1955 Alfa Romeo 1900 CSS Coupe

The Alfa Romeo 1900 Series, engineered by Orazio Satta Puliga, made its debut at the 1950 Paris Motor Show. It would become a commercial success and was the company's first model built on a standardized production line with unitized construction and available left-hand drive. The 1900 evolved into the short-wheelbase 1900C, with the 'C' representing 'corto' or short,' and the more-powerful 1900TI of 1951. The 1900TI was followed by the 1900 Super in 1953 and the 1900 TI Super, also known as the '1900SS' or Super Sprint, with enlarged 1975cc engines.

The Alfa Romeo 1900 C SS was an ultra-rare, short chassis that was powered by a racing-specification engine, gearbox, and revised final-drive ratios. They also were fitted with air-cooled 'Alfin' self-adjusting brakes. The five-speed manual gearbox had synchronized second, third, and fourth gears with ratios that matched the power curve of the twin-cam Tipo 1308 engine.

Production of the 1900 continued until July 1959, with over 21,000 examples built. Of those, just 854 examples were the 1900C SS.

The 1900 was clothed by many of Italy's finest custom coachbuilders, including Touring, Ghia, Vignale, and Zagato.

This particular example, finished in gray, is a Zagato-bodied Alfa Romeo 1900C SS. It was delivered on May 13th of 1955 and was sold through the Alfa Romeo dealership at Lucca in Tuscany to Luigi De Paoli. The vehicle returned to Alfa Romeo soon thereafter and it was next acquired by Charlie Daniels, a member of the US military in Italy, and Colonel William Kelly. The men campaigned the car jointly until 1957, when Colonel Kelly took sole ownership of the car. While traveling through Europe, Colonel Kelly entered club tours and rallies with the car, with the majority likely organized by the 'Scuderia Aurelia' club at Camp Darby.

Following Brigadier General Kelly's return to the US and a new posting in North Carolina, the SSZ was stored unused until 1977. The Alfa Romeo was retained by Brigadier General Kelly for nearly 60 years in all, until its recent discovery and acquisition by the current caretaker.

Currently, the front bumper and left-front brake cooling duct, along with various other items, are no longer with the car. It has a partially assembled 1900 engine that has been with the car since 1956.

By Daniel Vaughan | Oct 2014