FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
24 June 2010
ALFA ROMEO CELEBRATES ITS 100TH ANNIVERSARY TODAY
Alfa Romeo's century-long history, which began on 24 June 1910 in Milan, is an
achievement shared by a very small number of other auto makers, and is peppered
with commercial successes and racing wins achieved worldwide.
The city of Milan, Alfa Romeo’s birthplace, is paying homage to Alfa Romeo by
staging four days of events, beginning today, involving the City Council, Fiera Milano
Expo, Monza Race Track and the Alfa Romeo Museum.
This weekend thus marks an extraordinary ‘appointment’ for motor enthusiasts and
Alfisti worldwide: collectors, club members and current model owners. More than
3000 Alfa Romeo cars are expected to arrive in Milan from 45 countries.
Celebrating Alfa Romeo's centenary means leafing through some of the most
important pages in automotive history in terms of design and innovation. Indeed, Alfa
Romeo has always stood out for its capability of transmitting strong emotions and for
state-of-the-art technology, as well as top-level handling and driving pleasure.
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Alfa Romeo celebrates its 100th anniversary today…2
The key event of the centenary celebrations is a huge international rally dedicated to
all Alfa Romeo enthusiasts this weekend. Thousands of crews have registered and will
be parading through the centre of Milan on Saturday afternoon.
1910 – 2010: Alfa Romeo celebrates a century of wins and world records
Alfa Romeo was officially established in Milan on 24 June 1910. That year, a group
of entrepreneurs and businessmen acquired Società Italiana Automobili Darracq, the
Italian branch of the French car maker, and its Portello workshops on the city
outskirts, and established A.L.F.A. (Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili –
“Lombard Automobile Factory, Public Company”). The company’s emblem
underlined the new ties to the city of Milan: a red cross from the city's banner and the
Visconti family grass snake (Biscione, in Italian). The first car to carry this badge was
the 24 HP, a model that stood out from the very beginning for its advanced
engineering, performance and driving pleasure - features which would become bywords for the brand.
The outbreak of World War I and limited resources created trouble for the company,
which was acquired on 2 December 1915 by Neapolitan engineer and entrepreneur
Nicola Romeo. The name was changed to Alfa-Romeo. The Portello plant, with a
workforce of 2500, was expanded and converted to war production. The plant made
engine compressors, ammunition, aircraft engines and - starting in 1917 - trains. The
company went back to making cars at the end of the war.
Alfa Romeo made a first important step in establishing its competition credentials by
winning the Targa Florio in 1923 (the brand's first of 10 wins) with the RL TF, which
also marked the first appearance of the four-leaf clover (Quadrifoglio, in Italian)
racing emblem, and then in 1925 with the P2 Gran Premio that won the first
Automobile World Championship in history, the first of Alfa Romeo's five victories.
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In the meantime, Romeo had replaced Alfa Chief Engineer Giuseppe Merosi, who had
created the first models and joined the company back in 1910. He made way for
Vittorio Jano, who became the technical creator of the great Alfas of the 1930s. His
debut model was the P2, which was followed by the 6C 1500 (1928), 6C 1750 (1930),
8C 2300 (1931) and the Gran Premio Tipo B-P3 (1932), all models which greatly
contributed to increasing the Quadrifoglio prize record and dramatically elevated the
technical prestige of cars made at the Portello plant. Jano was also responsible for the
legendary 8C eight cylinder in-line engine with supercharger.
The 1930s were the years in which the Alfa Romeo legend took shape. Engine
reliability was undisputed and the names of famous drivers - Antonio Ascari, Gastone
Brilli Peri, Giuseppe Campari, Enzo Ferrari, Tazio Nuvolari, Achille Varzi - were on
everybody's lips. They won many legendary races: Mille Miglia (11 wins, an
undefeated record), Le Mans 24 Hours (four consecutive wins), Targa Florio, and a
very long list of international Grands Prix. In addition, the valuable technical lessons
learnt from racing were transferred to standard production models.
The worldwide recession that followed the Wall Street Crash of 1929 had
repercussions for Alfa's expansion: the company was taken over in 1933 by IRI
(Istituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale - Industrial Reconstruction Institute). Ugo
Gobbato was appointed Managing Director. He rationalised and reorganised
production, focusing on the core business of aircraft engines, industrial vehicles and
touring and racing cars.
