1961 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Speciale Coupé

Coachwork by Carrozzeria Bertone Registration no. 167 YUJ Chassis no. AR101 20 00415

Footnotes

With the introduction of the Giulietta, Alfa Romeo established the 'small car, big performance' formula that would characterise the Milanese marque's finest offerings from then on. First of the Giuliettas, the Bertone-styled Giulietta Sprint Coupé debuted at the Turin Motor Show in April 1954 powered by a 1.3-litre, all-alloy version of Alfa's classic twin-cam four designed by one-time Ferrari engineer Giuseppe Busso. The original Sprint Coupé was soon joined by Berlina (saloon) and Spider (open) versions. The Giulietta family's success surprised even Alfa themselves; production targets were revised upwards and to satisfy demands for increased performance, upgraded 'Veloce' versions of the Sprint coupé and Spider convertible were introduced for 1956.

In 1957 Alfa Romeo introduced the model now recognised as the ultimate Giulietta - the Sprint Speciale – which was the first of the new 101-Series cars. Built on a slightly shorter wheelbase than the standard Sprint, and the work of Carrozzeria Bertone's Franco Scaglione, the mouth-wateringly curvaceous 'SS' came with 97bhp on tap, a five-speed gearbox, and a top speed of 200km/h (125mph) – a level of performance hitherto unimaginable for a 1.3-litre car. Compact, aerodynamically efficient, and very powerful for its size, the SS proved highly successful in 1,300cc class racing the world over. A mere 1,366 had been produced by the time the model was superseded in 1963 by the 1,600cc Giulia version, which was the only car in the new range to retain an existing Giulietta body style. Today both of these rare models are highly prized by Alfa Romeo aficionados.

Representing a wonderful opportunity to own one of these rare and highly desirable Alfa Romeos, this Giulietta Sprint Speciale was imported into the UK in 2013 and comes with all MoTs and service/maintenance history accumulated since then. Finished in Rosso with contrasting grey interior (some of which still retains the original plastic covering), the Giulietta is offered with Italian paperwork, an Alfa Romeo UK letter of authenticity, FIVA identity card, V5C Registration Certificate, and (although no longer necessary) a fresh MoT. A head-turner wherever it goes, this stunning Giulietta Sprint Speciale is a 'must have' for connoisseurs of automobile design.