Michelotti (1921 – 1980) designed cars – lots of cars. Have a guess how many: 50? 100? Nope. Michelotti penned 1,200 vehicles, including 190 Ferraris. In the 1954 Turin Show, more than 40 cars were by Michelotti. He has designed cars for Ferrari, Maserati, BMW, and countless others. He is perhaps best known in the UK for his Triumphs – the Herald, TR4, 5, 6, Spitfire, GT6 and 1300, 1500, Toledo, Dolomite, 2000, and Stag. His last design to see production was the Reliant Scimitar SS1.
Cars don’t come much rarer than this Alfa Romeo Michelotti Conrero. Tipped off by Abarth guru Tony Berni, we traveled to Brescia to find this original yellow one-off, supplied by Fiat primary dealer Pierangelo Pasini of Franzoni Auto. We drove to nearby Villa Badia Piccola for our photo location. Michelotti made the camera lie, as the proportions of this coupe are that of a big car. Pictures make it look Alfa 2600-sized, but it is the size of the 1956 Giulietta Sprint Veloce (1,300cc) underneath. Nicknamed ‘Goccia’ (pronounced gotcha), it is Italian for ‘drop,’ as in teardrop. It was in 1961 that the car acquired its Michelotti body and Conrero motor. Not a Motor Show poseur, this car has period competition history. Driven by Munaron and De Leonibus, it ran at Monza in 1961 in the Coppa Ascari 6-hours, where it vied for the lead against the works Alfa SZ of Sanesi before a transmission problem dropped the ‘drop’ to seventh. Monza races apart, other outings include a class win in the 1961 Aosta-Pila Hillclimb.
Its two-seater brief means plenty of room for ‘design.’ The rear haunches are predominant, and the large diameter (15-inch) wheels give a modern body-to-wheel ratio. The voluptuous bumperless shape is aluminum with Carrozzeria Michelotti Torino badges on the front wings. Alfa Romeo heritage has been retained with the distinctive front end, although the headlamps under glass impart a studious, bespectacled appearance. A slight tint and they would be designer shades. The wheels and finned drum brakes are so Alfa. I recognize the windscreen as that beautiful quarter-elliptical shape of the Alfa Romeo Giulia/Giulietta SS. The rest of the windows are in plexiglass, with the overall weight of our yellow machine down at just 750kg.
Getting in and out is complex and reminiscent of the Alfa SS. Both seats are slim, with the one on the driver’s side being a low-back bucket type. No belts are fitted. The big steering wheel extends down too close to the seat, making it very difficult to get in. With such light steering (due to the lightness of the whole car), the Michelotti Alfa would benefit significantly from a smaller, period steering wheel. Not necessarily a design fault on the part of Michelotti, who was stuck with the layout. It is a 750/101 Series Giulietta/Giulia Coupe fault, but I’m amazed how drivers can live with such an easily solved discomfort.
Source: Roberto Giordanelli - Auto Italia magazine, July 2004 via www.classicdriver.com
Images: www.conceptcars.it; www.classicdriver.com; www.motor-klassik.de