The company withdrew from motorsport at this time and its 8C2300B cars were given
to Scuderia Ferrari. Results were brilliant: Alfa won more races than any other
manufacturer in 1934, and racing even outshone standard production in 1936.
Aeronautical production reached nearly 80 percent of the entire annual revenue. New
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Alfa Romeo celebrates its 100th anniversary today…4
orders came in, and a new plant was opened in Pomigliano d'Arco (Naples) at the end
of the decade.
However, the outbreak of World War II quashed the company's ambitious plans. As
with most Italian industries, Alfa converted to war production and its plants were
bombed by the Allies; (the Portello plant ceased operations entirely following damage
sustained on 20 October 1944). Work resumed the following April after the peace
treaty was signed, but the workshops had been damaged and there were no
components for making aircraft engines, coaches or cars. So the 8000 Portello plant
workers made electric cookers, metal furniture, doors, windows and shutters - in other
words, the materials needed to rebuild a broken country.
Auto manufacturing was resumed only in 1946. Pre-war 6C 2500s rolled out of the
factory and 158s salvaged from the war debris raced on tracks. New versions (Freccia
d'oro and Villa d'Este), and the fitment of an innovative steering wheel-mounted gear
shift, soon arrived. The 1900, the first Alfa with a monocoque bodyshell, was
designed by Orazio Satta Puliga (who had joined the company in 1938) in 1950, and
the first assembly line was opened at the Portello plant.
Racing wins multiplied. The supremacy of the Alfa 158 in Grands Prix was absolute,
and Nino Farina won the Formula One World Championship in 1950. The following
year was legendary Juan Manuel Fangio's turn: he won the second Championship
behind the wheel of an Alfa Romeo 159 fitted with the most powerful 1500 engine
ever made, which delivered 425 HP and a top speed of over 300 km/h.
Immediately afterwards, Alfa took the decision to retire from Grand Prix competition
but kept on competing in the Sport category with the 1900 Disco Volante, a flyingsaucer shaped car capable of reaching a top speed of 225 km/h.
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Meanwhile, the company concentrated on the production of standard cars, industrial
vehicles, aircraft and naval engines, and diesel engines for industrial applications.
Following the IRI reorganisation in 1948, Alfa became a Finmeccanica sub-holding.
The Giulietta Sprint was introduced in 1954. This car - along with a Spider (1955) and
a berlina (1955) - would be crucial, and not only for the history of Alfa: it
established new parameters (this was the first mass production car with a twin
overhead camshaft engine made entirely of aluminium), and embodied Italy's
willingness to emerge from the dark years of the war. Furthermore, it consolidated
Alfa Romeo's vocation as a major auto maker.
The 1960s started with the success of the Giulia (1962), which developed the
philosophy of the earlier Giulietta with new proportions. This success forced Alfa
Romeo to expand the shop floor and open a new plant in Arese near Milan.
At the end of its long career, the Giulia and its derivatives - the Giulia Sprint GT
(1964), the 1600 Spider Duetto (1966) and the 1750 - reached the outstanding goal of
one million units produced. Racing activities continued throughout the decade. The
Autodelta racing team was established and Alfa Romeo won on tracks worldwide with
the Giulia TZ (1963), TZ 2 (1965), Giulia GTA (1965) and 33 (from ’69-’71).
As a result of the forward-thinking managerial skills of Giuseppe Luraghi, CEO until
1974, and the remarkable engineering skills of Orazio Satta Puliga, Alfa Chief
Engineer, who was responsible for all the models up to the Alfetta, Alfa Romeo
reached the peak of its development in the 1960s. The Portello plant, by now
incorporated into the growing city of Milan, was insufficient. Production was
gradually transferred to the new plant in Arese (with an area of over 2.5 million square
metres), and a prototype test track was opened at Balocco (Vercelli).
