1955 Alfa Romeo 1900 CSS

The 1900 Series was Alfa Romeo's first all-new postwar model and brought with it innovations that would remain with the company for the following half-century. It had a unit-body construction, double-overhead-camshafts, inline four-cylinder engine with aluminum head and hemispherical combustion chambers, and wore coachwork by several leading Italian coachbuilders, including Pinin Farina, Vignale, Bertone, Zagato, and Touring.

The 1900 Series, engineered by Orazio Satta Puliga, made its debut in 1950 at the Paris Motor Show. It was the company's first model built on a standardized production line and available left-hand drive. The 1900 evolved into the 1900C and was followed by the more powerful 1900TI of 1951. In 1953 came the 1900 Super and 1900TI Super, also known as the '1900SS' or Super Sprint, with larger 1975cc engines.

After nearly a decade of production, 854 examples of the 1900C SS were built. The 'C' denoted its short-wheelbase ('corto' or 'short'), and the 'SS' declared its competition-oriented specifications. They had a racing-specification engine, gearbox, and revised final-drive ratios. Additionally, they had air-cooled 'Alfin' self-adjusting brakes. The five-speed manual gearbox was synchronized on the second, third, and fourth gears.

Touring received the official contract from Alfa Romeo to build the 1900 Sprint Coupe and Pinin Farina was tasked with the four-seat Cabriolet and coupe. Carrozzeria Zagato built a small series of coupés with the unofficial designation of 1900 SSZ. Approximately 39 berlinettas wore coachwork by Zagato, and these lightweight gran turismos would rekindle the relationship between Alfa Romeo and Zagato, leading to the creation of the Giulietta SZ and Giulia TZ.

The 1900 C SS earned success at the major races and rallies of the era, including the Stella Alpina, Mille Miglia, and the Targa Florio.

Mechanical Specification
The Model 1900 was powered by a 1,884cc four-cylinder twin cam engine had an 82.55mm (3.3 inch) bore and an 88 mm (3.5 inch) stroke. It developed 90 horsepower and was installed in a 103.5-inch wheelbase platform. The 1900C (short) version resided on a 98.4-inch wheelbase. Both the 1900C and the 1900 TI were introduced in 1951, with the latter receiving a modified version of the engine with larger valves, higher compression, and double carburetor, boosting output to 100 bhp. The 1900 Super and 1900 TI Super arrived in 1953, powered by a 1,975cc (tipo 1308) DOHC inline-4 with the latter receiving two double carburetors and developing 115 horsepower at 5,200 RPM.

The standard Model 1900 received a four-speed manual transmission while the Super Sprint versions came with a five-speed manual unit. Four-wheel finned-aluminum drum brakes provided the stopping power. The front suspension was independent with coil springs, double wishbones and shock absorbers, while the live rear axle had coil springs, shock absorbers, and trailing links. Through 1952, the Model 1900 rested on 6.00-16 Pirelli Stella Bianca tires, switching thereafter to radial 165HR400 Pirelli Cinturato.

by Daniel Vaughan | Sep 2019