The history Behind our cars is quite amazing.... you can find that for yourselves below   Darracq and A.L.F.A. The company that is now Alfa Romeo was founded in 1907 to produce the French-designed Darracq cars in Naples for sale in Italy. The Darracq quickly proved to be a commercial flop in Italy (it didn't last much longer in France) and the company’s Italian investors took control and reincorporated in Milan in 1909 with Ugo Stella as chairman. A new, forward-looking name was chosen for this new, all Italian venture into automobile manufacturing: A.L.F.A, for Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili. A factory was set up on the outskirts of the city in an area called Il Portello. A new car demanded a new design, and a self-taught engineer, Giuseppe Merosi, was hired away from Bianchi as head designer. The first production A.L.F.A., designed by Merosi, was the 1910 24 HP. This was a large, conventional touring car with a 4 L, 4 cylinder cast iron engine, producing 24 HP (the 24 HP designation referred to the power rating for tax purposes). Merosi's subsequent designs for Alfa were similarly solid and unadventurous, but consistently achieved a high level of quality and reliability. More History ->The Alfa Badge History   A.L.F.A. becomes Alfa Romeo   A.L.F.A.’s sales grew in the years following 1910, but the outbreak of the first world war put a stop to automobile production. The factory sat nearly idle during the early years of the war, but in 1916 the company came under the direction of a high-flying Neopolitan industrialist named Nicola Romeo. Romeo’s other companies were deeply involved in supplying the Italian and Allied war effort, and the A.L.F.A. plant began producing military hardware, including compressors and generators based on Merosi's car engines, as well as aircraft engines and heavy locomotives. Romeo amassed a fortune during the war, which enabled him to purchase A.L.F.A. outright in 1918. Under Romeo’s direction, car production resumed after the war under a new name: on the badge A.L.F.A. changed in to Alfa Romeo. Merosi continued as head designer, producing a series of solid production models (RM-series) and several successful racing cars like the 40-60HP and the RL Targa Florio, the first Alfa with the cloverleaf. However, he ultimately proved unable to produce the innovative passenger car designs that were needed for Alfa-Romeo to remain competitive.   Enzo Ferrari and Vittorio Jano   In 1923, Merosi was replaced by Vittorio Jano, who was hired away from FIAT. A young Alfa racing driver named Enzo Ferrari was instrumental in bringing Jano to the company. Jano's first design for Alfa Romeo was the P2 Grand Prix car. The P2 had a lightweight chassis, and 2 L straight-eight engine, with two rows of overhead valves set at a 100-degree angle, each row driven by an overhead camshaft (DOHC). The P2 won Alfa Romeo its first world championship in 1925. Under Jano, Alfa Romeo experienced a golden age. He developed a series of small- to medium-displacement 4, 6, and 8 cylinder inline engines based on the P2 motor that established the classic architecture of Alfa motors, with light alloy construction, hemi-sferical combustion chambers, centrally-located plugs, two rows of overhead valves per cylinder bank, and--usually--dual overhead cams. Jano’s designs not only achieved a high level of performance, but set exceedingly high standards of reliability.   High performance sport scar's   Jano's first production car for Alfa Romeo was the 6C 1500, which appeared in 1927. The motor was essentially a detuned P2 unit with two fewer cylinders, resulting in a 1.5 L displacement, either as OHC or DOHC concept. Most 1500s were sold with conventional, utilitarian bodywork, but sporting versions were also produced and saw some success in racing. However, the 1500's larger-engined successor, the 6C 1750, which appeared in 1929, was the ultimate 6 cylinder Alfa of the period. The 1750 was highly successful on the track, with wins in the 1929 and 1930 Mille Miglia and the 1930 Targa Florio, and numerous other events besides. With spare but graceful two- seater bodies by Zagato and Touring, the 1750s were also beautiful; they epitomized the union of function and form in the vintage European sports car. Outstanding as the 1750 was, it was technically surpassed by Jano’s next achievement, the 8c 2300 Monza of 1931. Jano used a creative innovation to avoid crank and camshaft whip: he divided the inline eight into two blocks of four cylinders, essentially two four-cylinder motors mounted front to back on a common crankcase.   The 8C2300, 6C2300 and 6C2500   The 8C2300 was an expensive exotic of which only a few hundred examples were made. It was beautiful like the 1750 and with four Le Mans victories perhaps even more successful in racing, but it was introduced at a time when few could afford such luxuries and a government- supported company could not justify producing them. In response to new economic realities, Jano reverted to a 2.3 L 6-cylinder engine to produce a car that was smaller and cheaper than the 8 cylinder Alfas, although still neither small nor cheap in absolute terms. In spite of its pragmatic origins, the 6C 2300 and the 6C 2500 that followed it, had fully independent suspension and semi-monocoque construction, innovations that foretold the design of post-war Alfas like the Freccia d’Oro and the Villa d’Este.   