1954 Alfa Romeo 1900

After World War II, it took Alfa Romeo two years to resume production. The Portello works had been leveled during the war and by 1947 Alfa Romeo had finally dug itself out of the rubble and production resumed. The models that left the factory were simply updated versions of its prewar designs. The first postwar design was introduced in 1950. It was called the 1900, brilliantly engineered by Orazio Satta, and its four-cylinder engine continued the twin-cam tradition but featured a one-piece cast-iron and aluminum block. Depending on the state of tune, it produced 90 to 115 horsepower. This would be the last Alfa Romeo model to utilize the classic valve-adjusting mechanism. They had unit-body construction and a modern style pressed steel saloon bodyshell. With the unit-body construction, the 1900 was much less expensive to produce than any they had built in the Portello plant to date. The suspension was a solid rear axle setup that was well located with a triangulating link and radius arms. In the front were double wishbones and coil springs. Large finned-aluminum drum brakes provided the stopping power.

Most body styles were sedans and coupes, although a handful of roadsters were built. The coupes were formed from aluminum while steel was used for the sedans. Coupes were commonly offered as three-window or five-window depending on the side glass configuration.

The Alfa Romeo 1900 was smaller and more compact than the prewar-designed 6C 2500. Its four-cylinder engine marked a turning point for the marque whose pre-war reputation had largely been formed from the all-conquering supercharged straight six and eight-cylinder engines. The four-cylinder unit was modern and housed in an equally modern pressed steel body shell. The engine continue to possess twin overhead camshafts and had enormous potential for development. This would be the final Alfa Romeo model to utilize the company's classical valve-adjusting mechanism, with the valve spring retainer being a two-piece unit, with matching serrated faces. The brakes and suspension components were ranked with the best of the time. Its unit body construction, the first Alfa Romeo car to use this technique, made it more difficult for Italy's coachbuilders to practice their creativity, but not impossible, and a variety of one-off and limited production designs from Ghia, Bertone, Touring and Pinin Farina and others.

The sporting 'Sprint' 1900C was introduced in 1951 and was largely similar to the standard 1900. It was built atop a shortened chassis (with a five-inch shorter wheelbase), denoted by the 'C' in the name, and all wore coachwork bodies, with cabriolets built by Pininfarina and coupés by Touring. The sedans generally had steel bodies while the coupes often received aluminum. Coupes were commonly referred to as three window or five window depending on the side glass configuration. The more-powerful 1900 TI of 1951 was followed in 1953 by the 1900 Super and 1900 TI Super, also known as the 1900 SS or Super Sprint, with enlarged 1,975 cc engines.

The Alfa Romeo 1900 C SS was the ultimate evolution of the series, combining the short chassis with a racing-specification engine, gearbox, and revised final-drive ratios. Additionally, it was equipped with 'Alfin' self-adjusting brakes, a five-speed manual gearbox with synchronized second, third, and fourth gears, and carefully selected ratios matching the power curve of the twin-cam Tipo 1308 engine.

The Alfa Romeo 1900 Series was the company's first model built on a standardized production line with unitized construction and available left-hand drive. July 1959 marked the end of nearly a decade of 1900 production. While more than 21,000 examples of the 1900 were built in all, only 854 were the 1900 C SS.

by Daniel Vaughan | Oct 2019