Giovanni Alfonsi had a vision: make a sports car to compete with the greatest in the world… in post-war Europe. He was a young businessman from a well-off family and grew up fascinated with 20’s and 30’s Grand Prix racing which was going on during that era. Now an adult, he wanted a car of his own to get a taste of what he saw so much as a child. However, nothing available at the time caught his interest, so he used his family fortune to build something that did; the Velocita 12/20 “Topo” or “mouse” in Italian, as Giovanni nicknamed it because of its nimble handling and quick acceleration. It was powered by a 2.0L V12 with Direct-Action OHC and 6 single-barrel carbs, good for 163 HP and 7500 RPM going to the rear wheels through a 4-speed manual transmission. Although he was rich and used to a life of luxury, he was obsessed with weight savings, with aluminum panels, a space frame chassis, and a primitive (even for the time) interior. All this made for a car that weighed less than 1900 lbs. and 0.9 g’s of grip and 8.1 seconds 0-62 MPH time. At first it was his one-off personal track toy, however, demand raised for the quirky little mouse and it was produced in small quantities. It wasn’t pretty, it wasn’t comfortable, but it was fast.
Aluminium panels for the late 40s/early 50s? Are you an aircraft manufacturer or…?
Doesn’t look too bad, two things I’d like to point out however: the grille seems to be quite bare, and I think it needs some more detail, and wheels in the era were quite inset in the arches.
Actually, for a limited production bare bones performance coupe, the grilles tended to be quite basic. My first reaction was that is the most recognizable part of the car as a post war sports coupe.
Aluminium was an expensive choice but not unheard of (Laotus and Jaguar in the late 40s, early 50s made some Alu bodies on sports coupes).
The wheels should indeed be more in the arches to be era correct.
And there was also Panhard, making cheap cars of aluminium because its availability wasn’t limited by the government, as it was for steel.
It was used on sportscar manufacturers. Like Ferrari, for example.
not cheap, but actually a lot more common than you think, as there was a large alu surplus in postwar Europe. Maserati, Ferrari, Jaguar amongst several others used aluminium extensively in their car bodies.
I stand corrected, my understanding was that it wasn’t common for a long time
Rover also used a lot of it…
The great thing about european cars of the era was, they were either carryovers from the 1930s or simplistic art deco futurism like this 1947 Farina bodied Alfa Romeo 6C
The intention for it was to be quite bare, because (if you care about lore) its design was of one man who
a. wasn’t a professional designer
b. didn’t care about looks, he wanted a quick car
After a few units were made for the public, Giovanni received many requests for a more comfortable variant. He realized the potential for an actual company, and founded Velocita Automobili in 1947. The first official model was the Velocita 12/20 Lusso, which featured a slight restyling and massive interior changes. On the exterior, it had a new grille, new chrome trim, and chrome wheels, but the inside is what counted for this car. Small rear seat were added, as well as hand-made interior quality and an AM radio, which was considered very well equipped for the time. It also had less sporty brake pads, softer suspension, and further spaced gears, making it the ultimate choice in the GT segment.
