The standard Sprint Zagato was built upon the shorter wheelbase chassis of the Sprint Speciale (2250 mm) compared to the regular Sprint version (2380 mm), and the result was a very compact coupé with curved lines, particularly in the rear end. It shared the same engine as the SS, providing it with a reliable 100 CV at 6500 rpm, although some Italian engineers such as Conrero managed to get around 130 CV from the small 1300cc.

Around two hundred customers purchased one, and right away they began entering competitions of all sorts, performing especially well in open road and mountain events due to its light weight and easiness to manoeuvre – it usually finished among the top of its group, winning some races as well, ahead of more powerful vehicles.

The Coupe des Alpes, also known as the Alpine Rally, was one of the most renowned competitions in the 1950s and 1960s due to its combination of aspects of rally and endurance elements on account of its length – crossing several countries – and the difficulties posed by some of Europe’s most challenging mountain passes, such as the Stelvio, Galibier, and Cortina D’Ampezzo.

The four powerful Austin Healey 3000 units were the favourites, having won the two previous editions, but none of them managed to finish the competition, and so eventually Jean Rolland had to fight it out against Rauno Aaltonen’s Mini Cooper, the two official Ford Cortinas, and René Trautmann’s Citröen DS 19.

José Manuel Pérez – Excerpt from the CJ-58 booklet.