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The rapid increase in customer demand, led Alfa Romeo to plan the opening of
another new plant in Pomigliano d'Arco (Naples): the foundation stone was laid on 29
April 1968. Engineer Rudolf Hruska was nominated to design a new Alfa: the
Alfasud, a compact entry-level car equipped with a number of sophisticated
mechanical solutions, (flat-4 boxer engine with front-wheel drive), which was
introduced in 1971.
Production of the Alfetta started in Arese the following year. This sporty saloon with
sophisticated mechanicals (front engine, rear-wheel drive, De Dion rear axle and
transaxle) was a leader in its segment for many years. The Alfetta GT (1974),
followed by the lower segment New Giulietta (1977) saloon, were the backbone of
production at the Arese plant.
In the meantime Alfa Romeo won two World Championship titles: in 1975 with the
33 TT 12 (Manufacturers’ Championship), and in 1977 with the 33 SC 12 (Prototype
Championship).
Troubles deriving from the social unrest of the Seventies were felt across Italy, and by
Alfa Romeo. Despite this, the company continued to prepare models and strategies for
the forthcoming decade: the Alfa 33 replaced the Alfasud in 1983; the remarkable
Alfetta was replaced by the Alfa 90 (1984), and the Alfa 75 (1985), the last of the
Alfetta family, was introduced to celebrate the brand's 75th anniversary.
The company changed hands again in 1986, for the third time in its history. This time,
Fiat Group acquired Alfa Romeo, which was producing the brand new 164 saloon
(1987). The car's success would revive Alfa Romeo and the Arese plant. 1992 was the
year of the 155, which was remarkably successful in competition. The 145 was
introduced to replace the 33 in 1994 and the sporty GTV and Spider were launched
the following year.
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At the core of Alfa’s 1990s revival was the 156 (1997). This sporty saloon featured
cutting edge technical contents (like high double-wishbone front suspension and
common-rail diesel engines). It was sensationally successful on the market – was
awarded Car of the Year in 1998 - and on international race tracks scored many wins
in the Touring Car category. The 166 replaced the 164 in 1998, and in 2000 the 147
(also Car of the Year) replaced the 145. The Alfa GT, a four-seat coupe, with a style
concept reminiscent of the Giulietta Sprint, was introduced in the Autumn of 2003,
while the 159 replaced the 156 in 2005, evolving its style and implementing new
proportions, engine versions and body configurations. The Brera coupe was
introduced in the same year, followed by the new Spider in 2006.
Alfa Romeo also introduced the long-awaited 8C Competizione that year, a very high
performance coupe with a remarkable design that made it an instant classic. With only
500 units produced, this supercar was for collectors and a handful of lucky owners. It
was joined by the 8C Spider in 2008, which maintained the same mechanical features
and performance as the coupe. The Alfa Romeo MiTo, a compact sporty car, was
introduced the same year.
Now it is the turn of the brand-new Giulietta to re-invigorate the brand in one of the
most important European market segments. In Alfa’s centenary year, the name is a
tribute to an automotive legend which was crucial in the history of Alfa Romeo: the
original Giulietta caught the imagination of generations of car enthusiasts, making the
dream of owning an Alfa Romeo and enjoying its high level of comfort and technical
excellence, accessible for the first time.
The Alfa Romeo Style Centre has designed the new Giulietta, a five-door hatchback
with an unmistakable Alfa Romeo look, capable of expressing both great agility on the
most demanding routes and providing a high degree of comfort on everyday roads.
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This is the merit of Alfa’s new Compact platform. Using sophisticated suspension
solutions, dual pinion active steering, top-quality materials and state-of-the-art
manufacturing technologies, the Giulietta achieves excellent levels of on-board
comfort, dynamic features and safety (both active and passive).
Next week, (1-4 July), the focus of Alfa Romeo’s global centenary celebrations
switches to Goodwood in West Sussex where the iconic Italian brand is the featured
marque at the Festival of Speed.
-ENDS-
For further information
Head office contacts:
Ross Milton, PR Officer on 01753 571717 or email ross.milton@alfaromeo.com or
Anna Angelini, PR Manager, Alfa Romeo UK on 01753 571717 or email
anna.angelini@alfaromeo.com or Peter Newton, PR Director, Fiat Group Automobiles
UK Ltd on 01753 511431 or email peter.newton@fiat.com
60976/240610