A direct evolution of the 1954 Giulietta Sprint, the Bertone-designed Giulia Sprint GT soon established a fine reputation on road and track following its introduction in 1962. Compared to its predecessor, it was a much more refined and relaxed car to drive, reflecting the changing nature of Europe’s roads as […]
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1957 Alfa Romeo SVZ
During the 1956 Mille Miglia, Carlo Leto di Priolo badly crashed his Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Veloce, destroying the body. He then had the car rebodied by his friend Elio Zagato. The new bodywork bore all the hallmarks of Zagato’s mastery – low drag, beautiful lines and lightweight, tipping the […]
1995 Alfa Romeo RZ
In 1990 Alfa Romeo unveiled the SZ, a name evoking memories of their most successful production racer, the Sprint Zagato from the early ’60s. Powered by Alfa’s silky smooth and classic 3.0-liter V6 engine which transmitted its power to the rear wheels via a 5-speed transaxle, the car could hit […]
1962 Mercedes-Benz 190SL Roadster
For those insufficiently wealthy to afford its expensive race-bred sportscar, the 300SL, Mercedes-Benz offered the less-exotic 190SL. Based on the 180 saloon, the 190 made use of the latter’s running gear; this comprised independent front suspension by means of wishbones and coil springs, single-pivot swing axe at the rear, plus […]
1971 Alfa Romeo 1750 GTV Coupe
As was appropriate to a marque with a long and illustrious racing history, Alfa Romeo consistently provided its road-going automobiles with engines closer than most to racing specification. Alfa Romeo’s seminal engine was Vittorio Jano’s historic 2,300 cc supercharged twin overhead-camshaft eight-cylinder of 1930, which powered their famous monoposto P3 […]
1997 Jaguar XJ 220 Coupe
The magnificent looking and lavishly-specified Jaguar XJ220 coupe is absolutely the modern-day successor to the multiple-La Mans-winning C-Type and D-Type Jaguars of the 1950s, and it is derived directly from the double-Le Mans-winning TWR Jaguar Group C The magnificent looking and lavishly-specified Jaguar XJ220 coupe is absolutely the modern-day […]
1972 2.4-Liter Fiat Dino Coupe
The name “Dino” comes from Alfredino, Enzo Ferrari’s first son who tragically died in 1956 – and after whom Enzo decreed that all Ferrari V6’s would be called “Dino.” The concept of the V6 engine came from Alfredino and Vittorio Jano in 1955 and the final design work on it […]
1956 Mercedes-Benz 300Sc Roadster
{vsig}1997-10_1619{/vsig} The three-liter, six-cylinder 300S model Mercedes-Benz was first exhibited in October 1951 at the Paris Salon and production began in 1952. It was designed for the discriminating sports car enthusiast, and was to follow on the pre-war concept of the famous 500K and 540K Series cars that matched elegance […]
1957 Ford Thunderbird F-Series Factory Supercharged Convertible
{vsig}1997-10_1622{/vsig} When the Ford Thunderbird arrived in 1955, it literally blew past the Corvette in both sales and popularity, giving General Motors pause to reconsider the Corvette’s future. It was the beginning of the short-lived but exciting sports car wars which revved up in 1955 and ended abruptly in 1957, […]
1959 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Speciale “Low Nose”
The Alfa Romeo B.A.T. cars (Berlinetta Aerodinamica Tecnica) were futuristic styling exercises undertaken by Alfa Romeo and Bertone in the early 1950s to measure the effects of streamlining on a car’s performance. Franco Scaglitone, Bertone’s chief designer, produced another study based on the B.A.T. cars, but this time using the […]