Tipo B and the 8C 2900   Jano produced two other major designs for Alfa Romeo. One was the P3 Gran Prix car, also known as the Tipo B. The P3 updated the classic Alfa architecture and was quite successful from its introduction in 1933 until it became uncompetitive after 1935. The final product, the 8C 2900, appeared first as a sports racer in 1936, and later as a production car. The production version was the 2900 B, described at the time as "the fastest car in the world." It was also one of the rarest and most expensive, making today's Ferraris look cheap and commonplace by comparison.   The Scuderia Ferrari   Enzo Ferrari had risen from driver to manager of the Alfa Romeo works racing team by the end of the 1920s. In 1929, he left the company and went into business selling Alfa Romeo cars and preparing them for racing. By prior agreement, Ferrari's new enterprise, Scuderia Ferrari, also assumed responsibility for managing the factory racing team and developing racing cars, like the Bimotore, in close collaboration with the factory.   Crisis   Despite the technical and racing success during Jano's tenure, Romeo’s industrial empire had financial difficulties and suffered serious damage in the crisis of 1929. Romeo had been removed as director in 1928, and the company passed into government receivership shortly after the crash. In 1934, it was absorbed with other industrial companies by an agency of the Facist government, the Instituto di Riconstruzzione Industriale (IRI), which was to control it for over 50 years.   The government in control   With the government in control, another former FIAT employee named Ugo Gobbato was brought in to direct Alfa Romeo. Under Gobbato's leadership Alfa Romeo began the transformation from traditional, artisanal production, to a modern, industrial approach. The company began large-scale production of aero engines, trucks, and other hardware which served Fascist ambitions, as well as improving its economic status.   The end of the Jano era   Alfa also became the government-subsidized standard-bearer for Italian racing efforts during the 1930s, but produced very few cars for sale. Racing was emphasized over passenger car production after Mussolini discovered its potential for building national pride and international prestige. For a time Alfa was virtually unbeatable in sports car racing, winning Le Mans every year from 1931 to 1934, the Targa Florio in 1931-1935, and the Mille Miglia in 1931-1934, 1936, and 1937. In the early 1930s, Jano's P3 achieved an impressive string of successes on the GP circuit, as well. By the middle of the decade, however, Alfa Romeo could not compete with the formidable teams from Mercedes and Auto Union, financed by Germany's even more ambitious government. Tazio Nuvolari’s stunning victory in the 1935 German Grand Prix was Alfa’s last major success for a decade. Jano, unable to satisfy Mussolini's desire for victory, was forced out in 1938 and went to work for Lancia. Ferrari's relationship with the company ended in the same year. At Alfa, Jano was followed by several designers: Gioacchino Colombo, who later designed engines for Ferrari, and Wilfredo Ricart, a Spaniard who created the Pegaso in the 1950s, succeeded Jano in racing car design, and Bruno Trevisan took over production car activities.   World War II   The second world war again brought a halt to car production at Alfa. While the Portello plant made shells and other war materials, partially-assembled production vehicles were put in storage and a few racing and experimental cars were hidden in caves north of Milan. In the end, the war was a disaster for Italy, and for Alfa. The factory was severely damaged by Allied bombing in 1944, and occupying German troops commandeered part of what remained. Nevertheless, Trevisan's design team worked through the destruction to develop a different kind of Alfa Romeo for the changed Europe that lay ahead. Car production was initially slow to restart at Portello. While the future of the auto industry in a devastated Italy was still unsure, Alfa Romeo produced a variety of products, including stoves and aluminium window frames, to keep its workforce and facilities productively engaged. Like those of other manufacturers, Alfa’s first post-war cars were cosmetically updated models from the late 1930s. The first cars produced after the war were 6C 2500s that appeared in 1946. Interestingly, the years immediately after the war marked Alfa Romeo’s last but very successful forays into Grand Prix racing. Alfa won world championships in 1950 with the tipo 158 "Alfetta," (means little Alfa in Italian) a upgraded prewar racing car, and in 1951 with its modernized and more powerful successor, the 159, driven by Giuseppe Farina and Juan Manuel Fangio, respectively.   