Concept Car of the Week: Alfa Romeo Disco Volante (1952)

In 1951, straight after winning the F1 championship, Alfa Romeo surprisingly retired from racing. The tough post-war financial situation led the Italian brand to focus its investments towards more profitable projects such as the 1900 Berlina. The competition department stayed open on the condition of delivering a brand-boosting racecar for participation in the 1952 Le Mans and Mille Miglia races.

Developed jointly by the Milan-based manufacturer and Carrozzeria Touring, the Alfa Romeo C52 1900 would become one of the most memorable cars of the ‘50s.

Starting with the four-cylinder engine from the 1900 Berlina, the engineers created a new aluminum block and increased the displacement to 1997cc. Now producing 158bhp, the engine was dropped into the 'Superleggera' tubular frame chassis – a Touring specialty – which added rigidity while reducing weight down to just 735kg.

The team now had a solid base to build the car on, but the body would have to be truly amazing to get the crowd's attention. Thanks to the strong input from designer/engineer Gioachino Colombo, the body was not only striking to look at, it was also designed to reduce the influence of side winds, with partially covered wheels, large side overhangs and a full underbody. Very early in the development process, the car was informally called 'Disco Volante' – flying saucer in Italian and the name stuck. The round arches and the pebble-shaped body are tied together with a simple line that goes all around the waist line of the car.

The car was capable of reaching top speeds of over 220km/h, but at that speed, it generated powerful lift at both ends, making the car very unstable. After a successful first test at Monza, the Disco Volante was entered at Le Mans for Juan Manual Fangio, Froilan Gonzales and Franco Cortese to drive. For reasons unknown the Alfa Romeo team did not show up and the car was never raced.

In 1953, two coupés were prepared (2000cc and 3500cc) as well as another spider (3000cc) so that only four Disco Volantes were ever made. While the coupés retain the voluptuous forms of the original car, the second spider was developed with more conventional bodywork and christened 'a Fianchi Stretti', meaning ‘with narrow hips' so that it performs better on the tight corners of hill climb races.

First seen 1952
Designer Gioachino Colombo
Engine 1997cc, 4-cylinder, 158bhp

Your author, Flavien Dachet, is a UK-based, French-born car designer. You may know him as the purveyor of KarzNshit, a photo blog that if isn't already in your bookmarks, certainly should be.

By Flavien Dachet