. . . all you need to know about. . .Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo's origins were in a failed car factory built near Milan by French carmaker Alexandre Darracq. The French company sold its premises to a company called Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili, which was quickly better known by the acronym ALFA. The "Romeo" bit arrived in 1915 when a motorsport-keen engineer named Nicola Romeo became the head of the operation.
Alfas are known for their engine "song", so it was appropriate that the brand's first major race victory was driven in 1920 by opera singer Guiseppe Campari, who afterwards went on the win the French Grand Prix.
In 1932, the first Alfa single-seater Grand Prix car, the P3, was rolled out, and was not just a successful racer, but the test-bed for many technologies which found their way into such classics as the contemporary Spyder 2-seater. Alfa was also the first manufacturer to use the "GT" badge, signifying Grand Turismo, a sports car for touring.
The Italian state had to take over the financially-strapped company in 1933, when an enthusiastic Mussolini encouraged the brand to stay in racing, clearly for the glory it reflected on his country. During this time, one Enzo Ferrari took over the racing management of the company.
Under his direction, racing successes included total of 11 victories at the ledgendary Mille Miglia and four on Le Mans, as well as the 1935 German Grand Prix at Nürburgring.
A Grand Prix car, the Tipo 158 Alfetta, was designed before the second World War, and after it was the basis for more Grand Prix successes with legends such as Guiseppe Farina and Juan-Manuel Fangio behind the wheel. At the same turn of the decade, in 1950, the first 4-cylinder road car from Alfa was revealed, the 1900 Berlina. From it came coupé versions such as the Super and the Sprint, and a racing version Disco Volante.
The 1954 Giulietta brought Alfa motoring to the wider public, and building on fairly sepctacular growth, the larger Giulia was launched eight years later. Among its attributes was disc brakes on all four wheels. Through the 1950s, Pininfarina, Zagato and Bertone all had a hand in developing versions of the Giulietta.
In the 1960s, the Tipo 33 racing sports car was developed, and flagshipped the brand on the race tracks in Europe and the US for several years.The Alfetta name was revived in the 1970s, this time as a saloon with a front engine and the gearbox located beside the differential in the rear, giving a very balanced and sporty handling. This was also the decade of the Alfasud, so named because the factory had been built in Naples to provide work in the poorer southern part of Italy.
In the 80s, the Giulietta name disappeared, and the 75 was produced, named after the 75th anniversary of the company's birth. But the company was again financially troubled, and was put up for sale. Though Ford nearly got it, public sentiment forced Alfa to sell to Fiat in 1987.Next year came the 164 front-wheel-drive large saloon, and a revival of a famous "twin-spark" engine system which was retained by the brand up to the present day, though it is now almost totally replaced by more 21st century technologies.
Through the early 90s came the 155, again FWD, and the new Spider and GTV which also abandoned the traditional rear-drive. But the brand performed in lacklustre fashion until the introduction of the charismatic 156 in 1997, the Walter de Silva creation that is generally credited with saving Alfa from becoming just another generic Fiat. The 166 large saloon, while quite beautiful, has never equalled the interest of the 156. Neither has the smaller and sporty 147. Today's Alfas have embraced diesels without losing any of their sporting ethos.
Best Car: Current 156
Worst Car: 33, for its brutal driving position and vulnerability to rust in northern climes.
Weirdest Car: Alfa do very little weird, though if you have to think that way, maybe the Tipo B Aerodinamica (1934), pictured above. - Brian Byrne