The name comes from a mistake. In the 1960s a label supplier misread "SC" (Super Corsa) and printed "Speciale" instead — Cinelli kept it, and by the 1970s it was a standard in the catalogue. Every Speciale since has carried that same idea: handcrafted in Milan, built on the belief that something unconventional can still turn out exactly right. Today that means one road bike and one gravel bike, with an all-road titanium model on the way.