Cooper Hardtop

Make
Mini
Segment
Hatchback

Following years of Grand Prix success, Alfa Romeo withdrew from Formula 1 at the end of 1951 and turned its attention to creating sports cars. Its maiden effort in this venture was the Tipo C52 Disco Volante (Flying Saucer), named after the aerodynamic bodywork featuring prominent overhangs. The arresting design was the work of the great Milanese carrozzeria Touring, the company responsible for the 1900, Alfa's first all-new design of the post-war era.

A state-of-the-art tubular spaceframe was a considerable advancement on the ladder-frame chassis used hitherto, and offered superior rigidity without the penalty of weight gain. Under the hood sits a tuned 158hp version of the 1900's 4-cylinder unit expanded to 2.0-liters. For the prototypes, 3 body styles were used: long- and short-tailed two-seat spiders and a closed coupe. One was entered for the 1952 24 Hours of Le Mans, but Alfa never turned up and the Disco Volentes never raced. The original long-tailed spider and coupe currently reside at the Alfa Romeo Museo Storico in Arese, Italy.

In the mid-1950s, a wealthy Milanese client commissioned Carrozzeria Corasco of Turin to build a copy of the famous Disco Volante around a tubular steel chassis of a 1954 Alfa Romeo 1900 Super dressed with aluminum bodywork. This is the example heading to Bonhams Paris auction on 2 February where a bid of 140,000 to 175,000 Euros is expected to be enough to secure this faithful replica of one of the great styling icons of the 1950s. Photos courtesy of Bonhams.