Sport Sedans: claimants, fun cars and SUVs too

[JHertzman@xxxxxxx]

Paul Rollins writes "No doubt there are many claimants to tthis title,
including some U.S. marques (Duesenburg, Marmon, Cord)" while nominating the
Mini as "more fun to drive than any other car ever made".

Fun, OK, and the enhanced versions did well enough in rallies and short course
events- not sure how they did at Le Mans, the Mille Miglia, other major races,
have to look that up.

"including some U.S. marques (Duesenburg, Marmon, Cord)-"  Cord took a bunch
of speed records for closed car on a circular track at Bonneville in 1937, but
other than that doesn't seem to have been entered in any competitions. Marmon?
Nice cars but haven't heard of their sporting aspirations. La Salle and two
Chryslers took 1-2-3 in class in the Mille Miglia in 1928, with Chrysler 1st
in class in '29 and '30 (and, for people who hate Sport Utility Vehicles, Fiat
took 1st in utility vehicles in '30, '31, '32, and '33- ). Stutz and Chrysler
did respectably at Le Mans, with 2, 3, 4 overall in 1928 behind Bentley, and
respectable finishes in 1929. Since most Bentleys were closed sedans on
chassis identical to the ones which dominated Le Mans they could be arguably
called the quintessential Sport Sedans of the twenties, but the sedan bodies
were bespoke, not serial production. The only strictly stock-bodied sedan to
post a respectable result at le Mans that I know of was the Cadillac entered
by Briggs Cunningham. Sports car? Perhaps.

Back to Rollins' main point. His sig line indicates that he owns a 1958
Guilietta Spider and a 1982 Spider. Does he consider them sports cars? Like
all other Alfa open series-built cars they are just nice-looking open bodies
built on shortened platforms of earlier sedans series-built for, and
successfully run in, the International Touring classes of their periods- his
'82 based on the 1962 Giulia T.I. and his 1958 based on the 1957 Giulietta
T.I. "Based on" quite closely, too- engines, transmissions, axle, suspensions,
steering, platform proportions, everything except the cosmetics and the wind-
in-face.

And both of those sedans were, in turn, scaled-down versions of the 1950 1900-
same three-link rear suspension, same front suspension and steering geometry,
same twin-cam five-main four-banger engine layout, same finned aluminum drums,
the works.

There are other possible claimants among series-built sedans with decent
performance and remarkable handling - among front-drivers the prewar Citroens
and post-war Dyna Panhards come to mind- but nothing which competes with the
sedans on which the Alfa Spiders were based.

In AD7-408 Chris Attias made the case for the Lancia Aurelias: 
"Lest we forget, you might be able to make the same claim for the origin of
the Sports Sedan for various Lancia Aurelias--also relatively limited
production.  I believe a B22 sedan won its class and 19th overall in the
1952 Mille Miglia."

Indeed, that would be Umberto Maglioli. A worthy competitor, in a car
engineered under ex-Alfa engineer Vittorio Jano. The Aurelia competition
record starts not with the sedan but with the GT coupe which made its first
competition appearance in February 1951 in the Sestriere Rally. A month later
the 1900 and the Aurelia met in the Giro di Sicilia, the Aurelia coupe taking
first in the GT class and the 1900 Berlina taking first in the Turismo class.
>From there the Aurelia record goes on for two pages, some in Turismo but most
in Gran Turismo, presumably the coupes, while the 1900 record goes on for four
pages, some in Gran Turismo (which would be the Superleggera coupes) but the
vast majority in Turismo, which would be the Berlinas.

I won't dispute the fun factor on the Mini, nor the domination of the Aurelia
coupes in the GT classes, but the Alfa 1900 Berlina is hard to deny as the
first mass-produced sedan of sporting character which racked up a significant
competition record.

John H.

Raleigh, N.C.

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End of alfa-digest V7 #413
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