Two later models of the spider were fitted with a 227bhp 3.5-litre straight-six, allowing them to soar to speeds approaching 150 miles an hour.Īs it turned out, no alien race touched down in the ‘50s. Powered initially by a 2-litre putting 156bhp through the rear wheels, this little Alfa was never all-show-and-no-go. Seeing one of these tear past in the 1950s would strike both fear and excitement into onlookers conjuring images of spherical alien craft the likes of which had been firmly injected into the public psyche by films like The Day the Earth Stood Still and War of the Worlds, released in 19 respectively.ĭisco Volantes were very light too. That should tell you all you need to know about how far ahead of its time the 1952 Alfa Romeo Disco Volante was in terms of design.Īlfa Romeo’s space-age supercar may have been made in very, very limited numbers, but it’s still recognized as one of the all-time great triumphs of early aerodynamic car design.
Alfa Romeo Disco Volanteĭisco Volante literally translates as ”flying saucer” in Italian. We’re eager to hear what you think of our supercar countdowns – let us know if we’ve missed any supercars of the 1950s, and which ones from this and our 1940s list you’d have in your dream garage.ĭon’t forget to check out our other Greatest Ever Supercars and Sports Cars posts. This decade saw flying saucers, a supercar with the wings of a seabird, and racing cars barely altered and sold for the road, as the car industry gained the confidence to embrace the future and start pushing the envelope in terms of both design and performance. The Greatest Supercars and Sports Cars of the 1950sįollowing the post-war austerity of the 1940s, you’d be forgiven for thinking the car world had gone a bit mad by the time the 1950s came around.
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