ALFA ROMEO 1900 SUPER SPRINT – 1956
In 1954, to honour the advertising claim that called the 1900 the “family car that wins races” and to make the engine more powerful, Alfa Romeo increased piston bore by 2 mm, upping displacement to 1975 cm3 (from the original 1884 cm3) and upgrading performance as a result.
These new versions were differentiated by adding the word “Super” to the designation. The range spawned three new models – the 1900 Super, the 1900 Super T.I. and the 1900 Super Sprint coupé. The Super model delivered 90 hp, while the T.I. Super and Super Sprint with double barrel carburettors unleashed 115 hp.
The Alfa Romeo 1900 Super Sprint, designed and assembled with Touring Superleggera bodywork, like the earlier Sprint models, had a structural steel supporting chassis and an aluminium body, with the same mechanical architecture as the other 1900 models – independent front suspension, rigid rear axle with triangular central arm and four drum brakes. Unlike the previous Sprint models, these cars fitted a 5-speed gearbox.
- ENGINE…..Straight 4, longitudinally-mounted front engine of 1975 cm³
- POWER……115 HP @ 5.500 rpm
- SPEED…….190 km/h
- WEIGHT….1000 kg
- DESIGN….Touring Superleggera
- BODY………Coupé
From 1955 to 1958, 599 units of the Alfa Romeo 1900 Super Sprint were made, in two series, the first with the gear lever at the steering wheel and the second, like the last models of the first series, with a sporty gear lever arrangement on the central tunnel.
The 1900 family was completed by the elegant convertible made by Pinin Farina and an original three-door body made by coachbuilder Boano called the Primavera (Spring), also available in a two-colour version. The Touring coupés and Pinin Farina convertible featured in the range sold directly by Alfa Romeo dealers.
But the most powerful and eye-popping creation was undoubtedly the 1900 C52, an experimental sports racing car better known as the “Disco Volante” (Flying Saucer), which was also bodied by Touring. Its output was boosted to 158 hp and the racing tubular chassis lowered the overall weight to 735 kg for a top speed of 220 km/h.
The 1900 Super Sprint was held in high consideration by gentleman drivers and private teams as the winning car in its category. Its road holding, speed and reliability qualities made it the successful model in its displacement category in the Touring class and with the Touring coupé also in the GT category. The cars took part in various speed and endurance races, often obtaining excellent results on the track and on the road both in Italy and abroad.
ALFA ROMEO 1900 SPORT SPIDER
ENGINE……Straight 4, longitudinally-mounted front engine, 2 Weber carburettors, 1977 cc.
POWER…….140 HP @ 6.500 rpm
SPEED……..220 km/h
WEIGHT…..900 kg
DESIGN……Bertone
BODY……….Spider
The innovative Alfa Romeo 1900, produced during the 1950s, was used as a platform for the creation of high-performance racing prototypes. After the 1952 Disco Volante (Flying Saucer), bodied by Touring, Alfa Romeo entrusted the “2000 Sportiva” project to another coachbuilder and design studio, Bertone. In 1954 Bertone penned a Coupé and a Spider that were as deftly sculpted as they were fast.
Alfa Romeo won the first two Formula One World Championships during the post-war reconstruction period, but decided to concentrate all its resources into building production cars, thereby exiting the fledgling F1 championship with an unbeaten record. This pivotal change at the Portello plant notably resulted in the “1900”, which was the marque’s first car built entirely on a production line and the first Alfa with a load-bearing body integrated with the chassis.
Alfa Romeos were soon celebrated and coveted as luxury cars with a sporty dimension. To meet demand from gentleman racers, the “Biscione” brand built a number of exclusive competition variants alongside its series-produced saloons and employed renowned Italian coachbuilders—Zagato, Pininfarina, Touring, Bertone and Boano—to design vehicles that were also suitable for racing.
Aeronautic advances made during the war gave the designers a better understanding of how aerodynamics played a fundamental role in improving a car’s performance, in addition to engine power and a lightweight body.
The already sophisticated four-cylinder engine of the Alfa Romeo 1900 was tuned up to 138 hp. This power increase, combined with a weight of just 880 kg, allowed the prototype 1900 Sport Spider to reach a top speed of 220 km/h.
The “Millenove” (Italian for “1900”) was the first Alfa car with a load-bearing body, but racing models were given a lightweight yet robust tubular trellis frame covered with aerodynamically-shaped body panels. The 1997 cc twin-cam engine, equipped with two twin-barrel carburettors and a forced lubrication system, developed 138 hp at 6500 rpm. The car had a five-speed manual transmission with central lever control and rear-wheel drive, as well as independent front suspension and solid De Dion rear axle suspension with a Watt’s parallelogram linkage.
Alfa Romeo commissioned the Bertone design studio to develop two sports cars, a spider and a coupé. The Turin-based coachbuilder built four specimens with aluminium bodies, two of each type. The 2000 Sportiva Coupé—justifiably considered one of the most beautiful 1950s berlinettas ever produced—influenced the styling of the contemporary Giulietta Sprint, which was also penned by designer Franco Scaglione.
By contrast, the Spider was distinguished by its streamlined and tapered shape and the elegant, downward-facing radiator grille, which featured the Alfa Romeo shield and two classic side lobes. The result was a distinctive profile that was subsequently retained on many Portello-built sports cars, from the Giulia TZ Zagato to the Spiders of Pininfarina, but above all the 33 and particularly the 33 Stradale, which unsurprisingly was another Scaglione design.
1900 Sport Spider (1954)
A very rare racing spider – only 2 models of which were ever produced – fitted with a 4-cylinder twin-cam engine, supercharged to 138 hp of peak output, enabling it to reach 220 km/h, partly down to its weight of 880 kg and its greatly efficient aerodynamics. Featuring Franco Scaglione’s innovative design for the Bertone workshop, the 1900 Sport Spider is fitted with 5-speed transmission and a De Dion rear axle: its performance and driveability are that of a more recent, responsive and earnest car, with great road grip. This extraordinary car will compete under number “289”.
2000 Sportiva (1954)
Taking part in the race numbered “296”, it is another very rare piece: – only two exist in the world. It features a radiant metallic grey livery. The 2000 Sportiva was designed in 1954, to produce a limited edition of high-performance cars suitable to be driven both on the road and in “Sport” class competitions. The 2-liter 4-cylinder twin-cam engine with an output of 138 hp at 6,500 rpm enabled it to achieve 220 km/h, a very high speed for its era. The car also includes 5-speed transmission, “De Dion” rear suspension and aluminum bodywork. The line is streamlined and very elegant, produced by Bertone and brought back to life by Franco Scaglione, as the 1900 Sport Spider has been.
1900 Super Sprint (1956)
Competing in the race under number “392” will be the enchanting 1900 Super Sprint (1956), 1900 Super Sprint (1956), an elegant coupé that represents the “gran turismo” class of the 20th century, “the family car that wins races” in the words of the claim that made its fame in the 1950s. Based on the short version chassis of the 1900 sedan, it is fitted with a 2-liter 4-cylinder engine with the brand’s characteristic twin camshaft and an output of 115 hp at 5500 rpm. In the 1950s, it was customary for the great Italian designers to buy a mechanized chassis from Alfa Romeo, complementing it with bodywork designed and produced in-house. The Milan Touring workshop therefore did so, producing 858 models of this final series of the 1900 Sprint between 1955 and ’58.