Mechanical legends House: December 2014

Industry - Automotive

Predecessors - Societa Anonima Italiana Darracq (SAID)

Founded - 24 June 1910 in Milan, Italy

Founders - Alexandre Darracq/Ugo StellaNicola Romeo

Headquarters - Milan, Italy

Area served - Worldwide

Romeo is not only a thespian Shakespearean character but also represents part of an Italian mechanical deity, devoted to constructing automobiles at godly standards for mortal drivers. It is the Alfa without the Omega for ever since it began producing cars back in 1910, never has its activity been threatened by permanent halting. The Alfa Romeo coat of arms looks like it bears the marks of early religious involvement with a red cross on a white background reminding of the crusades juxtaposed with a dragon headed snake that resembles the devilish creature slain by Saint George but it was actually designed by human heads with only one purpose in mind: devotion and performance.

Although the firm is widely deemed as 100% Italian, its beginnings prove otherwise. The company was originally founded as Societa Anonima Italiana Darracq by French automobile industry entrepreneur Alexandre Darracq with help from Italian investors in 1906. One of the high-rollers, an aristocrat known by the name of Ugo Stella, later became chairman of the newly formed Milano- based corporate entity that would have a hard time selling cars by 1909.

Alfa Romeo has also been involved in racing, having won competitions ever since the birth of their first 24 HP model in 1910 – which entered the famous Sicilian Targa Florio competition. Soon after its fulminatory start, many victories would come on equally numerous racing tracks all over Europe. The immense success of the Alfa Romeo models throughout the upcoming 5 decades – whose image benefited greatly from their impressive performances in motor racing – did not translate into economic growth for the Italian company. Consequently, Alfa Romeo was purchased by Finmeccanica S.P.A. – a government-controlled industrial group – some 50 years later, in order to avoid bankruptcy.

However, the state would not hold on to it too long and eventually gave it up (again) because of its financial difficulties. Before becoming stray and disoriented, Fiat adopted it as one of the group's subsidiaries. Alfa has been rolling with Fiat since 1986.

Alfa Romeo History for Ten Decades:

1910 – 1920:

The Alfa Romeo story started in Milan on 24, June 1910. That was the day a group of entrepreneurs and businessmen took over the Italian Darracq automobile company from its French parent company, and called it Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobile – A.L.F.A.

The new company was formed at a time of economic and social change: the first plastics were being invented, Guglielmo Marconi received the Nobel prize for physics and Alfa’s competitors – Fiat and Lancia – were eleven and three years old respectively.

The mechanical components, performance and driving satisfaction that proved so popular on Alfa’s first car are all features for which the brand was to become famous. The car also cost ‘only’ 12,000 Lire, i.e. £23,000 at today’s prices. In 1912, Alfa launched the 15-20 hp, and the 40-60 hp arrived in 1913. This car’s six litre engine powered it to second place overall in the Parma-Poggio Berceto hillclimb. Next year, Giuseppe Merosi built the first Alfa Grand Prix car in which driver Giuseppe Campari covered a kilometre at more than 147 km/h.
The outbreak of World War One and consequent limited resources brought difficulties for the company. On 2, December 1915 it was taken over by the Neapolitan engineer and entrepreneur Nicola Romeo. The Portello plant, which employed 2,500 people at the time, was extended to handle military orders. At this time it was producing motor-driven compressors, munitions, aircraft engines and, from 1917, rolling stock.

With peacetime the company was forced to change again. It sought out new markets, manufacturing drills, tractors and more rolling stock. Although Romeo bought companies in Saronno, Rome and Naples, he did not forget about cars because in 1920 the Torpedo 20-30 hp appeared - the first vehicle to bear the new company name of Alfa Romeo. A 22-year old by the name of Enzo Ferrari secured second place in the Targa Florio at the wheel of one of these cars.

1921 - 1930:

In 1921, Banco Nazionale di Sconto, the main shareholder of Ansaldo in Genoa, Ilva in Piombino and Alfa Romeo, collapsed. The government was forced to intervene and set up a special body (IRI) to subsidise these industries. The following year protesters marched on Rome, and even though the first locomotive built by the company was produced at the Saronno workshop, Alfa Romeo remained in difficulties.

The RL model, however, met with considerable success in 1923, when it took first, second and fourth places in the Targa Florio. At the Savio circuit the Baracca family gave Enzo Ferrari the prancing horse symbol that he was later to use on all his own cars. Merosi built the Grand Prix Romeo that later became the P1. Designer Vittorio Jano arrived from Fiat and began work on the P2.

1931 - 1940:

In 1933, the Italian State’s Institute for Industrial Reconstruction (IRI) was forced to intervene.
The same year, the company pulled out of racing and its 8C 2300 B models were entrusted to Ferrari. The results were outstanding when it is considered that Alfa won more races than all other manufacturers during 1934, and in 1936 the company’s sporting activities actually forced standard production to take a back seat! Two years later came the 8C 2900 B Lungo.

