alfa romeo

Alfa Romeo is an Italian automobile manufacturer.

Alfa Romeo has been a part of Fiat SpA since 1986. The company was originally known as ALFA, which is an acronym for Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili (translated: Lombard Automobile Factory, Public Company). (First logo: [1])

History

The company that became Alfa Romeo was founded as "Darracq Italiana" in 1907 by Cavaliere Ugo Stella, an aristocrat from Milan, in partnership with the French automobile firm of Alexandre Darracq. The firm initially produced Darracq cars in Naples, but after the partnership collapsed Stella and the other Italian co-investors moved production to an idle Darracq factory in the Milan suburb of Portello, and the company was renamed ALFA (Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili). The first non-Darracq car produced by company was the 1910 24 HP (named for the 24 horsepower it produced), designed by Giuseppe Merosi. Merosi would go on to design a series of new ALFA cars with more powerful engines (40-60 HP). ALFA also ventured into motor racing, drivers Franchini and Ronzoni competing in the 1911 Targa Florio with two 24 HP models. However, the onset of World War I halted automobile production at ALFA for three years.

1916 saw the company come under the direction of Neapolitan entrepreneur Nicola Romeo, who converted the factory to produce military hardware for the Italian and Allied war efforts. Munitions, aircraft engines and other components, compressors and generators based on the company's existing car engines, and heavy locomotives were produced in the factory during the war. When the war was over, Romeo took complete control of ALFA and car production resumed in 1919. In 1920, the name of the company was changed to Alfa Romeo with the Torpedo 20-30 HP becoming the first car to be badged as such. Giuseppe Merosi continued as head designer, and the company continued to produce solid road cars as well as successful race cars (including the 40-60 HP and the RL Targa Florio).

In 1923 Vittorio Jano was lured away from Fiat, partly thanks to the persuasion of a young Alfa racing driver named Enzo Ferrari, to replace Merosi as chief designer at Alfa Romeo. The first Alfa Romeo under Jano was the P2 Grand Prix car, which won Alfa Romeo the world championship in 1925. For Alfa road cars Jano developed a series of small-to-medium-displacement 4, 6, and 8 cylinder inline power plants based on the P2 unit that established the classic architecture of Alfa engines, with light alloy construction, hemispherical combustion chambers, centrally-located plugs, two rows of overhead valves per cylinder bank and dual overhead cams. Jano's designs proved to be both reliable and powerful.

Enzo Ferrari proved to be a better team manager than driver, and when the factory team was privatised, it then became Scuderia Ferrari. When Ferrari left Alfa Romeo, he went on to build his own cars. Tazio Nuvolari often drove for Alfa, winning many races prior to WWII.

In 1928 Nicola Romeo left, with Alfa going broke after defense contracts ended, and in 1933 Alfa Romeo was rescued by the government, which then had effective control. Alfa became an instrument of Mussolini's Italy, a national emblem. During this period Alfa Romeo built bespoke vehicles for the wealthy, with the bodies normally built by Touring of Milan or Pininfarina. This was the era that peaked with the legendary Alfa Romeo 2900B Type 35 racers.

The Alfa factory was bombed during World War II, and struggled to return to profitability after the war. The luxury vehicles were out. Smaller mass-produced vehicles began to be produced in Alfa's factories.

By the 1970s Alfa was again in financial trouble. The Italian government bowed out in 1986 as FIAT bought in, creating a new group, Alfa Lancia Spa, to manufacture Alfas and Lancias.

The History of the Alfa badge

In 1910 it was a draughtsman named Romano Cattaneo who was given the job of coming up with a badge for a new Milan-based company, ALFA. The story goes that as he was waiting for a tram at the Piazza Castello terminus in Milan, he gained inspiration from the great Visconti family's red cross and serpent coat of arms emblazoned over the great door of Castello Sforzesco.

With the help of Giuseppe Merosi, a designer, his sketches incorporated both the City of Milan's emblem and that of the Visconti family in a circular motif, bordered by a dark blue metallic ring containing the inscription "ALFA" and "MILANO" separated by two Savoy dynasty knots.

