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Alfa Romeo Disco Volante - flying saucer for the racetrack

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Created on March 1, 1986

Reading time 6min

Written by:

Rob de la Rive Box

Photos:

Daniel Reinhard

Archiv

Daniel Reinhard

Archiv

Alfa Romeo Disco Volante (1952) - an der Ennstal Classic

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Alfa Romeo Disco Volante (1952) - Vorderansicht

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Alfa Romeo Disco Volante (1953) - die Coupé-Version

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Alfa Romeo Disco Volante (1953) - offene 2-Liter-Version

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Alfa Romeo Disco Volante (1953) - offene Version mit der Karosserie von Touring

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Alfa Romeo Disco Volante (1953) - die Spiderversion, am Genfer Automobilsalon von 1953

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Alfa Romeo Disco Volante (1953) - Für Langstreckenrennen wurde der Disco Volante mit 2-Liter auch als Coupe gebaut, jedoch nie eingesetzt

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Alfa Romeo Disco Volante (1953) - 35. Turiner Salon, Einstieg in den geschlossenen Disco Volante

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Alfa Romeo Disco Volante (1952) - Der 3,5-Liter, mit dem Fangio das Super-corte-maggiore-Rennen von Meran gewann

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Alfa Romeo Disco Volante (1953) - Der 3-Liter-Spider - Einstellarbeiten anlässlich von Probefahrten in Monza

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Alfa Romeo Disco Volante (1953) - Der 6C 3000 CM, wie er 1953 in Le Mans zum Einsatz kam

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Alfa Romeo Disco Volante (1953) - ein Blick auf das Chassis

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Alfa Romeo Disco Volante (1953) - Die De-Dion-Hinterachse des Disco Volante [Le Mans 1953]

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Alfa Romeo Disco Volante (1953) - Pinin Farina kaufte sich das Chassis mit der Nummer 128 und versah es mit drei verschiedenen Karosserien

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Alfa Romeo Disco Volante (1956) - Pininfarina-Prototyp auf Alfa-Romeo-Basis am Autosalon von Paris 1956 gezeigt

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Alfa Romeo Disco Volante (1953) - Die letzte Version von Fangios einstigem Auto — so wie sie als Pininfarina-Studie bis heute erhalten geblieben ist

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Summary

After the official withdrawal from Grand Prix racing, the great constructor Giochino Colombo complained that too little was being done to present the Alfa Romeo brand in the right light. The idea was to produce another sports car that would put the name Alfa Romeo back in the newspapers. This time it was to be something completely new! In 1952, Colombo built five prototypes under the name 1900 C 52, which were quickly renamed Disco Volante (flying saucer) due to their striking shape. This report looks back, describes the vehicles and shows rare historical and current photos of the rare vehicles.

This article contains the following chapters

The birth of the Disco Volante
With 2- and 3-liter engines
1953: four more cars
Pinin-Farina "dream car"
List of chassis numbers

Estimated reading time: 6min

Preview (beginning of the article)

After Alfa Romeo had become world champion in 1950 and 1951 with the drivers Farina and Fangio, the factory decided to refrain from racing in future. The Type 158/9 cars used in the races had been designed 13 years earlier and were now considered somewhat outdated. Above all, the engines had been repaired so often - in order to keep up with the high speeds required, they had to rev up to 11000 rpm - that they should have been replaced. Alfa was now faced with the choice of either stopping or developing new engines. The interim solution was to concentrate on rally cars. The development of the new 1900 series provided a good basis for these racing plans. Shortly afterwards, a normal Alfa Romeo 1900 was entered in a raid across the Sahara with drivers Bonzi and Lualdi. The following year, works driver Sanesi drove the 1900 in the Stella Alpina Rally. More exciting, however, was the third place in its car class at the 1952 Mille Miglia.

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