There are very few brands that have a rich a history as Alfa Romeo.
I can imagine no better place to explain the history than the newly re-opened Alfa Romeo Museum which is outside Milan. I have been to many car museums in the world. Mercedes Benz. Ferrari. Porsche. Maserati. But the Alfa Romeo Museum simply blew me away.
It explained the story of the brand exceptionally well.
Alfa Romeo played a central part in pre-war Automobile history.
Some of the most beautiful cars in the 1930s were made by Alfa Romeo. Not only that – Alfa Romeo dominated racing like no other brand in the 1930s having won the Mille Miglia (almost 10 years in a row) and Targa Florio. They also dominated Le Mans with four wins including a win by Nuvolari (see picture below-man in center with the racing goggles). Enzo called him the ‘flying mantuan’ and thought he was the best racing driver that ever lived – fearsome and aggressive. Luigi Chinetti (a key man for Ferrari later on) would also win Le Mans for Alfa. Later in the 1950s Alfa Romeo would continue on to win two world championships – one with Fangio – perhaps the greatest racing driver of all time.
The fact is that Alfa was the king of sports cars in the 1930s. They made the most beautiful cars and also the fastest.
Many people might not be aware – but Ferrari’s origins lie with Alfa Romeo.
Enzo Ferrari raced for Alfa Romeo and after that helped the Alfa Romeo racing department as a consultant. Later Enzo Ferrari in 1934 set up a company Scuderia Ferrari with Alfa Romeo to help Alfa Romeo’s racing department (see picture above – notice the Ferrari badge on the Alfa P2 car). Only in 1937 did Alfa Romeo buy out the joint venture and renamed it ‘Alfa Corse’ which prompted Enzo Ferrari to leave in 1939. Ferrari would a few years later set up Ferrari (1947) – the brand as we know it today.
It is fair to say that Alfa Romeo gave Enzo the chance and experience to start his own company. Without Alfa Romeo, Ferrari most likely would not have started his company. In a way Alfa Romeo was Ferrari’s mother. No other brand can ever claim this.
Alfa was not only the king of car racing.
They also were a heavyweight in terms of road cars. From the 6C and 8Cs of the 1930s to the beautiful 1950s cars like Super Sprint 1900, Giulietta (see car below) and Giulietta Spider or Alfa Spider 1600 (remember epic Film in 1966 ‘The Graduate’ with Dustin Hofmann) Alfa Romeo built some of the most beautiful cars in the world. Not to mention the Tipo 33 stradale or the Giulia TZ. There are simply to many cars to list in terms of what Alfa Romeo produced. No other brand is part of Italian culture like Alfa Romeo (perhaps Ferrari comes close).
This is a special four part series on Alfa Romeo.
The first part (this post) will be devoted to the history of Alfa and some road cars that Alfa produced in the 50s and 60s. In terms of pictures this is the weakest post admittedly. The second part will be on special prototypes and one off cars like the Disco Volante or the 2000 Sportiva (this post is perhaps most rewarding in terms pictures). The third part will be devoted to the 1930s and the dream road cars that Alfa Romeo made. The last and fourth part will be dedicated to some of the race cars (also visually extremely rewarding) that Alfa made including Tipo 33 Stradale, the TZ or the 8C Monza.
We realize the order does not really make sense. We should start off with the cars from the 1930s but we are doing it differently. We are doing it differently in part because this is how the museum presented the cars.
(Credit for both pictures above: Alfa Romeo ‘The official centenary book’ Giorgio Nada Editore.
Alfa Romeo was officially registered as a company in Milan in 1910.
The Alfa Romeo badge is many ways the most famous automotive badge in the world. The badge is synonymous with racing, history, Italy and culture. But who designed that wonderful badge of Alfa Romeo?
Rumour has it that one of the first engineers Alfa hired, stepped off a tram in Milan and saw Visconti’s crest. The Visconti’s were an Italian noble family that once ruled Milan. The Alfa engineer fell in love with Viscontis emblem (see below) and sought approval from Alfa to use part of it. He then added the Milanese Red Cross and white background and thus the famous Alfa Romeo badge was born.
