, about $4400 in 1959, at a comparable $5663 list price in the United States that year. The only options were a Nardi wood steering wheel and adapted Borrani wire wheels, both of which are included on this particular example.

This example was originally sold to a Swiss buyer, who brought it to the United States in the 1970s. The current owner has owned it for approximately 20 years. It won first place in the Alfa Romeo category at the Concorso Italiano, Monterey in 2007.

The 1954 Alfa Romeo Giulietta was an important vehicle for the Company, because it was the first offering since World War II that truly resembled the racing inspired vehicles Alfa was capable of producing. The vehicles were mass produced, a first for the company. The Giulietta came in various body-styles including the Spider, Sprint, TI, and Veloce.
The vehicles were built with the engine in the front and powered the rear wheels. Most used a four-speed manual gearbox with front and rear drum brakes. The steering was worm-and-roller with the front suspension comprised of wishbones with telescopic dampers and coil springs with anti-roll bar while the rear was a rigid live axle with telescopic dampers and coil springs.

The first of the Giulietta's to be offered was the 2+2 coupe which featured a four-cylinder engine and bodywork by Bertone. The 1290 cc engine producing 65 horsepower, a respectable figure at the time. A year later the berlina version appeared, commonly referred to as a salon. This version brought a level of practicality, with its four doors and longer wheelbase. It featured the same mechanical components as the Sprint but the engine was not as powerful, producing a little over 50 horsepower.

The famous coachbuilder, Pininfarina, was tasked with designing a new prototype for 1955. What was created was the Giulietta Spider Prototype, first introduced to the public at the 1956 Turing Motor Show in production form. It sat atop a slightly shorter wheelbase than the Sprint but used the same mechanical components.

In 1956, the Veloce was introduced. This version was sporty, with its dual-cam 1300 cc alloy engine. Using dual Weber DC03 carburetors the vehicle was capable of producing 90 horsepower. The gas tank was enlarged to better prepare it for endurance racing while the larger front brakes provided excellent stopping power. By using Plexiglas rear and side windows and aluminum alloy doors, hood, and trunk lid the vehicle was able to shed weight, ultimately improving performance. The Veloce version was available on the Spider and the Sprint.

In 1957, the Giulietta Ti was introduced, outfitted with a salon body and powered by a Sprint engine. With the four doors and a 65 horsepower engine, this became the most popular Giulietta ever produced.

Modest changes were made in 1959 to correct reliability issues. There were few aesthetic changes, mostly to the exterior of the TI version.

In 1961 the berlina's received an updated grill and the Spider now shared the same wheelbase as the Sprint. The TI received extra power, an increase that brought total output to 75 horsepower.

In 1963, the production of the berlina ceased with the TI doing the same a year later. Throughout the production lifespan of the Giulietta, the TI was by far the most popular model with nearly 93,000 examples being produced. The closest to the TI was the berlina with a little over 39,000 examples. With nearly 2,800 examples produced, the Spider Veloce was the lowest produced version. There was a version dubbed the Promiscua that was a four door estate car and featured body work by Coli that was even more exclusive, with only 91 examples produced.

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Alfa Romeo: 1951-1960

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