Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider: Bertone’s best-kept secret

| 4 Mar 2024

Standing next to a prototype is always fascinating.

Unique, born in the secrecy of a design studio, they remain shrouded in mystery. This example is no exception.

Its sleek aluminium body, formed by Italian craftsmen, constitutes well-adjusted panelwork finished with real attention to detail – evidenced by the door-top notches that accommodate the latch for opening the pivoting side windows.

This Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider’s sleek lines were inspired by the BAT concept cars of the 1950s

Or, at the rear, the chromed boot-opening button hidden under a neat cover.

The interior is basic but attractive, with a painted-metal dashboard, a wood-rimmed three-spoke steering wheel and elegant beige-and-red upholstery.

Step back and you discover a bold form with a great freedom of line.

The grille identifies the car unambiguously as an Alfa Romeo.

This was Bertone’s proposal for an Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider

Its complex, shield-shaped moulding blends into a curvaceous bonnet that bears, along with its other styling features, the indisputable signature of Franco Scaglione.

This Giulietta Spider, born in 1955, recalls the Alfa Sportiva 2000 of 1954 in the plunging line of its bonnet, as well as the continuity between the front and rear bumpers (the latter now missing) thanks to a chrome strip along the body.

Above all, it is inspired by the BAT line of concept cars.

Bertone’s Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider strikes a balance between sports-car thrills and a comfortable ride

In 1952, Alfa Romeo asked Nuccio Bertone to work on aerodynamics with the Berlinetta Aerodinamica Tecnica series, and the study was entrusted to Franco Scaglione.

This resulted in the BAT 5, 7 and 9, on which Scaglione sought to avoid any separation of the airflow.

During a road test of the BAT 5 in Motor Italia in early 1954, journalist Paul Frère described it as ‘very stable at high speeds’.

This car is one of two Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider prototypes built by Bertone in Turin

As much as the 1953 BAT 5 and ’54 BAT 7 were radical, with their spatted wheels, teardrop roofs and curved fins, the 1955 BAT 9 was close to being a marketable model.

It is echoed in the front of the Bertone Spider with the bonnet moulding, enclosed headlights and paired air intakes, and at the rear by the more modest fins and tail-lights integrated into the body.

There are also cues that link it with the Arnolt-Bristol of 1954, a product of the same stylist.

The Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider by Bertone is well built, which reflects the Torinese coachbuilder’s attention to detail

So, how did this pretty roadster come to be?

In 1952, before the launch of the Giulietta and to encourage new investors, Alfa Romeo (then part of the nationalised Istituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale) organised a raffle, with a new Giulietta as the prize.

However, because the monocoque for the new model wouldn’t be ready in time, an alternative – and faster – solution was required.

The pared-down Alfa Romeo has simple sidescreens that slide down into the doors

One answer was to commission a coachbuilder, whose traditional methods could be implemented at speed.

That was how gifted Finmeccanica engineer Rudolf Hruska, who had been seconded to Alfa after a career at VW and Porsche, came to approach Nuccio Bertone to ask him to produce the Sprint coupé.

Alfa’s management only envisaged a small series of cars, but Hruska insisted that the project deserved at least 1000 examples.

The Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider’s original engine was replaced with a 1290cc Veloce motor in the 1970s

A first prototype existed, made by Giuseppe Scarnati, but Alfa Romeo tasked Ghia’s Mario Boano and Scaglione with reworking it, and it was the latter who finalised the project for Bertone.

Thus the Sprint was born, unveiled at the 1954 Turin motor show and whose popularity far exceeded forecasts, with more than 24,000 units ultimately produced.

This success did not escape Max Hoffman, a keen observer of European developments and importer of several sports cars into the USA.

The Alfa Romeo’s BAT-inspired lines are most clear at the rear

Italy’s coupé market was stronger than that for convertibles, but America experienced the opposite – in particular in California, where the sunny climate favoured open roadsters.

Hoffman and Hruska, both of Austrian origin, were close, and the former’s suggestions would go a long way towards instigating the birth of a Giulietta Spider project, especially when he committed to an advanced order for cars.

Alfa Romeo asked both Pinin Farina and Bertone to work on the idea.

‘The ignition key brings the four-cylinder 1300 twin-cam to life. It revs willingly, with a discreet but throaty growl’

The manufacturer provided several Giulietta platforms to the two Torinese coachbuilders, their chassis numbers corresponding to the very beginning of the Giulietta Spider series (Tipo 750D).

Chassis 1495.00001 through to 1495.00016 were all allocated to prototype cars, with subsequent numbers being production Giuliettas up to chassis 1495.5650, the final 750 Spider built in 1959 before the transition to the Tipo 101.

Chassis numbers 1495.00001 and 1495.00003 were entrusted to Pinin Farina.

The Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider’s pedalbox is tight, but the controls give lots of feedback

The first has since disappeared, but the second is one of the 10 surviving variants on the Giulietta theme made by the carrozzeria.

Bertone constructed two Spiders, numbers 1495.00002 and 1495.00004.

The first is pictured here, while the second was a slightly simplified version, likely with more of an eye on mass production.

On the latter, now part of the Corrado Lopresto collection, the grille follows the curve of the nose, while the tail-lights are upright in the rear fins, in the style of the coupé.

The Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider’s light doors are opened using a simple strap

Bertone produced a third prototype in 1956, a convertible version more in the style of a Sprint coupé with its roof removed.

Period photographs of this first Bertone Spider show it in what appears to be a factory yard, and there is no indication that it was ever publicly displayed.

The Lopresto car remained with the manufacturer for a few years, but this example quickly left for the United States and Hoffman.

