Originally Posted by
Drillium Dude
You know, every time I typed out SC or SL I was unsure if they should be separate words or not. Since the names on the frames are in all caps and don't appear to have a space, that was no help. Thank you for clearing that up.
A question: was Specialissima an actual model in 1981? Or was it a designation, as suggested above, equal to "Reparto Corse"? I have seen frames built in the later 80s with the word Specialissima on the non-drive chainstay, with a couple-three representations of road bikes next to it. I always assumed that was a model name on the later-80s frames.
I'm on a steep learning curve here when it comes to Bianchi hierarchy.
DD
Yeah, the Specialissima was their top of line model (60s/70s maybe earlier), then it was the race frameset (late 70s/early 80s), then in the mid-80s they started slapping the decal on anything approaching their high-end (even my Rallye model came with that sticker, which was pushing it.)
If you look carefully at the top tube model name, the space between "Super" and "Corsa" is an eetsy weensey bit wider than those between other letters. At least on mine and the one other I've seen in person (@merziac's).