The 1950s and growing sales figures   In 1950 a completely new passenger car, the Alfa Romeo 1900, the family car that wins races, was introduced. This was Orazio Satta’s first production model and the first monocoque Alfa Romeo. It was smaller than past Alfas (although not small by post-war European standards), and retained many elements of the classic Alfa architecture while incorporating modern innovations in design and production technique. In 1954, a new model that departed even farther from the company's elite past was introduced: the Giulietta. With encouragement from the IRI, this was to be a smaller and more affordable Alfa for middle class buyers. It featured a 1.3 L version of the now-familiar all aluminium, dual overhead cam, inline 4 engine in a monocoque chassis with a rear live axle. To stimulate interest in the car, the first of the Bertone built Giulietta Sprint, was given away in a public lottery. The coupé was followed by a 1300 Berlina look-alike sedan and the lovely Pininfarina built Spider.   New factory’s   The introduction of the Giulietta brings us essentially to the beginning of the modern era in Alfa Romeo’s history. Starting with two new factories that were built after the introduction of the Giulietta. The first was a large complex opened in Arese, north of Milan, in the early 1960s. This plant replaced the company's antiquated works at the Portello with a modern design and production facility. The Giulia Sprint GT was the first Alfa Romeo to be built entirely in the Arese plant.   The Giulia Super and it’s derivates   Alfa’s new sedan, the Giulia TI of 1962, was ‘designed by the wind’. Wind tunnel tests were now fully integrated in the design of a car. Under the ‘streamlined’ bonnet was a 4 in line of 1.6L. In 1965 Alfa introduced the TI Super which was marketed with the phrase ‘the 185+ km/h Giulia’. It’s more common successor was called simply Giulia Super but still capable to do 175+. Another Giulia was the Pininfarina built Spider Duetto which became very popular after Dustin Hoffman almost crashed the car in ‘The Graduate.’ Alfa’s new convertible should be called Giulia Spider but this name was already given to the 1.6L version of the Giulietta Spider. The winner of a public lottery came up with ‘Duetto’ and so it was. Although this name was not used for long the Spider itself was in production for more than 25 years! The coupé version of the Giulia was called Sprint GT. It came from the drawing boards of Bertone. The Bertone GTV, with 2.0L engine, became one of the most popular GT’s ever built. In every conversation about classic cars a Bertone GT(V) will be mentioned. It’s race version, the GTA, has won every possible event throughout the world. Racing drivers used the car not only for short sprints like hill climbs but they also used the GTA successfully in endurance races. Thanks to cars like this, Alfa Romeo became one of the most desired makes in those days.   Pomigliano d’Arco   The second new factory, built in the early 1970s, was the result of an ambitious, government-inspired venture to produce a smaller cheaper Alfa Romeo. Another goal that the government had in mind was to create more employment in the south of Italy, a social plan that was called ’Il Mezzogiorno’. In fact the highly industrialized North was the rich part of Italy and the South was the poor part. To achieve this, a new plant was built in Pomogliano d’Arco, near Napoli. Rudolf Hruska, an Austrian who had worked with Porsche on the Volkswagen before the war, and later with Alfa Romeo on the Giulietta, as well as with Ford and Fiat, was given responsibility for the design of the new car. Hruska’s small team developed an innovative, boxer-engined, space- efficient front-wheel drive car that went into production in 1972. The car was named the Alfasud, or Alfa-south, after the region of the country. Despite the impressive technical achievements represented by the design of the Alfasud, the venture was not commercially successful. The factory experienced several quality problems and labour disputes in its early years and has never produced at full capacity.   The ARNA Project and the Alfa 33   A financial disaster resulted from an attempt to keep a place near the bottom of the Italian home market by producing a low-priced successor to the Alfasud. In an a attempt to reach this goal Alfa entered into a joint venture with Nissan in 1981. The car that resulted was called the ARNA, for Alfa Romeo Nissan Automobili. It was assembled in Pratola Serra in Italy from Alfasud engines and front suspension pieces and Nissan Cherry body panels imported from Japan. The ARNA car was badged as an Alfa Romeo in Italy and elsewhere in Europe as a Nissan Cherry Europe. Although the ARNA was much more appealing to European buyers than a Nissan could have been, the concept seemed to combine the worst features of Japanese design and Italian character. Due to it’s split personality it was ultimately unsuccessful in the market. The real successor of the Alfsud was the Alfa 33, called after the Tipo 33 sports car racer, which gave Alfa two world championships. The Alfa 33 was an Alfasud with a new design: ’La Linea’.   