Bertone’s elegant styling features a complex front end that blends into the single-hinged bonnet

It was reputedly favoured by the importer over the Pinin Farina design and, in November 1955, Road & Track announced its impending arrival in the USA, priced at $3500.

However, Hoffman’s preference failed to win the day and it was the Pinin Farina proposal that was ultimately chosen.

Two reasons are generally given for this.

First, Bertone already had enough do in order to increase the production rate of its Sprint coupés, and Alfa might not have wanted to put all its eggs in one basket; and second, the great complexity of the curvaceous bodywork.

The Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider prototype has a wood-rim wheel and a US-friendly speedometer that shows mph

In addition to the convoluted front moulding, the bonnet is single-hinged and rather short on solidity.

The profiled tail-lights were unlikely to be legally compliant and, even though these were modified on the second prototype, there remained a lack of creature comforts.

American buyers wanted a car with winding windows, for example, not the rudimentary sidescreens of the Bertone Spider.

The painted metal dashboard confirms the Alfa Romeo’s lightweight ethos

After its time with Hoffman, the car was seen parked at the Sebring race track in 1958 before being displayed in the showroom of the Alfa dealership in Belmar, New Jersey.

In the early 1970s it was advertised in The New York Times as the ‘Spider BAT’, and around the same time it received a twin-carb Veloce engine.

It then appeared in an AutoWeek article on 13 January 1986 and, three years later, was presented at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

The tail-lights, integrated into the Alfa Romeo’s bodywork, are unique to this prototype

In 2000 it was offered for sale in Classic & Sports Car – with the owner clearly aware of what was being sold, given the $175,000 asking price.

The ad was spotted by Christophe Pund, who contacted the Swiss owner of one of the finest collections of Giuliettas in the world.

Without delay, he flew with Christophe to the USA and bought the car from prolific Alfa collectors Keith Goring and Susan Dixon.

The Spider went to Switzerland, from where Christophe was, more recently, able to buy it for his own collection.

The curvy Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider is a combination of complex shapes

It is extraordinary that this car has managed to survive almost 70 years while remaining largely original.

Apart from that missing rear bumper, there is now an external fuel filler with a Triumph TR3 cap (far more convenient than the factory set-up, which required opening the boot).

The elegant, curved ’screen doesn’t have an upper rail and the hood is long gone.

The external fuel filler (complete with a Triumph TR3 cap) replaced the original item, which was hidden under the bootlid

Inside, the three Veglia dials, bearing the Alfa Romeo logo, are in English, with the speedometer in mph, confirming the intended destination for this car.

The odometer reads just 35,723 miles, while the provision of oil temperature and pressure gauges underlines the Spider’s sporting pretentions.

The door is light and opened using a simple strap.

Once installed, you sit quite low (the seat is sagging a little), with legs outstretched and hands on the beautiful Nardi-style wheel.

The Alfa Romeo’s spare wheel is stored behind the seats

In the centre of the dash, simple buttons control the lighting and accessories, and the gearlever – originally sited on the steering column – is now located on the floor in the traditional Alfa layout, a change likely carried out during the installation of the Spider Veloce powertrain.

The small ignition key brings the technically advanced 1290cc twin-cam ‘four’ to life, and it revs willingly, with a discreet but throaty growl.

From behind the wheel, the Bertone Spider feels much like a conventional Giulietta.

It is relatively lively (its all-aluminium body gives it a weight advantage), precise, rigid and, for a sports car, remarkably comfortable.

This Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider’s agility and precision belie its prototype status

Not here do you endure the jolts of a British roadster and, remarkably for a completely handcrafted one-off, it feels just as accomplished as the series-production machine.

Intoxicated by the breeze caressing your hair, it is easy to imagine taking the road to Italy, crossing the Alpine passes before sliding on to the Piedmont plain and reaching the romantic lakes, where the Riva speedboats gleam as they cut through the turquoise waves.

You almost forget that you are behind the wheel of a prototype, the creation of which distilled the ideas of passionate designers through the efforts of talented coachbuilders.

Even today, the astonished looks of enthusiasts remind you of its exceptional character, which remains a milestone in the history of both Alfa Romeo and Bertone.

Words and images: Serge Cordey

Thanks to: Christophe Pund, La Galerie des Damiers

Alfa Romeo Giulietta: Rudolf Hruska and the Henry Ford link

Engineer Rudolf Hruska channelled his experience from Ford, Porsche and Volkswagen to ramp up Alfa Romeo Giulietta production

The Giulietta owes its design mainly to Orazio Satta and Giuseppe Busso, but the person responsible for its production was Rudolf Hruska, an Austrian engineer who had worked with Ferdinand Porsche.

In his book, The Alfa Romeo Tradition, Griffith Borgeson reports asking Hruska what experience he relied on to achieve a production of 250 Giuliettas per day.

“At Volkswagen, the target was 1000 units per day,” replied Hruska. “I took part in the planning of this huge operation.

“Ferdinand Porsche went to Dearborn to discuss the project with Henry Ford, asking if he had anyone qualified for these tasks and who would be interested in coming to Germany to create the new factory.”

Bertone’s Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider prototype remains a tantalising ‘what if?’

“With the co-operation of Ford, a team of 30 came,” said Hruska. “I learned a lot.

“They had no time to waste on discussions: they were sure of what they were doing.

“The product would have been good, if the war hadn’t put a stop to it.”

It was this experience linked to Porsche and Ford that Hruska exploited for the Giulietta’s production – which, from the outset, went without a hitch.

The Austrian engineer is also known for the design of the Alfasud, but that’s another story…

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