Racing history

Alfa Romeo scored many prestigious victories in the following categories: Formula 1, Prototypes, Touring and Fast Touring. Private drivers also entered some rally competitions, with fine results.

In 1923 Vittorio Jano was lured to Alfa from Fiat, designing the motors that gave Alfa racing success into the late 1930s. (When Alfa began to lose in the late 1930s Jano was promptly sacked.)

In the 1930s Tazio Nuvolari won the Mille Miglia in a 6C 1750 [2], crossing the finishing line after having incredibly overtaken Achille Varzi without lights (at nighttime).

The 8C 2300 won the Le Mans 24 Hours from 1931 to 1934, with Alfa Romeo withdrawing from racing in 1933 when the Italian government took over, and the racing of Alfas was then taken up by Scuderia Ferrari as Alfa's outsourced team. (Enzo Ferrari drove for Alfa before he went on to manage the team, and after that went on to manufacture his own cars.) In 1935 Alfa Romeo won the German Grand Prix with Nuvolari. In 1938 Biondetti won the Mille Miglia in an 8C 2900B Corto Spyder, thereafter referred to as the "Mille Miglia" model.

In 1950 Nino Farina won the Formula One World Championship in a 158 with compressor, in 1951 Juan Manuel Fangio won while driving an Alfetta 159 (an evolution of the 158 with a two-stages compressor). Alfa-Romeo returned to Formula One in 1976, initially as an engine supplier to Brabham and then as a constructor from the middle of 1979 until the end of 1985. Alfa also supplied engines to the tiny Italian Osella team from 1983 to 1988. There was little success, although Brabham-Alfa took two victories in 1978.

The various version of Tipo 33 were raced in the Prototype category from 1967 to 1977, winning titles in 1975 and 1977.

Alfa in popular culture

In the 1960s Alfa Romeo became famous for its small cars and models specifically designed for the Italian police - "Panthers" [3], [4], [5], [6], [7]) and Carabinieri ([8]); among them the glorious "Giulia Super" [9] - [10], or the 2600 Sprint GT [11], which acquired the expressive nickname of "Inseguimento" (this car is wrongly supposed to be the one that the famous Roman police marshal and unrivalled driver Armandino Spadafora brought down on the Spanish Steps in 1960 while following some robbers - it was actually a black Ferrari 250 GT/E - this pic of Giulia [12], one of the dozens about this legend, is taken from a movie and not at the Spanish Steps).

Before being bought by Fiat, Alfa Romeo always had a daring commercial policy, constantly experimenting with new solutions and using them in its series production, even at the risk of losing market share. Alfa often used controversial and unorthodox styling too, which often challenged assumptions about styling.

In an English sales brochure:

The Alfa Romeo Giulia 1600 SS - For the man who has everything, here is the car to keep him company. ... The price is GBP 2394.1.3 including tax. Expensive? Naturally! What else would you expect a hand-built Alfa to be? [13]

It represented those makes of cars that permitted sporty driving on common roads, provided the driver was enthusiastic enough to appreciate their particular "sound".

In Italian the owner of an Alfa Romeo is an "Alfista", and a group of them are "Alfisti". Alfa Romeo is sometimes worshipped by its owners, and many models have become cultural symbols [14]. There are many thriving Alfa Romeo owners clubs and Alfa Romeo Model Registers.

In 1967 the famous Dustin Hoffman film "The Graduate" gave worldwide unforgettable celebrity to the "Spider" (best known by the Italian nickname of "Duetto", or as "Osso di Seppia" or Round-tail), and its unique shape. See here [15] - [16]. The Spider was designed by Pininfarina.

Return To The U.S.

In 1995 Alfa Romeo ceased exporting cars to the U.S. Rumors began of their return, however as the FAQ on Alfa's UK website says "The long-awaited return of Alfa Romeo to the United States market should take place by 2007, with a range of new models." The models expected to come first in the U.S. were the Alfa Romeo 159, the Brera, the 8C Competizione, and the Spider, which were initially designed to pass US safety regulations.

