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

On 19 April 1954, the 36th Turin Motor Show opened and all the spotlights were on the Giulietta Sprint that had been presented a few days earlier in a shower of glory to the Italian press.

When the curtains were lifted on the Turin show, a surprise was in store: the car on show was not the red 'Lotteria' prototype that had starred in a spectacular ceremony with costumed figures at the Portello plant. In fact the 'Giulietta Sprint' exhibited on the Alfa Romeo stand was painted Capri Blue and lacked a tailgate and external fuel filler flap.

Now we need to go back in time. Everyone knows that the Giulietta Sprint's shape was designed by Carrozzeria Bertone but it is also true to say that more than one stylist contributed to the creation of the new coupé.

The initial configuration was the work of Giuseppe Scarnati, an Alfa Romeo designer who created and produced the first prototype at the Alfa Romeo Special Bodywork department between 1951 and 1953.

But the result lacked something in the eyes of Francesco Quaroni, general manager of Alfa Romeo who brought in the stylists Mario Boano from Ghia and Franco Scaglione from Bertone. History records that both designers collaborated jointly on the first prototype but during the preparatory stage Boano moved on to run the newly set-up Fiat Style Centre and gave up the commission.

At that stage, Nuccio Bertone dug in his heels and asked Quaroni if he could complete the design on his own. Bertone then, inspired by the legendary 1900 Sprint of 1951 and the subsequent Super Sprint version (the fastest two litre car of its day at 190 km/h), went on to design the Giulietta Sprint with a front end that harked back to the stylistic motif of the 1900 with a central grille like a mouth, air intakes like a set of moustaches.

The tail-lights, on the other hand, featured smooth corners without a reversing light. In other words, although the idea of the Giulietta first arose within the company - an Alfa Romeo design group led by the engineer Orazio Setta began to set down ideas for the Giulietta at the end of 1951 - it is also true to say that the final version bears the unmistakable signature of Franco Scaglione from Bertone.

According to Alfa's plans, this appealing, sporty car was to act as a teaser to prepare people for the advent of the Giulietta saloon planned for the following year, because only very few cars were produced. But the Giulietta Sprint received such a warm welcome that things did not turn out as intended: after the Turin Motor Show the Alfa Romeo dealerships literally came under siege.

Now Bertone was really faced with a difficult task: his bodyshop in Corso Peschiera in Turin certainly was not able to satisfy a demand of this magnitude but the master still decided to take up the challenge. To face the extraordinary demand, Nuccio Bertone called on master panel beaters working at small Turin workshops who provided him with bodies partly beaten by hand on wooden dies and partly made up of pressed panels. For this reason, the first Giulietta Sprint units - only 12 vehicles were registered in 1954 - were truly one-off items because no two cars were the same.

Despite these valiant and inventive attempts, the demand rose to unprecedented proportions and craft workmanship comes at a very high price: for this reason, in 1960 Bertone opened a new plant at Grugliasco on the outskirts of Turin and turned his acclaimed body shop into a world renowned industry.

Now let's go back to the 1954 Motor Show. The forerunner of the Giulietta family immediately captured the attention of workers and public alike - and more than 700 orders were collected in the days of the Turin Motor Show alone. This was a real success when you consider that the price was more than 1,700,000 lire when a worker's monthly salary was around 40,000 lire and a television set cost 180,000 lire. Incidentally, Italian television is also celebrating its 50th birthday at the same time as the Giulietta Sprint. January 3 1954 was the official date on which RAI programmes began: about 4 hours per day received by nearly 24,000 subscribers to the new public service. In one year, 170,000 sets were bought. This figure rose to 350,000 in 1955 and exceeded one million in 1958.

Italy was changing and the country was being brought up to date by the new communication medium that grew up with and documented this historical period. The economic boom was knocking at the door and formed the feverish background for the advent of the new Alfa Romeo coupé.

Despite its small size (3980 mm in length, 1540 mm in width and 1320 mm in height) the car was striking for its clean, uncluttered external shape that was truly revolutionary for its time: it would not look at all out of place on the road today. The Giulietta Sprint's profile made it look as if it was born to race: the only decorative detail on its streamlined body was a chrome strip on the doors. This sporting vocation was reflected inside the model: a Spartan steel dashboard included the speedometer, mileometer and trip counter, rev counter, pressure gauge and oil temperature gauge, fuel level gauge and water temperature gauge.

And so from styling to the mechanicals. Because the car's wind-swept shape was complemented by cutting edge specifications including an ultra-new 1290 cc power unit that developed a maximum power output of 65 bhp at 6000 rpm and propelled the model to a top speed of 165 km/h: the Giulietta Sprint was the fastest car in its category.

In detail, the 1.3 litre 'four-cylinder-in-line engine' was made out of aluminium (an absolute first for the motoring world) as was the gearbox and differential casing. The cylinder liners are press-fitted in special cast iron. The valve system was a twin overhead cam configuration (unique for a small power unit at that time) while the crankshaft was mounted on five bearings.

The rear-wheeled drive car was also noteworthy for its gear shift on the steering wheel (a clutch lever became available as an alternative in 1957) and the pull-on handbrake located beneath the facia to the left of the steering wheel. The front suspension was also independent with coil springs, wishbones and stabiliser bar. The rear suspension was independent with coil springs, upper wishbones and struts. Braking was assured by four drums produced using a special Alfa Romeo casting procedure.

With its searing performance and excellent on-road behaviour the Giulietta Sprint was the best that the car industry could offer at the time. Its attributes were rounded off by a range of options that were absolutely unique for the day: a set of suitcases with straps to fasten them to the cushions of one of two rear seats (a divan-type rear seat was available as an alternative); fog lamps and radio; imitation leather trimmed dashboard and upholstery in real leather; side air deflector and a three-spoke aluminium steering wheel with wooden rim.

The colour range was also extended by new names: Iseo Blue, Capri Blue, Alfa Red, Gardenia White, Black, Pale Green, Very Pale Blue, Very Pale Grey, Banana Beige and Winter Blue. When the customer chose one or more options, the car was customised with a chrome ring inside the Alfa Romeo badge on the boot.

It took a few short months for the Giulietta Sprint to become a runaway success, ready for launch in the United States with the America specification. Unlike the European specification, the exterior was identifiable by a chrome ring that outlined and separated the small tail-light clusters and a chrome strip adorning the two side whiskers on the front grille. Inside, the Sprint America offered a speedometer calibrated in miles instead of kilometres.

One titbit of information: a prototype appearing at the Paris Motor Show in the autumn of 1954 was given the name 'Manuals' because it had been used in August of the same year to produce owner handbooks and also for official photos.