14.05.2004 To mark the 50th anniversary of the ALFA ROMEO Giulietta Sprint a long series of events and exhibitions with the aim of reviving the history of an extraordinary legend iS planned

In April 1955, the Giulietta Saloon appeared on the market. For the first time, a 'sprint' model of clearly sporting vocation became a standard production model able to satisfy customers who were looking for a small, practical car but still did not wish to give up the performance typical of a sports coupé: the result was 'the family car that wins races'.

In the hands of champions it could meet the most demanding challenges while, as a slogan of the day had it, 'mum could drive it too'. A new age had begun and Alfa Romeo was one of the first to bring the satisfaction of a sporting drive within the reach of all.

In October of the same year came the turn of the Giulietta Spider, 'the signorina' as it was affectionately called by Gian Battista Farina who designed its streamlined shape to give it a strong personality of its own.

The Giulietta Spider was built on a Sprint floorplan but with a short wheelbase and won international success. It was enthusiastically greeted in the United States where the motoring press deemed it: 'a splendid continuity of the Italian tradition of good taste that means you can pick out an Alfa Romeo from a thousand other cars at a glance'.

Now we have reached 1957 and the launch of the Giulietta Sprint Speciale, the result of a profitable joint venture between Alfa Romeo and Carrozzeria Bertone. The vehicle offered a 1.3 litre power unit developing 100 bhp at 6500 rpm (top speed 189 km/h) combined with a gearbox with 5 synchronised ratios. Compared to the Giulietta Sprint, the SS version was 412 cm long, 166 cm wide with a wheelbase of 225 cm.

The shape of the Giulietta SS, with its low, penetrating profile, was the result of aerodynamic studies performed on the Milan-Turin motorway. The car was half-covered with woollen strands so that it could then be photographed and filmed by a car travelling behind. In this way, the air vortices that arose in certain areas of the body were revealed by tangled threads. This meant the stylist could alter the overall shape for a smoother line with the best possible aerodynamic performance.