Alfa Romeo

The Società Anonima Italiana Darracq (SAID) was founded in 1906, with Italian investment, by French car maker Pierre Alexandre Darracq (1855-1931). Its Darracq cars and taxis did not sell well, so in 1909 it was reformed as the Società Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili (ALFA) or Lombard Automobile Factory Ltd, still in partnership with Darracq, commissioning Giuseppe Merosi to design a home-grown 24 HP for 1910. ALFA raced two of these in a works team, driven by Franchini and Ronzoni, in the 1911 Targa Florio. Under pressure to produce military hardware for the Italian and Allied war efforts, in August 1915 the company reorganised under Neapolitan entrepreneur Nicola Romeo, who changed the name to Alfa Romeo. It restarted car production in 1920 with the Torpedo 20-30 HP, with industrialist Romeo adding his name to ALFA along with the Milan coat of arms, the red Crusader cross of the Dukes of Milan, on the left of its badge. On the right a serpent devours either a child, or a defeated Saracen, there is some dispute over which.

Romeo left in 1928, the company facing ruin after defence contracts ended, and bleak years until it was nationalised by Mussolini's government in 1932. It was producing some memorable cars, even though once again obliged to turn over its best efforts to aero engines and armaments supporting Italy’s war aims. The racing team was deputed to Enzo Ferrari’s Scuderia Ferrari; however the skill and daring of the best drivers of the day were unequal to the task of beating the Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union teams from Germany.

Alfa Romeo struggled back to profitability after the Second World War, mass-producing small vehicles rather than hand-building luxury models until the 1960s and 1970s, when it managed a return to sporty cars. Its Italian government parent company, Finmeccanica obliged to make a profit, sold the brand to Fiat in 1986.

Alfa Romeo's position in Italy’s social structure was emphasised in 1971, when it was instructed to set up a new factory making a small car in the south of Italy, an area of chronic unemployment. Giugiaro had a hand in the new model, known, because of the location of the new plant, as the Alfasud.

It was no ordinary economy car. Like almost every Alfa, it maintained the make's tradition for roadworthiness, remaining probably the best-handling small car in the world. Its flat-four engine and front wheel drive lent themselves to a sporting application, putting the Alfasud Sprint and certain Lancia models in an unusual position amongst sporting classics, with front wheel drive.

Alfasuds began life with a modest 1186cc, but the engine was enlarged to provide the Sprint Veloce with 1490cc, giving up to 105mph (169kph) and the best part of 28mpg (10l/100km). The Alfasud scored well, not so much through being fast - compared with many sports cars it was not, but it could be steered with great precision, placed on the road exactly where the driver wanted to go, with little body roll and a flat, even ride that went a long way to make up for the rather mean-looking interior. Even the admired Alfa Romeo mechanically musical noises remained -the Sud's little 'Boxer' engine produced a delightfully discreet rasping exhaust note.


TEXT from Sports Car Classics, Vol1, Dove Digital. Pictures Alfa Romeo 158 of he 1940s and 6C of the 1930s at Goodwood. Alfasud and modern reinterpretation of Alfa Romeo Disco Volante.

Alfasud in Venice


You can scarcely imagine a less suitable place for a car launch than Venice. Yet Alfa Romeo once used it for an Alfasud in the 1970s. We had a test route based at nearby industrial Mestre through interminable traffic, so it was a less than successful exercise for a car that was a revelation. Sadly it suffered terribly from body rot. Alfa had been directed by the Italian government to build a factory in Naples for the relief of unemployment and, as with every attempt by politicians to meddle in the motor industry, it ended ignominiously. It used such low quality steel that the pretty bodywork started disintegrating almost as soon as it left the line at Pomigliano d’Arco. Wikipedia thought this might be due to, “storage conditions of bodies at the plant,” which seems altogether too kind. The Alfasud design was developed by Austrian Rudolf Hruska and 893,719 saloons and 121,434 of the exquisite Sprints were made between 1971 and 1989. However as Autocar reported despite its incredible handling, easy cruising and practicality it suffered from a bad driving position, lack of safety equipment and, in a damning criticism for the usually well-disposed testers of September 20 1973, it was, “not that reliable.”
Alfasuds then cost £1,471. The engine was a sweet-revving flat four with a belt-driven overhead camshaft at each end. Rack and pinion steering and superb balance made it an outstanding drive at a time when Austin was making the Allegro and Morris the Marina. The Sprint was an early work by Giugiaro but frailty led to the delightful Sud being consigned to a footnote in automotive history.

