In 1956, the design house of Zagato received an Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Veloce that had to be rebuilt since the body was badly damaged in an accident. What Ugo Zagato decided was to provide a much lighter car body consisting of aluminium panels that would not only be aerodynamic but also run faster.

Soon, other car owners started lining up at his Carrozzeria Zagato workshop wanting to convert their own Veloce models. Noticing this, Alfa Romeo approached and commissioned Zagato to build a number of cars with this body.