The Alfetta, New Giulietta and Alfa 6   The Alfasud was not the only car introduced by Alfa in the early 1970s. Another new sedan was the unique Alfetta, called after the Tipo 158 racer of 1950 and 1951 which was nicknamed Alfetta. Under a more or less dull 3-box body shell, Alfa introduced innovative techniques of which the transaxle configuration was the most interesting feature. This concept gave the Alfetta sedan and it’s coupé version, called Alfetta GT, their perfect road holding. The New Giulietta was the successor of the Giulia Super. In the Giulietta the same technical features as the Alfetta were used, but in this case combined with a more unconventional body design. It was a sedan with the wedge shape in it’s ultimate form. Another Alfa with common three box lay-out was the Alfa 6 , introduced in the late 1970s. Under the bonnet of this car a totally new V6 engine could be found. Since the 2600 of the early 1960s the first new six cylinder. It was placed in a car even more luxurious than the 2600 Berlina of the 1960s. Unfortunately the sales figures never met the expectations set by Alfa. The sports coupe version, the GTV6 was more successful.   Alfa 90 and Alfa 75: the last rear wheel driven Alfa’s   The Alfetta and the Giulietta were replaced by the Alfa 90 and Alfa 75 respectively. Technically there weren’t much changes to be found in these Alfa’s. The design didn’t meet high standards with the Alfa 90 as a rather common looking three-box model and the Alfa 75 more or less as a large Alfa 33 look alike. Thanks to the 90 and 75 Alfa was able to survive a difficult period in their history. A history in which back wheel driven cars slowly were to be replaced by front wheel driven Alfa’s. The Alfa 90 and the Alfa 75, still fitted with the well proven transaxle configuration, will be remembered as the last Alfa Romeo’s with rear wheel drive.   Fiat   The final development, whose significance is not yet known, was the end of Alfa Romeo's existence as a state-subsidized but autonomous manufacturer and its absorption in 1987 into the mammoth Fiat Group, which already controlled the rest of the Italian car industry. Alfa was struggling in the early 1980s, but the reasons for the sale are not entirely clear; similar struggles had taken place throughout the company’s history. After the IRI let it be known that Alfa was for sale, talks ensued with Fiat, and Ford. For a time, Ford seemed to be the likely buyer, but in the end Fiat triumphed. Fiat has invested large sums in retiring Alfa Romeo’s debts, developing new models, and integrating Alfa production with Fiat and Lancia. The new cars produced under Fiat ownership continue to use some Alfa Romeo engine designs, in particularly the unique four cylinder boxer but otherwise seem to have more in common with recent Fiat practice, such as the use of front-wheel drive.   The new generation, the future   The first car that is part of the new generation Alfa Romeo’s is the Alfa 164 of the late 1980s. This Pininfarina designed sedan set new standards where it concerns design and technical concept. It was developed in cooperation with Fiat, Lancia and Saab (the Tipo 4 Project) and became the first ‘Alfa-Nord’ with front wheel drive. The looks of the front, with a Alfa shield and badge of unique design, is still found in the current Alfa model range. A second car that is part of this range is the front wheel driven Alfa 155, the successor of the Alfa 75. The 155 used the floor pan of the Fiat Tipo, thus showing the relationship between the two makes. The race version of the Alfa 155 was very successful in the DTM- (1993) and BTCC (1994) races. Two other cars based on the Tipo floor pan are the Alfa 145 and Alfa 146 of which the latter is the successor of the Alfa 33. With these new models Alfa enters a new era in which unconventional design could well be of greater importance than performance. But, nevertheless, Alfa Romeo is unmistakable to be associated with speed and performance. In the new GTV and Spider these features are perfectly combined with the design skills of Pininfarina. In 1997 Alfa Romeo won the Car of the Year contest with the Alfa 156, the successor of the Alfa 155. The new saloon was very successful where it concerns sales figures. On the circuit it isn't really the Alfa Romeo one might expect. But on the other hand we had some exiting races within the 156 Challenge in The Netherlands. More then 20 (slightly) tuned 156's where racing for glory in that category. The new 166 was planned for 1998. Fiat Auto however, decided to introduce the successor of the 155 first. Perhaps this was even better because Alfa used a lot of style influences from to 156 to create the all new 166. The Alfa 164 was a real limousine and hard to beat. But as always... Alfa did it again: the 166 is beautiful and has a drivability which sets new standards. When Walter da Silva left Alfa Romeo many Alfa lovers asked them selves what one could expect. The new trend was a new form of design: "New Edge". The 156 did not show that Alfa would follow the new trend. When the first official pictures of the Alfa 147 were show to the public, it's design was beyond expectations. No 'New Edge', but a incredible, stunning piece of Art was introduced. A sculpture, created by skilled designers with only one thing in mind: Passion for Alfa Romeo... Looking at these developments it seems that nothing can withhold us celebrating Alfa’s 90th anniversary in this special year 2000.