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Alfa Romeo plays a star role at the Essen “Techno Classica 2015”

They belong to the Alfa Romeo Historical Museum: the only existing model in the world of the 1900 Sport Spider (1954) and the fascinating 1300 Sprint (1964, the last of the Giulietta Sprint series).

Alfa Romeo

  • The new Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, the supercar that combines the pleasure of “open air” driving with the sports feel of the award winning 4C Coupé will be on show in Germany for the first time.
  • Also on show in Essen will be the Giulietta Sprint, as a tribute to the 1954 icon, the compact Alfa Romeo sports car MiTo and the manufacturer’s modern icon: the Alfa Romeo 4C Coupé. From 15 to 19 of April Alfa Romeo will be present at the motor show with vintage models and some of its current production as a representation of that thread that for over a century has inspired the cars of the Italian manufacturer.

From 15 to 19 April the “Techno Classica 2015” will being taking place in Essen, a trade show given over to collector vehicles and motorcycles that has become one of the most important of the world and is attended every years by around 200,000 visitors. Alfa Romeo will be taking part in the show with a very striking stand that enhances a true passion for cars, both of yesterday and today.

 

The star role will be for the new Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, on show here for the first time in Germany, flanked by a second sports car without a fixed roof: the fascinating Alfa Romeo 1900 Sport Spider of 1954, a single model developed over 60 years ago and designed for the racetrack.

 

At “Techno Classica 2015” the 1300 Sprint of 1964 will also be on parade, the last of the Giulietta Sprint series, which boasts a long list of successful races on international circuits. Next to the magnificent historic coupé, the audience will get a chance to admire the current model thanks to which the celebrated car make now lives on in the XXI century.

 

The exhibition is completed by two more current models: the compact Alfa Romeo MiTo sports car and the award winning Alfa Romeo 4C, the car maker’s modern icon that expresses the essence of sports driving by combining breath-taking style with excellent performance.

 

Six amazing vehicles, each with its own history to tell but all linked by the same automotive conception: in fact, for over a century, Alfa Romeo models have been going beyond the concept of “means of transport” and are instead included in the “true emotion” category. After all, only the ones with a long history behind them can face the challenges of the future with determination and creativity.

 

The limelight is on the 1900 Spider Sport (1954), one of the most exclusive vehicles in the Alfa Romeo Museum: it is in fact the only existing and perfectly functioning model. Built around the mechanical set up of the “1900”, its four cylinder (dry sumped) twin cam engine has been enhanced to provide 138 HP. The “Sport Spider” has a “modern car” handling feel to it, with high level performance (220 km/hr top speed) and a weight of 890 kg, along with an architecture that is top notch, starting with the De Dion tube and the 5 speed gearbox. The streamlined and aerodynamic body shape we owe to Bertone: the aggressive nose, the small windscreen and the sobriety of its lines are its most striking aesthetic features.

 

A few words also need spending on the 1300 Sprint, the last of the Giulietta Sprint series that was launched in 1954 at the Turin Motor Show. The “Sprint” marks the entry of the Snake symbol into the coupé market segment, especially with its “1300” engine. The Giulietta soon became a resounding success: it set new technical and performance standards that stood her head and shoulders above its competitors.

 

The engine is a 1300 cc. four cylinder twin can (a solution that imported directly from the maker’s racing experience) made entirely out of aluminium (unusual for an engine with such large production numbers) that propels the vehicle at up to around 170 km/hr, a startling speed for the time.

 

The design is signed by Bertone, but was actually the work of Franco Scaglione, who later designed the Giulietta Sprint Speciale and, in the second half of the Sixties, the prestigious 33 Stradale. The Giulietta Sprint became an icon of Italian style: elegant, streamlined, unquestionably an Alfa Romeo.

 

The Giulietta Sprint is “Italy’s fiancée”, one of the first vehicles with a girl’s name, it won over the hearts of its audience, particular among the upper middle classes, that saw in the Sprint the symbol of the so called Italian “economic boom”.

 

The Spring, in its “Veloce” version (80 hp, 180 km/hr) even won its class in the Mille Miglia race of 1956, ranking 11th overall, in front of cars “twice its size”, and went on to win countless races both on track and road in all corners of the world.

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