I believe this Farina showcar body is on a Alfa Romeo Disco Volante chassis.
Does this car still exist and if so, where is it?
Paulie
Alfa Romeo Superflow
Started by
paulie
, Nov 28 2008 17:43
8 replies to this topic
#1
paulie
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Posted 28 November 2008 - 17:43
This is a scan from the cover of an old mid-1950s French car magazine so the image quality is not good. I remember this car because, as a pre-teen sportscar-mad kid, I sent a letter to Farina (or Alfa) at the time asking for a photo and received a very nice black/white glossy of the Superflow at a motorshow. That photo is now unfortunately long gone.
I believe this Farina showcar body is on a Alfa Romeo Disco Volante chassis.
Does this car still exist and if so, where is it?
Paulie
I believe this Farina showcar body is on a Alfa Romeo Disco Volante chassis.
Does this car still exist and if so, where is it?
Paulie
#3
RA Historian
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Posted 28 November 2008 - 20:23
I don't think that is the same car. Both are Superflows, but the one on the link is dubbed the Superflow IV. Decidedly different bodywork from the car on paulie's post. Of course, it could be the same chassis, just with a different body.
I believe I saw the car on the link "back in the day". Baumgartner Motors, in Wauwatosa, Wis., USA, was four blocks from my home. It sold Alfa Romeos, among other makes. I remember going down there one day and seeing an Alfa show car on display. The accompanying description on a big card on an easel said that it was a show car based upon a 1953 Disco Volante chassis. Further, IIRC, this car was also featured in an article and photo spread in a mid 1950s Sports Cars Illustrated magazine article. I do think that the car on the link, the car I saw at Baumgartner Motors circa 1956-57, and the SCI magazine car are all the same. Am I right in my memory?
Tom
I believe I saw the car on the link "back in the day". Baumgartner Motors, in Wauwatosa, Wis., USA, was four blocks from my home. It sold Alfa Romeos, among other makes. I remember going down there one day and seeing an Alfa show car on display. The accompanying description on a big card on an easel said that it was a show car based upon a 1953 Disco Volante chassis. Further, IIRC, this car was also featured in an article and photo spread in a mid 1950s Sports Cars Illustrated magazine article. I do think that the car on the link, the car I saw at Baumgartner Motors circa 1956-57, and the SCI magazine car are all the same. Am I right in my memory?
Tom
#4
fbarrett
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Posted 28 November 2008 - 20:24
This Alfa closely resembles (and may be) the car owned by Jackson Brooks, of Fort Collins, Colorado, some years ago. Now, if I can just find his book...
#5
GIGLEUX
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Posted 28 November 2008 - 22:21
The car, #1028 receveid four different bodies during its life knowned as Superflow, Superflow II, III and IV.
#6
dretceterini
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Posted 29 November 2008 - 01:00
Originally posted by GIGLEUX
The car, #1028 receveid four different bodies during its life knowned as Superflow, Superflow II, III and IV.
Possibly 5 bodies; not 4. Some believe this car started out as a 6c3000CM LeMans/MM Colli bodied coupe...
#7
RA Historian
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Posted 29 November 2008 - 02:00
Aha! That answers that little question. I sorta suspected that. Thanks for the info. But that of course begs the question, what happened to the other bodies? Were they scrapped? If so, a sad fate for a very interesting design.Originally posted by GIGLEUX
The car, #1028 receveid four different bodies during its life knowned as Superflow, Superflow II, III and IV.
Tom
#8
paulie
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Posted 29 November 2008 - 03:03
I agree. I find it incomprehensible that Alfa/Farina would recycle the Disco chassis through 4 or 5 different bodies. Think of the work that went into the first Superflow body. Surely it has been preserved in some forgotten warehouse and not cut up? It is the only car I have ever seen with clear plastic front fender tops and I think it is brilliant.
Paulie
Paulie
#9
Carlo-L.
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Posted 30 November 2008 - 14:39
The chassis number of the car is 1361.00128.
Indeed the history of this car started as a part of the Alfa works-team in 1953.
The late chassis number leads to the assumption that it is a renumbred version of one of the only six 6C3000CM cars that were homologated and registered. What car was renumbered is not easy to find out 55 years later. There are claims that consider the original chassis being #124, the car that Fangio drove to second place in the MM, but to my knowledge this is some kind of wishful-thinking.
Pinin Farina could purchase one of the Coupes and presented in 1956 the officially called "Alfa Romeo 3500 Coupe Super Flow". The car was shown at Torino in April 1956.
(It was the last year that the Torino show was held in April, the following year the date was switched to October/November).
Already in October 1956 the car was modified and named "Alfa Romeo 3500 Coupe Super Flow II".
In 1959 the car reappeared as "Alfa Romeo 3500 Spyder Super Sport".
The final body was presented 1960 as "Alfa Romeo 3500Coupe Super Sport Speciale".
It could be interesting to learn what happened to the car during the last years!
Following this thread at the AlfaBB http://www.alfabb.co...-6c3000-cm.html it has been discovered by serious Alfa experts that the original chassis and the Pinin Farina body have been separated from each other. Photographs from other members support this discovery as well.
Some people already expressed their concerns that two cars will be made from #128...
Hopefully noone will try to trap us in the future with a barn-find story about the Fangio MM car!
Best regards
Ciao Carlo
Indeed the history of this car started as a part of the Alfa works-team in 1953.
The late chassis number leads to the assumption that it is a renumbred version of one of the only six 6C3000CM cars that were homologated and registered. What car was renumbered is not easy to find out 55 years later. There are claims that consider the original chassis being #124, the car that Fangio drove to second place in the MM, but to my knowledge this is some kind of wishful-thinking.
Pinin Farina could purchase one of the Coupes and presented in 1956 the officially called "Alfa Romeo 3500 Coupe Super Flow". The car was shown at Torino in April 1956.
(It was the last year that the Torino show was held in April, the following year the date was switched to October/November).
Already in October 1956 the car was modified and named "Alfa Romeo 3500 Coupe Super Flow II".
In 1959 the car reappeared as "Alfa Romeo 3500 Spyder Super Sport".
The final body was presented 1960 as "Alfa Romeo 3500Coupe Super Sport Speciale".
It could be interesting to learn what happened to the car during the last years!
Following this thread at the AlfaBB http://www.alfabb.co...-6c3000-cm.html it has been discovered by serious Alfa experts that the original chassis and the Pinin Farina body have been separated from each other. Photographs from other members support this discovery as well.
Some people already expressed their concerns that two cars will be made from #128...
Hopefully noone will try to trap us in the future with a barn-find story about the Fangio MM car!
Best regards
Ciao Carlo
