Miguel Sánchez
Obviously memory can be as selective as it is treacherous but, roughly speaking, if we think about light sports cars belonging to the mid-fifties, possibly the trident made up of the MG A, the Porsche 356/356A and the Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint be the most remembered and even celebrated.
With really low weights for today - variants of the 356 weighing just over 750 kilos were registered while their 1300 versions were around 850 -, these sports cars, as compact as they were exclusive, showed moderate displacements located between 1.3 and 1.6 liters depending on the model and the year to which its evolution belonged.
However, that did not prevent the first version of the Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint from already delivering 80 HP at 6.300 rpm while the last Twin-Can in the MG A range produced up to 108 HP. A power escalation in which the Porsche was left behind although, in the Carrera versions, it finally managed to pass the psychological barrier of 100 HP to win in a multitude of competitions related to the 1.6 liter displacement.
That said, the truth is that one does not know which of these vehicles to choose in the hypothetical case of being able to choose one among them. And it is that, while the MG It has all the appeal given by the English roadsters with a driving position so close to the asphalt, the 356 presents the exotic off-hook position of the engine while the Alfa Romeo, curiously, It stands as the most serene, practical and rational option. Three qualities that, surely, few readers would imagine us giving to a sports Alfa Romeo just seventy years since its presentation.
THE MOST RATIONAL FACE OF ALFA ROMEO
You don't have to have spent much time with the historic motorsport hobby to realize the popular image created around Alfa Romeo. An image nothing close to utilitarian, measured and massive. However, the truth is that a detailed analysis of the brand only distances us from these approaches, no matter how much it has based a good part of its advertising on promoting, precisely, the emotional component.
To begin with, in 1950 the state-owned Alfa Romeo - which was under public ownership for more than half a century - debuted the mass production at the top thanks to its 1900 saloon. Very suitable for the new urban classes of the country, from it the first versions Turismo Internazionale for the various European competitions focused on prepared passenger cars.
Likewise, Alfa Romeo's sales in Italy did not stop growing as did its logistics and commercial capacity, always one step below FIAT although surpassing Lancia or any foreign manufacturer. Furthermore, although the sports versions were more fixed in our retina, their tourism ranges They were manufactured in tens of thousands with designs that are as habitable as they are responsible for hiding adequate and reliable mechanics.
1954, THE GIULIETTA ARRIVES
Within its strategy based on taking over the local market together with FIAT, Alfa Romeo presented the Giulietta in 1954 first in the form of a 2+2 coupe and, just a few months later, launching the Sedan version - of which almost 40.000 units were sold - along with the stylish Spider - largely responsible for the long-awaited projection to the US market-.
All this under the internal code 750, which is of utmost importance for current motor genealogists due to the complicated evolution of the Giulietta range, capable of overlapping with that of the Giulia -105- due to versions that, although continuous in the bodywork, were not continuous when we talk about mechanics.
Anyway, back to why we would choose the Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint over the Porsche 356 with displacement and corresponding year, it is precisely here, in its membership in the range of a mass-produced model, where we find one of its greatest assets.
And, compared to the exclusive and minority character of the MG and Porsche from its very conception, the Giulietta Sprint shares almost all its elements with the rest of the cars. a range with tens of thousands of units manufactured. Something that, let's not deny, is very attractive in terms of maintenance, especially if we look at spare parts and mechanical knowledge.
ALFA ROMEO GIULIETTA SPRINT, THE FIRST SPORTS VERSION
We know: there is a pending article on the sporting genealogy of the Giulietta before its definitive replacement for the Giulia. A field in which milestones stand out such as the lightened Sprint Veloce Zagato of 1956 - a delight for fans of Italian machinery with contributions over 300.000 euros-, the Coda Tronca or the Sprint Speciale with bodywork by Bertone that is really interesting in aerodynamic terms.
However, until that text arrives or not, today we are going to focus on the first sports version of the Giulietta: the 1954 Sprint that appeared during the presentation of the model destined to be placed just below the 1900. Defined by its 1.3-liter forged aluminum engine With double camshafts, five supports on the crankshaft and hemispherical cylinder head, the Giulietta Sprint was - and may we be forgiven for the more than justified and devoted fan of Porsches - a technically more evolved vehicle than its German competitor.
TECHNOLOGICALLY MORE ADVANCED
In fact, while the most powerful contemporary 356 reached 75 HP, the Alfa Romeo already climbed to 80 HP thanks to a double-body carburetor feed along with a compression ratio of 8,5:1 as well as camshafts. suitable. Furthermore, while the German was assembled around a platform chassis The Italian followed in the footsteps of the monohull marked in the house of Biscione since 1950 by the 1900 sedan.
Likewise, and although this would come in later updates, the Giulietta Sprint also had disc brakes before the 356. In short, the Alfa Romeo presented a series undisputed technical innovations while doing so under the practicality of the large series without this being an obstacle to outstanding performance in relation to the 1300 class. Wow! Who said that Alfa Romeo has not known how to make rational cars even when talking about sportiness?
