Wanted—any stories, photos or histories for our Etceterini Extravagana coming up in the fall. We're looking for information on Bandinis, Stanguellinis, Morettis, Taraschis, and any other Italian sports racers from 1949-1960. Send materials and images to vack@cox.net.

Alfa Mail

Pete,

What an excellent article on the Alfa SS. (Something Speciale) I thoroughly enjoyed it. The Sprint Speciale is one of the most striking designs ever. But how did anyone see to drive it?

Patrick O'Brien wrote about Franco Scaglione in the December 1986 issue of "Classic and Sportscar". Scaglione was chief designer for Nuccio Bertone from 1952 to 1960. During that time he did the Sprint Speciale, the Arnolt Bristol roadster ("bolide") and convertible, the Alfa BAT 5 and 7, and according to Karl Ludvigsen in Excellence Was Expected, the Porsche Abarth Carrera in conjunction with Zagato. O'Brien thought only Giugaro and Michellotti ranked with Scaglione.

Keep up the good work. You're doing a great job!

Neal Conley

Pete,

I thoroughly enjoyed your SS article and it struck a strong cord with me. I saw my first SS in 1986 and photographed it. I had never seen anything like it and was astounded that some one had produced it. It was the catalyst for my subsequent obsession with Italian cars.

I decided then that I had to have one. There are four running Giulia SSs in Australia, so it wasn't going to be easy to get one. Finally in 1999 I had some money and what I thought was the best of the four, came up for sale. I was working interstate at the time and bought it immediately, not having seen it for 5 years or so. I could not believe that I had realized my dream. Its ability to stop traffic was like no other car I've ever owned.

But…..it was a triumph of style over substance. From side on it looked all wrong, from front on the track was too narrow, it was best from the rear three quarter view. The boot, as you know, was a joke and you sat on the floor. Compounding the problem and one I was not aware of when I bought the car, was that it had been converted to RHD. To do this and get the steering column to clear the underside of the carburettors the angle of the column was much lower than on LHD cars. Getting ones legs under the steering wheel was very difficult. You then had to sit splay legged such that I couldn't really use 4th gear and had to move the lever away from me. The suspension was vastly inferior to the 105s which I then (and still) own. However the aerodynamics were clearly excellent, as you could drive along at 80 mph with no wind roar or interference through the open window. In 2001, fairly disappointed, I sold it and bought a low mileage Giulia Super to keep my 1300TI and stepfront GT 1300 Junior company. I am a little surprised that I don't regret selling the SS.

Thanks for your newsletter. Having somewhat of a penchant for the obscure attached is a photo of my 1965 Fiat 1800B. These are quite rare in Australia (and everywhere I think) they sold alongside the 2300 for a while but were not popular. The idea of a 1.8 litre six is interesting. It has 4 wheel discs, is beautifully built, not as entertaining to drive as my Alfas. I think it was the best iteration of this suite of Pininfarina designs.

John Slater

Pete

Haven't seen you in a long time...nice to see you in "print" again....we have an SS like the white one in the article and I just bought a lovely 59 Sprint Normale for Vintage racing... My son Andrew is running a very nice 59 Sprint Veloce as well...look forward to hearing from you...

Dr. Marc Perlman

Pete,

I thoroughly enjoyed the article on The Racers. A lot of research carwise and actorwise!! I know the film—it can be awful in parts!!

I hope you are well, and I enjoy VeloceToday every Wednesday!

Best regards from Munich

Michael Catsch