In 1931 the first truck, the Bussing 50, appeared, followed by the 85C and the 350 Diesel, later to be adopted by the Fire Brigade. In 1935, the T85G won an international race for petrol-engined trucks over the Rome-Brussels-Paris route.
The delivery of more than 2000 vehicles to the Italian army during its Ethiopian campaign only served to strengthen Alfa Transport’s reputation for reliability. The truck version of the 500 model offered an excellent payload of 11,000 kg and its bus version won plaudits for styling, passenger comfort and a top speed of 68 km/h.

In 1939 the 135 was unveiled, a twin-row 18-cylinder radial engine that developed nearly 2000 hp and was the most powerful unit of its time. Some 150 of these were produced for the Luftwaffe. The 126, 127 and 128 set and beat 13 flying boat and aircraft world speed, height and distance records. Aeronautical output accounted for nearly 80 per cent of Alfa’s annual turnover and a new plant was built at Pomigliano d’Arco (Naples) at the end of the decade to meet growing demand, some of it from abroad.

1941 – 1950:

Like most of the Italian industry, Alfa was forced to carry out war work and its plants suffered from allied bombing raids as a result. Northern Italy also had to contend with the German occupation after September 1943. It was difficult to find raw materials and there was also a fear that entire departments would be transferred to Germany. Yet somehow the company managed to maintain its high engineering standards. In 1942, for example, a three-engined Italian SM75 powered by Alfa 128 units flew the 20,000 kilometres to Tokyo and back. After a bombing raid on 20 October 1944, however, the Portello plant ceased all activities.

In 1950 the 1900 was launched – the first Alfa with a unitary body designed by Orazio Satta Puliga (who joined the company in 1938). Sporting triumphs began to accumulate. The Alfa 158 enjoyed absolute supremacy in Grands Prix and won the world championship in 1950 with Farina at the wheel.

Alfa also resumed production of commercial vehicles, aircraft and marine engines as well as diesel power units for industrial application. In 1948 IRI was reorganised and Alfa passed into the hands of subsidiary holding company, Finmeccanica. These promising events were interspersed with sadder episodes: Ugo Gobbato was mysteriously killed in Milan in 1945 and racing drivers Varzi, Trossi and Wimille all died.

1951 - 1960:

As De Gasperi, Adenuer and Schuman laid the foundations for a future European Union, and international politics was dominated by the cold war, the Italians dreamed of prosperity and a time when everyone would own their own car. Only one in every 96 Italians owned a car in 1949. This figure rose to one in 28 in 1958 and one in 11 in 1963. Italy’s gross domestic product also increased by 6.3 per cent per year between 1955 and 1960.

1961 – 1970:

Alfa Romeo had now become a group with subsidiary companies of its own, and had outgrown the Portello headquarters, which was being swallowed up by all the new building work going on in Milan. The company, therefore, built a new plant at Arese that covered an area of more than 2.5 million square metres, and production was gradually transferred there. A track was also built at Balocco (Vercelli) to test prototypes. Because demand for cars was predicted to rocket, Alfa Romeo also built another site at Pomigliano d’Arco (the first brick was laid on 29 April 1968).

This company built almost 35,000 cars in total between 1910 and 1955, but total production had risen to around 500,000 cars by 1970. The 2600 also dates from 1962 and was the first Alfa equipped with disc brakes.

1971 - 1980:

Socio-political problems and energy crises were the dominant themes of the Seventies. Far-reaching repercussions of the '68 protests led to difficult political times in Italy (the Aldo Moro assassination in 1978) and also to social difficulties (factories were occupied and some managers were injured and even murdered). The economy suffered as a result: inflation went into double figures and car sales dwindled. By 1970, out of 6.6 million cars sold throughout the nine member countries of the EEC, only 1.3 million (or 19 per cent) were Italian.

By 31 August 1971 the Alfa Romeo Group with its 32,500 employees was forced to face up to a difficult economic situation and the problem of insufficient funds. Despite this, it presented new models such as the 2000 saloon (1971), the Alfetta GTV coupé (1974), the Alfetta 2000 TD – the first Italian car with a turbodiesel engine (1976), a new Giulietta (1977) and the top-of-the-range Alfa 6 with its brand new 2500 cc V6 engine (1979). The Alfasud met with a considerable success: 28,000 cars were produced in 1972. It was the company's first front-wheel drive car, and 70,000 were built in 1973.

Alfa continued to do well on the race track. The 33 TT 12 won the World Makes Championship (1975) while the 33 SC 12 won the World Sportscar Championship (1977). In 1978, the Alfa Team tied for third place with Brabham in the Formula One Constructors’ league table.

In 1978, Alfa Romeo also signed an agreement with General Electric to build the CF6-32 aircraft engine.

1981 - 1990:

By 1 January 1981, Alfa Romeo SpA was the parent company of the group and thus responsible for control, finance and strategic planning in four sectors.

In 1985, the Italo-Japanese company Cosmo Ventures Incorporated was set up to sell the Spider 3000 and Alfa 75 in Japan. The following year, an agreement with Chrysler allowed Alfa Romeo to sell the Alfa 164 in North America, where the Spider 2000 and GTV6 2.5 were already present.