Alfa Romeo's return to America was confirmed on May 5th of 2006 by Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne. They will begin in 2008, by selling the 8C Competizione. Later, in about 2010 or 2011, Alfa Romeo will release the 159, Brera, and Spider after they receive a mid-life styling refreshment. Alfa Romeos will be sold at Maserati dealers throughout America. ^[1]

Production

Until the 1980s, Alfa Romeos, except for the Alfasud, were rear-wheel-drive. According to the current Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne, in order to reap economies of scale, all new Alfa Romeo models will be made from the same basic platform (i.e., frame). Even Maserati will share components with some Alfas.¹

Cloverleaf or Quadrifoglio badges denote variants of Alfa Romeo cars where the name denotes the high-end of the range in comfort and engine size, but previously denoted Alfa Romeo racing cars in the pre-Second-World-War era. The image first appeared in 1923 when Ugo Sivocci presented one prior to the start of the 14th Targa Florio as a good luck token to the team. This became the symbol of competition Alfas, denoting higher performance. Some modern Alfas wear a cloverleaf badge which is typically a green four leaf clover on a white background (Quadrifoglio Verde), but variants of blue on white have been recently observed as well.

The Alfettas of the early 1980s had models available sold as the "Silver Leaf" and "Gold Leaf" (Quadrifoglio Oro). These models were the top of the range. Badging was the Alfa Cloverleaf in either gold or silver to denote the specification level. The Gold Leaf model was also sold as the "159i" in some markets, the name in homage to the original 159.

The trim levels (option packages) offered today on the various nameplates (model lines) include the lusso, “luxury,” turismo, “touring,” and the GTA (gran tourismo alleggerita, “lightened grand touring”). The GTA package is offered in the 147 and 156 and includes a V-6 engine. In the past, Alfa Romeo offered a Sprint (from Italian sprinta, "tuned") trim level.

RHD Alfa Romeo Production post-1960

In the late 1960's, a number of European automobile manufacturers established facilities in South Africa to assemble right hand drive vehicles for the Commonwealth markets. Fiat and other Italian manufacturers established factories along with these other manufacturers in Uitenhage, outside of Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa.

With the imposition of sanctions by western powers in the 1970's and 1980's, South Africa became self sufficient, and in car production came to rely more and more on the products of the Uitenhage factories. In consequence, production levels increased, and many manufacturers including Fiat Spa., Lancia, Ferrari and Alfa Romeo transferring all their right-hand drive production to Uitenhage. Volkswagen AG, Daimler Benz AG and BMW AG followed suit at about this time.

Since then, all right-hand-drive production of Alfa Romeo (and most other European manufacturers) remains in Uitenhage - so that RHD European cars are actually South African in origin, or else have their steering and dashboard assemblies produced there.

Automotive Models

Automotive Concepts

Alfa Romeo Nuvola - 1996 design unveiled in Paris

Engines

• 1954–1994 Twin Cam — 1290, 1570, 1750, 1779, 1962
• 1992– TwinSpark — 1.6, 1.7, 1.8, 2.0
• 1971–1995 Flat-4 — 1186, 1286, 1350, 1490, 1712
• 1979– V6 — 2.5, 3.0

External links

• Official Alfa Romeo site
• The Alfa Romeo Bulletin Board
• Official Alfa Romeo Australia site
• Alfa Romeo Club Serbia
• The Alfa Wiki [17]
• The Alfa Romeo Owners' Forum [18]
• Alfa Romeo Owners' Club of Singapore
• Alfa Romeo Owners' Club of Malaysia
• Alfa Romeo's and other Italian Cars (Wheels Of Italy)
• Alfa-Romeo-uk.com - Alfa Romeo UK
• [19] - Alfa Romeo Owner (ARO) Forum Germany
• Czech Alfa Romeo Club
• Many private photos of Alfa Romeo cars on Flickr
• ItaliaAuto.net ItaliaAuto Club Malaysia

See also:

• List of Italian companies
• List of Formula One constructors

Endnotes

1. "Saving Fiat," The Economist, December 3, 2005, p. 64, vol. 377.