Went back to Venice last week. The streets are still flooded, yet what an architectural and cultural delight it is, notwithstanding hordes of tourists. They flock to it and pay up cheerfully. WS Gilbert knew how expensive Venice was when he wrote with perfect irony, “We’re called Gondolieri/ But that’s a vagary/ It’s quite honorary/ The trade that we ply…”

Alfa Romeo - Jaguar Anniversaries


Two anniversaries on the eve of Goodwood Festival of Speed; Alfa Romeo is 100 and Jaguar 75. Jaguar is home-grown maybe even a little homespun by comparison with Alfa’s halcyon days, yet Alfa Romeo is the featured marque in West Sussex. It could have been that 100 is a nice round figure. It could have been that Goodwood has featured Jaguar in the past and thought it was time somebody else had a chance. Alfa has allure; it is one of the great classic makes with a history as old as motor racing. Jaguar has allure too; it is a classic and while its motor racing heritage hardly matches Alfa’s in grand prix racing, it has won Le Mans seven times (between 1951 and 1990) against Alfa Romeo’s four on the trot 1931-1934. The Cartier Style et Luxe exhibition will celebrate Italian design, another opportunity for Alfa to show off, with the pre-war supercharged 8Cs. These include the ex-Doune 1938 Sommer-Biondetti Le Mans 2.9 Coupe, an exquisite car in the lead by 12 laps on Sunday afternoon, when a front tyre burst on Mulsanne at 130mph. It retired with a broken valve, but you could still see the damage the tyre inflicted on the Superleggera body at Lord Doune’s small museum in the 1970s. It will be the Cartier Lawn’s 16th time at Goodwood.

XK120: Artistic. Ruth always laughs when she sees my reflection on the headlamp rim.
Both makes had charismatic founders. Both fell from grace. When the Italian government forced Alfa to build in Naples it produced the enchanting to drive but flakily rust-prone Alfasud. Jaguar had quality problems and an unwelcome legacy from the dog days of British Leyland. Jaguar quality is now a match for anybody, as the influential JD Power surveys prove. The jury is still out on Alfa’s quality yet its vigour is undiminished. A caveat on the stylish and swift new Giulietta concerns road noise. Hardly anybody, it seems these days, is capable of making a car that suppresses it. Jaguar is a notable exception. But it doesn’t get it on to the hallowed lawns at Goodwood.


GOODWOOD AT ITS MOST GLORIOUS

Alfa Romeo 158/159

Goodwood Festival of Speed press day Alfa 158/159
Alfa Romeo is being less than generous to itself describing the 1950 British Grand Prix at Silverstone as the inaugural F1 European Championship race. It was won by Giuseppe Farina driving an Alfa Romeo conceived in 1937, largely built in Modena by Scuderia Ferrari. A 1.5 litre, it gave 190bhp on test, 205bhp for its first race at Livorno and 225bhp at an astonishing (for 1938) 7,500rpm. By the time it reappeared in 1946 the supercharged straight-eight was doing 265bhp and the two-stage supercharged cars in the 1948 French Grand Prix at Rheims 310bhp.
Dr Farina’s car at Silverstone in 1950 was giving 350bhp at 8,500rpm and the engine had altered so much that in April 1951 Alfa changed the type number from 158 to 159. The British Grand Prix was the first race in the new WORLD Championsip, which Farina went on to win in 1950. There had been a European championship inaugurated by the Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus (AIACR) in 1934. Chosen by a committee on the basis of a season’s grand prix racing, holders were Rudolf Caracciola, Bernd Rosemeyer and Hermann Lang
Goodwood Press Day: Number one daughter
Alfa Romeo is inviting UK owners to submit pictures of their cars to an online archive, which will form a mosaic of Alfa’s Centenary model, a new Giulietta. The images will appear in a mosaic, capturing Alfa’s heritage, beginning, Alfa says, “with the Type 158 that won the inaugural F1 European Championship race 60 years ago at Silverstone.”
Every image uploaded before June 18, will be included in a prize draw for an Alfa Romeo goodie bag and a pair of VIP tickets to the Goodwood Festival of Speed on 2 - 4July, when Alfa is the featured marque. There will also be an overall prize of a luxury weekend at The Goodwood Hotel with a Giulietta to drive. The winner will also get the chance to drive the 8C Competizione on the Goodwood circuit.
Alfa had a quirky badge with a serpent eating a child
There was not much room in the cockpit
Alfa Romeo UK Brand Communications Manager, Damien Dally, says: "2010 is a huge landmark for Alfa Romeo and we feel that this project will perfectly capture the brand's identity and really allows us to celebrate with the thousands of people who have put us where we are today - our customers."
To submit a photo, visit www.alfacentenary.co.uk.
I have never owned an Alfa, so no picture of mine, but I have tested and admired the iconic brand a great deal over the years. Here’s the Mito Multiair I enjoyed in Scotland recently.