The 1957 Alfa Romeo Giulietta SS Prototipo was certainly not the most eye-catching machine at this year’s concorso. In fact, the dark red Bertone coupé looked almost modest on the lawns of Villa Erba on Sunday. But if you peered closer, you could see signs of the prototype’s historical relevance. In addition to Franco Scaglione’s daughter Giovanna, the godfather among Italian automotive collectors, Corrado Lopresto, has an unmistakeable sense for extraordinary Alfas, and the Berlinetta is from his unique garage. A glance at the catalogue revealed that the curators of the famous concours regarded the ‘Sprint Speciale’ as an important link between Scaglione’s legendary BAT design studies and the production version of the Giulietta SS. That the jury considered the Alfa more important than, say, a Ferrari 250 GT ‘California’ Spider, in Ferrari’s anniversary year, is telling of the innocent-looking car’s historical calibre. 

In this, the prototype’s 60th year, Giovanna Scaglione and Corrado Lopresto were awarded not only the Trofeo BMW Group but also the unique winner’s watch from A. Lange & Söhne, presented by CEO Wilhelm Schmid on Sunday evening. After a successful concorso weekend, filled with beautiful classic cars, you can rightly claim that the Lange 1 Time Zone “Como Edition” has found a worthy new owner this year. 

Photos: Rémi Dargegen for Classic Driver © 2017