It only took delivery of a few Giulietta Sprints to their new owners in 1954 for word to spread that Alfa Romeo had built something exceptional. Alfa Romeo, caught by surprise, had to quickly figure out how to increase production in order to meet demand. Alfa's previous best-seller had been the 2600 Sprint, with 6,999 produced; by the time the 1300/1600 Sprint went out of production in 1964, more than 45,000 had been delivered.
In 1956 they introduced a high-performance model, the Veloce. The list of modifications was lengthy and resulted in a more responsive and much faster car. A higher compression, hotter cams, an 8,000-rpm tachometer, twin Webers replacing the single Solex carburetors, tubular headers, and a finned cast-aluminum sump featuring a built-in oil cooler were included on the Veloce model, offered in Sprint and Spider bodies.
The example shown here is from a prominent collection. It has benefited from no-expense-spared ownership, having recently been taken back down to its bare metal and repainted because of one single flaw. The front seats were recently redone in the correct blue-gray corduroy and leatherette combination.
Originally delivered with the Veloce package, this car reportedly performs very well. In a further effort to bring the car to near-perfect condition, the clutch and throw-out bearing were replaced. As a testament to its pristine condition, this example recently won Best Alfa at a concours.
{analysis} This car sold at RM's Monterey auction, August 16, 2002, for $36,300, including buyer's premium.
As with most successful designs, there is a legend about the birth of the Giulietta. In 1952 Alfa sold bonds to finance production of the new car. To enhance the sale of the bonds, Alfa offered a lottery to the bondholders, promising a number of winners free Giulietta Berlina four-door coupes. Four-door cars are more complex to make and the Berlina was way behind schedule, so management went to Bertone, asking him to quickly knock off a bunch of two-door Sprints. According to the story, there were four cars ready after ten days, and the winners of the lottery were satisfied. I don't recall any of them complaining about getting a Sprint instead of a four-door Berlina.
Whatever the truth is, Franco Scaglione, Bertone's designer, produced a masterpiece. Visibility was excellent, with thin A-pillars and large windows all around. The engine was a jewel, made completely of alloy, and with a pair of chain-driven overhead cams at a time when American manufacturers were trying to wean themselves from the Jurassic-era flathead.
I don't think the word "ergonomics" existed at that time, but the car was a delight to drive. All the controls were easy to reach and labeled with symbols, rather than words, that described their function.
The original gearbox was a work in progress, the early "tunnel-case" four-speed being replaced with a far superior "split-case" model sometime in 1958. While the electricals on the Normale models were trouble-plagued Lucas, the Veloces had a more reliable Marelli system. Overall, the Sprint was a resounding success, and was embraced by Europe, where it was extensively raced. Americans, still discovering European sports cars, fell in love with the Giulietta Spider.
By the end of 1956 a slightly more powerful version of the engine was offered, called the Veloce, with the usual hop-up bits (twin Webers, etc.). The European Sprints morphed into racing versions, first called SVZ (modified by Zagato) and eventually into the full-blown, purpose-built SZ. Period photographs often show a grid composed completely of Giulietta Sprint Veloces and their variants. But Americans, in love with wind-blown hair and tolerating pigeon droppings on their seats, continued to prefer the Spider. Here in the States, the Sprint was a rare bird, and the Sprint Veloce even rarer.
I glanced at this particular car in Monterey, and was disturbed by one thing-the level of the restoration. It was a near-perfect car, but so near-perfect that running it on the California Mille could be a 1,000-mile exercise in rock-chip terror if the new owner is as compulsive as the old one must have been.
Less disturbing, but incorrect was the five-speed gearbox, sourced from a later model. While this is a frequently seen upgrade, purists prefer these early Veloces with their archaic, but period-correct and now almost charming tunnel-case gearboxes. One would hope that the attention applied to the cosmetics was repeated with the car's mechanicals, including often-overlooked items like the steering box and suspension bushings.
Like so many fully restored cars we see, it sold well above the Price Guide, while at the same time probably below the amount involved in the restoration. No, I don't think we are coming back to the market of '89. One swallow does not make a summer, and properly presented cars at Monterey often bring prices that drive statisticians crazy. Sprint Veloces in #2 condition are still in the $20,000 range on a very good day.
I hope the next time I see this Sprint Veloce, it's on a mountain road, body heeled far over in the typical Sprint attitude, engine buzzing easily to 7,000 rpm and the new owner smiling grandly while collecting a few chips on the car. All this Alfa really needs is a little patina, and a quick drive through the coast range would be a good start.-Raymond Milo
(Historical and descriptive information provided by RM Auctions.){/analysis}