When I choose to restore or rebuild a car, it doen not necessarily have to do with its popularity or its racing history but more with the sensations it produces in me. Sometimes it is its power, sometimes its personality. It can be its complexity or simplicity. In the case of the Alfa Romeo Disco Volante it was its design, many barchettas were built in the 1950’s but none as original an innovative as this one. It is truly one of a kind.
~ Diego De Luca ~
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Built using the complete mechanical parts of an Alfa Romeo 1900 from period ( engine, gearbox, differential, steering housing, breaks, suspension, etc.)
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Tubular chassis was made following the exact specifications of the original blueprints.
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Aluminun body
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All the instruments, headlamps, rear lights, badges and insignia are original
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Mahogany steering wheel Mille Miglia type
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Original Borrani wire wheels with bolt on caps
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Painted Alfa red with hand polished aluminum interior
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Cover painted by Alfredo De la María.
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Cream colour leather upholstery
TECHNICAL DATA
HISTORY
The Alfa Romeo Disco Volante was conceived at a time when Alfa Romeo had decided to withdraw from Formula 1 competition though not entirely from racing.. In the 1950’s there was great rivalry between Alfa Romeo and Lancia in Italy and the Lancia Aurelia and the Alfa Romeo 1900 were always trying to prove the supremacy of one over the other in racing. This rivalry is what motivated Alfa Romeo to think of producing a car without investing too much money by reworking existing mechanicals , making special bodies and so on, the result being one of the most exceptional cars, The Disco Volante. This car was designed with a most extraordinary body, by Touring Supperleggera achieving an innovative style in terms of aerodynamics Alfa Romeo and coachbuilder worked together on the mounting of the body as this had to be welded to the tubular chassis . The result is such a perfect symbiosis between chassis and body that you cannot determine where one starts and the other ends.The mechanicals used were those of the Alfa 1900, Sprint which Alfa’s engineers modified to give it more power. The first model of the Disco Volante to see the light was the Type 1900 C52 2000 and three of them were built. Later two different versions were made modyfing two of these first three cars : the Disco Volante 2000 Coupe and the Disco Volante “narrow sided”. Alfa’s three versions of the same car meant having the right car for each type of competition, Speed, Cross Country and Hill Climb.
CONSTRUCTION
