History of Giulietta Spider Veloce 1495.00194

PREVIOUS OWNERS AND HISTORY ARE LISTED BELOW:

The life of this car begins on September 20, 1956, the day of its production, with the number 194: this Giulietta Spider is an experimental car, born in Celeste color and taken from the experience department (S.E.S., Special Experience Service) for internal use, in order to test and test the nascent “Veloce”, transforming it to all effects into a “Spider Veloce”, one of the oldest still in existence, as reported in the house's certificate of origin.

After a couple of years of experimentation both on the engine with the aforementioned specifications, and on the transmission, the car was registered: on 30 June 1958 it received the first number plate - Milan -, headed directly to Alfa Romeo and was used for another year for testing. , before being sold on 24 April 1959 to Mr. Antonio Ettore Fossati from Triuggio (MI), a gentleman driver who raced around the Portello house with the Giulietta Sprint, who kept it for ten years.

The second owner bought the car on May 17, 1969 and transferred the car to Rimini (with its new license plate, Forlì), keeping it for a further 10 years before taking possession of the current property 43 years ago, precisely from January 16, 1979.

During the first two years, the parent company replaced the original equipment engine, probably just for tests and trials, also installing the new gearbox with "Porsche-system" synchro which became standard in the mid-'58. When the car was purchased in 1979, the Celeste color had already been hidden by the classic red, which is still maintained today: before the 90s when the passionate collector began to do some in-depth studies on the origin of his Giulietta Spider. , he did not know neither the singular history nor the first color of the car, which today constitutes a plus.

In terms of finishes, the car has the characteristics of the first examples: smooth seats with contrasting edges, door panels mounted with visible screws and the absence of the deflector.

Car well known among lovers of the brand, appeared in books and registered with the RIAR as well as approved by ASI. Visible by appointment in Cesena.

UPDATED HISTORY FROM THE GULFBLU.IT WEBSITE DECEMBER 2024 (photos are the same)

(English text below)
The history of this car begins on 20 September 1956, the day of its production, with the number 194: this Giulietta Spider is an experimental car, born in light blue and taken from the experience department (SES, Special Experience Service) for internal use, in order to test and trial the nascent “Veloce”, transforming it to all intents and purposes into a “Spider Veloce”, one of the oldest still in existence, as reported by the manufacturer's certificate of origin.

After a couple of years of experimentation both on the engine with the above specifications and on the transmission, the car was registered: on 30 June 1958 it received its first license plate - Milan -, registered directly to Alfa Romeo and was used for another year for testing, before being sold on 24 April 1959 to Mr Antonio Ettore Fossati of Triuggio (MI), a gentleman driver who raced for the Portello company with the Giulietta Sprint, who kept it for about ten years.

The second owner purchased the car on May 17, 1969 and moved the car to Rimini (with a new license plate, Forlì) keeping it for a further 10 years before taking possession of the current property 43 years ago, precisely since January 16, 1979.

During the first two years, the parent company replaced the original equipment engine, probably for testing and trials, also installing the new gearbox with “Porsche-type” synchronizers that became standard starting from mid-1958. When the car was purchased in 1979, the Celeste color had already been hidden by the classic red, which is still maintained today: before the 1990s, when the passionate collector began to do some in-depth studies on the origins of his Giulietta Spider, he did not know the singular history, nor the first color of the car, which today constitutes a plus.

In terms of finishing, the car features the characteristics of the first examples: smooth seats with contrasting edges, door panels mounted with visible screws and the absence of a deflector.

Car well known among the fans of the brand, appeared in books and registered with RIAR as well as ASI approved. Viewable by appointment in Cesena.

Model Notes:
The American importer of Alfa Romeo, Max Hoffman, confident of the success that the

Italian sports cars would have obtained in the USA, urged the factory to produce an open Giulietta and commissioned as many as six hundred examples. Having rejected a valuable execution by Franco Scaglione proposed by Carrozzeria Bertone, perhaps too futuristic and demanding, the Pininfarina one was chosen, a car not particularly avant-garde from a stylistic point of view, but very pleasant and destined to mark an era. Exhibited at the Paris Motor Show in 1955, it was not immediately available on the Italian market because it had to deal with the American order.

The birth of the “Veloce” model, Sprint then Spider, is due to the stinging defeat suffered at the hands of the Porsche 356 Super, also 1300 cc, at the Mille Miglia of 1955, which strongly shook Alfa Romeo, which had come to the Brescia race in force with every intention of winning the Gran Turismo category. For participation in the 1956 edition, the imperative was therefore to develop a car that could beat the German coupés. Thanks to the high potential of the small Alfa, the undertaking did not present significant difficulties and was very successful, so much so that the Giulietta achieved enormous sporting success. This convinced the company to extend the production of the lightweight version, initially planned for only the units necessary for homologation in the Gran Turismo category, until the first half of 1958.

If the Giulietta Sprint had literally amazed with its potential peculiarities as a racing car, deliberately attenuated, with the Sprint Veloce model free rein was given to all the qualities that the excellent project by Satta and Busso still kept hidden.

The performance immediately proved to be very high. The engine, equipped with a single supply with two Weber 40 DCO3 carburetors (practically one carburetor for each cylinder) and an electric fuel pump, a dynamic air intake for the supply, racing exhausts of the steel tube type and a special, light and detachable oil pan, which allowed the pump to be drawn in any trim condition, was able to deliver approximately 30% more power. What had already been experienced on the 1900 TI was reproduced as regards the partial supercharging effect provided by the front dynamic air intake for the carburetors, while the exhaust system, always particularly cared for so that there were no disturbances between the gas flows of each cylinder, was made with a single duct in which the two generated by the confluence of the first cylinder with the fourth and the second with the third converged. Since the firing order was 1-3-4-2, it is clear that an attempt was made to "distance" the exhaust phase in the two ducts that were going to meet.

