Alfa Romeo 1900 Primavera

Vehicle Overview

The Alfa Romeo 1900 Primavera was produced in addition to the 17,000 sedans produced directly by Alfa Romeo at the time, this was a huge number for this Milan-based manufacturer. Numerous special versions were also produced, mainly coupés or open models. These, built by the many coachbuilders that were in business at the time, were niche versions, intended for those who wanted to stand out from the crowd. Mario Felice Boano proposed, for release in 1955, the Alfa Romeo 1900 Primavera, which was its interpretation of the Alfa Romeo two-door sedan. Based on the 1900, it was not a sports car, but a 4-/5-seater for touring. Just four were built in 1955, followed by a small series of 286 in 1956, and finally the last ten in 1957. The features that set it apart from the standard 4-door sedan were, in particular, the shape of the roof and the curved rear window, the frameless side windows, in true American style, and the two-tone finish, all of which were rendered even more striking thanks to the effect created by the chrome profiles that emphasized its shape. Also in 1955, Boano had presented the 1900C SS Speciale, another model based on the mechanics of the 1900 (one of which recently fetched 1.27 million dollars at auction).

Photo and story courtesy of Aste Bolaffi.