The Alfa Romeo badge has been a personal favourite of mine since I am a child.
It is a badge full of mystery and movement and when I was small I always wanted to own an Alfa Romeo badge (even more so than the car). The badge below is from an Alfa car from 1910. It is one of the very first Alfa badges and cars ever made. Notice the name Romeo is not yet on the badge and later the name Milano would be dropped from the badge altogether.
Lets look at some of the badges that went through subtle changes throughout their history. I find them all beautiful but perhaps the first is the purest.
What is interesting to note is that sometime between 1950 and 1970 the Milano part got dropped from the badge.
Rather than take you through all the road cars that Alfa Romeo made from the 1930s to the 1970s we have a different plan.
Yes – Alfa made some iconic cars like the Giulia or Giuletta. Or even the Montreal in the 1970s or the Alfasud. Or the unforgettable Alfa Romeo Spider 1600 immortalized in film ‘The Graduate’ with Dustin Hoffman. However we prefer to show you only a few models in terms of road cars. The 1900 Super Sprint, the 2600GT and the 1900 sprint speciale.
Why are we taking this extreme short-cut for the road cars?
Because frankly speaking Alfa’s strength (at least in terms of beauty) lies not the mass production cars like the Giulia and Giuletta but rather in the prototype cars (see part II) and elegant 1930s cars (see part II). In the road cars for the 1950s we prefer to show only a few masterpieces that Alfa made. No disrespect is meant to be shown and I aware that I am skipping much of the Alfa Road car history – but don’t worry. The beauty of the 1930s and the dream prototypes will make up for this short-cut.
This post is purposely short in order to concentrate on the prototypes (next post), the 1930s cars as well as the race cars. Lets get started.
The stunning 1900 Super Sprint is in my view is one of the most beautiful cars ever made by the Italian marque. The super sprint replaced the heavy looking 6 C 2500 (which we will cover in Part 3). The Super Sprint was made in 1954.
Superleggera on the bonnet means one thing only: Bodied by the masters of elegance – Touring in Milano.
The car is elegant but yet sporty. Touring, who bodied this car – was indeed a gifted design house and designed some other legendary cars including Aston Martin DB4 and DB5.
The front styling of the car is beautiful. It is full of chrome – exactly my taste. Even though we are now well into the 1950s the word Milano is still there.
The silhouette of the car is a dream. Touring had impeccable taste when they designed this masterpiece. Not too long – just perfect.
The back is equally attractive. The emblem of Touring on the back can be clearly seen. About 599 cars were built of the Super sprint 1900 and it is today among the most collectible of all Alfa road cars.
Another view from the front. The 1900 super sprint is one of the all time great cars of Alfa Romeo.
Lets move on to the 2600 sprint that Alfa made in 1962 by Bertone. A six cylinder -the 2600 was Alfa proper GT car. Alfa would make about 7000 of these cars. Notice the aggressive styling with the air intake on the bonnet.
A slightly different angle of the 2600GT. I think its a beautiful and aggressive car with a superb styling. Bertone designed this masterpiece.
In the the end 1950s, Alfa Romeo would make another dream car- a personal favourite of mine too – the handsome Giuletta Sprint Speciale.
Made again by Bertone (who also designed the Lamborghini Miura) the car is a dream and was made only in 1252 examples. Notice the silhouette of the car from the back. It is difficult to see in this picture but the car is a dream from a styling point of view. It among my favourite cars that Alfa ever made (yes – the man in the mirror is the author of this blog).
In the next picture you can see the back of this Alfa Giuletta Sprint Speciale from 1962 slightly better. It is a dream car and today sought after by collectors for the great styling of Bertone. It is the car on the left.
This post is purposely short as we left out a lot of road cars.
We will make up for it in Part II dedicated to the Prototype and one off cars (the best visual post for sure) and with the 1930s cars in Part III. And you are going to like the racing cars in part IV.