The experience gained with the Sprint Veloce was transferred to the Spider model, without however modifying its aesthetics. In fact, the Spider Veloce did not present any variation compared to the Spider except for the scale of the instruments (rev counter at 8000 and odometer at 220).

With a compression ratio of 9:1 and the twin-barrel Weber, the power output was 90 hp and allowed a top speed of 180 km/h: these numbers placed the Spider Veloce at the top of the performance spectrum in the spider category.

The chassis were taken from the Spider model, so the Veloce did not have a specific numbering, but it was characterised by the letter “F” stamped next to the chassis number. The engine numbering was included in that of the Giulietta Sprint Veloce model, as it was the same engine.

No weight reduction was made and the weight, due to the two carburettors and the larger air filter and oil pan, was five kilos more than that of the Spider.

Source: “ Alfa Romeo, the production cars ”, Stefano d'Amico, Maurizio Tabucchi, Giunti-Nada.
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The life of this car begins on September 20, 1956, the day of its production, with the number 194: this Giulietta Spider is an experimental car, born in Celeste color and taken from the experience department (SES, Special Experience Service) for internal use, in order to test and test the nascent “Veloce”, transforming it to all effects into a “Spider Veloce”, one of the oldest still in existence, as reported in the house's certificate of origin.

During the first two years, the parent company replaced the original equipment engine, probably just for tests and trials, also installing the new gearbox with "Porsche-system" synchro which became standard in mid-'58. When the car was purchased in 1979, the Celeste color had already been hidden by the classic red, which is still maintained today: before the 90s when the passionate collector began to do some in-depth studies on the origin of his Giulietta Spider. , he did not know neither the singular history nor the first color of the car, which today constitutes a plus.

In terms of finishes, the car has the characteristics of the first examples: smooth seats with contrasting edges, door panels mounted with visible screws and the absence of the deflector.

Car well known among lovers of the brand, appeared in books and registered with the RIAR as well as approved by ASI. Visible by appointment in Cesena.

Historical notes:
The American importer Max Hoffman, convinced of the success that Italian sports cars would enjoy in the USA, pressed Alfa Romeo to produce an open version of the Giulietta and actually ordered six hundred examples. With an excellent design by Franco Scaglione put forward by Bertone having been rejected as it was perhaps too futuristic and demanding, the company chose the Pininfarina version, a car not particularly advanced in terms of styling, but very attractive and destined to become a symbol of an was.

Exhibited at the Paris motorshow of 1955, it was not immediately available in Italy as demand from the American market had to be satisfied first.

The Giulietta Sprint's humiliating defeat at the hands of the Porsche 356 Super, itself a 1300cc car, in the Gran Turismo category of the 1955 edition of the Mille Miglia that Alfa had intended to dominate shook the powers that be at the Portello. The company needed to produce a car for the 1956 edition capable of beating the German coupé. The great potential for development inherent in the small Alfa meant that such a task presented no particular difficulties. The resulting model was such a success that rather than simply completing the number of examples necessary for homologation in the Gran Turismo category, the firm decided to continue production of the new lightweight car into the first half of 1958. While the deliberately understated competition potential of the Giulietta Sprint had aroused widespread admiration, the Veloce version of Satta and Busso masterpiece represented the fulfillment of that potential.

The new car thus boasted outstanding performance: the engine, equipped with individual cylinder charging thanks to the fitting of two Weber 40 DCO3 twin-choke carburettors (in effect a carburettor for each cylinder), a competition exhaust system and a special sump that allowed oil to be pumped at all times, produced around 30% more power. The same partial supercharging effect obtained on the 1900 TI was reproduced thanks to the dynamic front air intake feeding the carburettors, whilst the exhaust system was carefully designed to avoid any disturbance of the gas flow from each cylinder. The manifolds from the first and fourth cylinders converged into one, as did those from the second and third cylinders, these two pipes then converged into a single tube. As the firing order was 1-3-4-2 it is clear that the engineers intended to stagger the exhaust pulses in the converging pipes.

The experience gained with the Sprint Veloce was transferred to the Spider without however any aesthetic modifications being introduced. The car was, in fact, outwardly unchanged apart from new instrumentation graphics (the rev counter reading at 8,000 rpm and the speedometer at 220 kph). With a compression ratio of 9:1 and the Weber twin-choke cars, the power rose up to 90 hp with a top speed of 180 kmh: those performances put the Spider fast on top of the list of the spiders of the time.

The chassis were taken from the Spider series and the Veloce was therefore not given its own specific numbering sequence. The letter F was, however, stamped close to the chassis number. The engine numbers were included in the sequence relating to the identical Spider Veloce power unit. Two Weber 40 DCO3 carburettors were fitted, together with the competition exhaust system, a dynamic induction air intake and a multiple piece light alloy sump with extremely sophisticated baffles ensuring that the oil pump was able to scavenge in all conditions of use. No measures were taken to lighten the car, and with the two carburettors and the larger air filter and sump the Spider Veloce actually weighed 5 kg more than the standard Spider.

Source: “ Alfa Romeo, the production cars ”, Stefano d'Amico, Maurizio Tabucchi, Giunti-Nada.

Photo credit: Rémi Dargegen