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The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts

Alfa Romeo Disco Volante

Phil Hill, the Mille Miglia and a Disco Volante

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Story and photos by Dale LaFollette

From the VeloceToday Archives, June, 2018

Pete asked me for photos of the Disco Volante so I had to go back to the Mille Miglia Retrospective of 1986. Wow, what wonderful memories that dislodged!

The Disco Volante was being piloted by Phil Hill and John Lamm and I was in a C-Type Jaguar that was owned by my good friend Steve Earle. Our numbers were close to each other so we seemed to be in contact for at least the first full day of the three-day event. Phil and John told me that the Disco belonged to the Alfa Romeo Museum and they seemed a little concerned about the mechanical preparation if memory serves.

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Phil Hill and the Alfa Disco on the Mille Miglia

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Story and photos by Dale LaFollette

Pete asked me for photos of the Disco Volante so I had to go back to the Mille Miglia Retrospective of 1986. Wow, what wonderful memories that dislodged!

The Disco Volante was being piloted by Phil Hill and John Lamm and I was in a C-Type Jaguar that was owned by my good friend Steve Earle. Our numbers were close to each other so we seemed to be in contact for at least the first full day of the three-day event. Phil and John told me that the Disco belonged to the Alfa Romeo Museum and they seemed a little concerned about the mechanical preparation if memory serves. [Read more…] about Phil Hill and the Alfa Disco on the Mille Miglia

Alfa Romeo Disco Volantes at the Alfa Museum

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Photos by Roberto Motta

Bet you thought we’d be all disco’d out after the last two articles tracing the history and serial numbers of these very special Alfas.
Read Part 1
Read Part 2

However, we left the best for last. Dale LaFollette dishes up some great photos of Phil Hill driving the Alfa Disco in the 1986 Mille Miglia, and here, Roberto Motta captures the two Discos at the Alfa Romeo Museum.

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The Disco Volantes by Serial Number

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Read about this sculpture below.* Photo by Jonathan Sharp

By Roberto Motta and Pete Vack
Photos from Centro Documentazione Storica Alfa Romeo, and Roberto Motta

In doing research for these articles, (Read Part 1) one of our goals was to do something very simple that to our knowledge had not been previously attempted; to put a serial number on each Disco that was in a contemporary photo. After all, there were only five cars built, four still exist, only one had a competition history, we had all the serial numbers and details, and most of the books and articles, access to the Alfa Museum. What could be simpler? But the more we looked, the deeper the mysteries. [Read more…] about The Disco Volantes by Serial Number

Alfa Romeo Disco Volante C52

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In the summer of 1952, on July 19th and again on July 26th, there were both radar and visual sightings of “Flying Saucers” in and around Washington D.C., and throughout the summer there were similar incidents all over the world. From 1947 to 1953 there were 26 major sightings, from Washington to Brazil, Japan, Italy, West Germany and Sweden. The Unidentified Flying Objects generated headlines and inspired an entire genre of movies. Most UFOs could be explained but some remain a mystery to this day.
Meanwhile, in Milan…

By Roberto Motta and Pete Vack
Photos from Centro Documentazione Storica Alfa Romeo, and Roberto Motta

In Italy, there was another sighting in June of 1952, but this time it was real and tangible (as well as loud, no doubt) when the aptly named Alfa Romeo “Experimental Department” proudly put their own UFO on display for the press to view at Monza. The timing couldn’t have been better; as the new C52 1900 was called the “Disco Volante”.

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