The three most representative cars of the decade were the 33 (also launched in Station Wagon and 4x4 versions in 1983), the 90 (1984), the 75 (created to mark the company's 75th birthday) and the 164 in 1987, the first Alfa Romeo produced as part of the Fiat Group. In the sporting field, the GTV6 became European Touring Champion in 1985, while in 1988 the 75 Turbo Evoluzione was successful in the Italian Speed Touring Championship.

1991 - 2000:

The first Alfa Romeo 155 left the Pomigliano plant in 1992, and one year later the V6 TI version won the prestigious DTM, the German Touring Car Championship. The 145 and 146 three and five-door hatchbacks were introduced, while new Spider and GTV models produced at Arese continued a proud niche model tradition. They feature Alfa’s new 16v production engine. The Proteo concept car was introduced in 1991.

Great success came with the arrival of the 156 sports saloon, which won the Car of the Year title in 1998. Then came the 166 luxury sedan. The first common-rail diesel engine, the five cylinder 2.4 JTD, was launched by Alfa Romeo in the 156. During 2000, Alfa's 90th birthday was marked by the arrival of the 156 Sportwagon, a fine blend of Alfa Romeo experience, engineering and style. Alfa's new compact hatchback, the 147, was launched in the autumn of 2000. Its heritage was clearly visible in its dramatic design which took styling cues from some of the most stunning of Alfa Romeo’s cars of the past nine decades.

2001 – 2010:

The 147 was awarded the prestigious Car of the Year 2001, adjudicated by top European journalists. Alfa diesel engines become more sophisticated with m-jet technology. The new 159, Brera and Spider ranges were launched with new engines and 4-wheel drive for the higher powered versions.

Alfa Romeo C12 GTS concept designed by Ugur Sahin:

Alfa Romeo is produced a new module sports car. If you are a Corvette sports car enthusiast, you must have heard of Ugur Sahin Design Studio, in the last year, this car design studio founded in 2007 based on a Corvette C6 designed aZ03 model, and named "Anadi".

Recently, this design studio has launched a new concept car, Alfa Romeo 12C GTS. This vehicle with reference to the classic elements of the historical models of Alfa Romeo at the same time given a new performance kit. This car is different with the models they designed before, not able to see the GTS 12C is designed based on what models and parameters related to the information is not disclosed to the public.

Alfa Romeo Yearly production details:

Alfa Romeo production between 1934 and 1939
Year	Cars	Industrial vehicles
1934	699	0
1935	91	211
1936	20	671
1937	270	851
1938	542	729
1939	372	562

Alfa Romeo production between 1998 and 2012
Year	Cars
1998	197,680
1999	208,336
2000	206,836
2001	213,638
2002	187,437
2003	182,469
2004	162,179
2005	130,815
2006	157,794
2007	151,898
2008	103,097
2009	103,687
2010	119,451
2011	130,535
2012	101,000

Alfa Romeo Produced Aircraft engines:

An Alfa engine was first used on an aircraft in 1910 on the Santoni-Franchini biplane. In 1932 Alfa Romeo built its first real aircraft engine, the D2 (240 bhp), fitted to Caproni 101 D2. In the 1930s when Alfa Romeo engines were used for aircraft on a larger scale; the Savoia Marchetti SM.74, Savoia-Marchetti SM.75, Savoia-Marchetti SM.79, Savoia Marchetti SM.81 and Cant Z506B Airone all used Alfa Romeo manufactured engines.

In 1931, a competition was arranged where Tazio Nuvolari drove his Alfa Romeo 8C 3000 Monza against a Caproni Ca.100 airplane. Alfa Romeo built various aircraft engines during the Second World War; the best known was the RA.1000 RC 41-I Monsone, a licensed version of the Daimler-Benz DB 601. This engine made it possible to build efficient fighter aircraft like the Macchi C.202 Folgore for the Italian army. After the Second World War Alfa Romeo produced engines for Fiat, Aerfer and Ambrosini. In the 1960s Alfa Romeo mainly focused upgrading and maintaining Curtiss-Wright, Pratt & Whitney, Rolls-Royce and General Electric aircraft engines. Alfa Romeo also built Italy's firstturbine engine, installed to the Beechcraft King Air. Alfa Romeo's Avio division was sold to Aeritalia in 1988, from 1996 it was part of Fiat Avio. Alfa Avio was also part of developing team to the new T700-T6E1 engine to the NHI NH90 helicopter.

Trucks and light commercial vehicles:

In 1930 Alfa Romeo presented a light truck in addition to heavy LCVs based to Bussing constructions. In the Second World War Alfa Romeo also built trucks for the Italian army ("35 tons anywhere") and later also for the German Wehrmacht. After the war, commercial motor vehicle production was resumed.

In co-operation with FIAT and Saviem starting from the 60s different light truck models were developed.

The production of heavy LCVs was terminated in 1967. In Brazil the heavy trucks were built still few years by Alfa Romeo subsidiaryFábrica Nacional de Motores under the name FNM. The last Alfa Romeo vans were the Alfa Romeo AR6 and AR8

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