Founded on 24 June 1910 inMilan, Italy asA.L.F.A.—an acronym forAnonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili[a]—the company was established by Cavaliere Ugo Stella to acquire the assets of the ailing Italian subsidiary of French carmakerDarracq, of which he had been an investor and manager.[4] Its first car was the24 HP, designed byGiuseppe Merosi, which became commercially successful and participated in the 1911Targa Florio endurance race. In August 1915, ALFA was acquired byNeapolitan entrepreneur and engineerNicola Romeo, who vastly expanded the company's portfolio to include heavy machinery and aircraft engines. In 1920, the company's name was changed toAlfa Romeo, with theTorpedo 20–30 HP being the first vehicle to bear the new brand.
Through the 1920s, Alfa Romeo produced several successful road and race cars, and was well represented in prominent European motorsport events, notably winning the inauguralGrand Prix in 1925. Nevertheless, the company soon faced financial troubles, leading to Romeo's contentious departure in 1928 and Italian government ownership in 1933. Under the control of the industrial organizationInstitute per la Ricostruzione Industriale (IRI), Alfa Romeo initially continued making its signature custom luxury vehicles, but following the financial hardship of World War II, shifted to mass-producing small vehicles. In 1954, it launched theGiulietta series offamily cars and developed theAlfa Romeo Twin Cam engine, which would remain in production until 1994.
Alfa Romeo became known for producing mass-market vehicles that nonetheless blended the aesthetics and performance of sport and luxury marques. Despite its strong brand image and relatively sizeable share of the high-performance auto market in Europe, by the 1970s, the company was operating at a loss, prompting IRI to sell it toFiat Group in 1986.[5] Alfa Romeo has since maintained its distinct identity and brand through several ownership changes, including Fiat's merger with the AmericanChrysler Group in 2014, formingFiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), and FCA's subsequent merger in 2021 with the FrenchPSA Group to form Stellantis.
The company's name is a combination of the original name, "A.L.F.A." ("Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili" - “Anonymous Lombardy Automobile Factory”), and the last name of entrepreneur Nicola Romeo, who took control of the company in 1915.
A 1908 Darracq 8/10 HP assembled by Alfa Romeo's predecessor, Darracq ItalianaTheA.L.F.A. 24 hp (this is withCastagnatorpedo body) was the first car made by Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili (A.L.F.A.) in 1910.
The first factory building of A.L.F.A. was in the first-place property ofSocietà Anonima Italiana Darracq (SAID), founded in 1906 by the French automobile firm ofAlexandre Darracq, with some Italian investors. One of them, Cavaliere Ugo Stella, an aristocrat fromMilan, became chairman of the SAID in 1909.[6] The firm's initial location was inNaples, but even before the construction of the planned factory had started, Darracq decided late in 1906 that Milan would be more suitable and accordingly a tract of land was acquired in the Milan suburb ofPortello, where a new factory of 6,700 square metres (8,000 sq yd) was constructed. In late 1909, the Italian Darracq cars were selling slowly and the company was wound up.[7] Ugo Stella, with the other Italian co-investors, founded a new company namedA.L.F.A. (Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili), buying the assets of Italian Darracq that was up to dissolution.[7] The first car produced by the company was the 191024 HP, designed byGiuseppe Merosi, hired in 1909 for designing new cars more suited to the Italian market. Merosi would go on to design a series of new A.L.F.A. cars, with more powerful engines such as the40–60 HP. A.L.F.A. ventured intomotor racing, with drivers Franchini and Ronzoni competing in the 1911Targa Florio with two 24-hp models. In 1914, an advanced Grand Prix car was designed and built, theGP1914, with a four-cylinder engine, double overhead camshafts, four valves per cylinder, and twin ignition.[8] However, the onset of theFirst World War halted automobile production at A.L.F.A. for three years.
In August 1915, the company came under the direction of Neapolitan entrepreneurNicola Romeo, who converted the factory to produce military hardware for the Italian and Allied war efforts. Munitions, aircraft engines and other components, compressors, and generators based on the company's existing car engines were produced in a vastly enlarged factory during the war. After the war, Romeo invested his war profits in acquiring locomotive and railway carriage plants in Saronno (Costruzioni Meccaniche di Saronno), Rome (Officine Meccaniche di Roma), and Naples (Officine Ferroviarie Meridionali), which were added to his A.L.F.A. ownership.
Car production had not been considered at first, but resumed in 1919 since parts for the completion of 105 cars had remained at the A.L.F.A. factory since 1915.[6] In 1920, the name of the company was changed to Alfa Romeo with theTorpedo 20–30 HP the first car to be so badged.[10] Their first success came in 1920 whenGiuseppe Campari won atMugello and continued with second place in theTarga Florio driven byEnzo Ferrari. Giuseppe Merosi continued as head designer, and the company continued to produce solid road cars as well as successful race cars (including the 40–60 HP and theRL Targa Florio).
In 1923,Vittorio Jano was lured fromFiat, partly due to the persuasion of a young Alfa racing driver named Enzo Ferrari, to replace Merosi as chief designer at Alfa Romeo. The first Alfa Romeo under Jano was theP2 Grand Prix car, which won Alfa Romeo the inaugural world championship for Grand Prix cars in 1925. For road cars, Jano developed a series of small-to-medium-displacement 4-, 6-, and 8-cylinder inline engines based on the P2 unit that established the architecture of the company's engines, with light alloy construction,hemispherical combustion chambers, centrally located plugs, two rows of overhead valves per cylinder bank and dual overhead cams. Jano's designs proved both reliable and powerful.
Enzo Ferrari proved a better team manager than a driver, and when the factory team was privatised, it becameScuderia Ferrari. When Ferrari left Alfa Romeo, he went on to build his own cars.Tazio Nuvolari often drove for Alfa, winning many races before theSecond World War.
In 1928, Nicola Romeo left, and in 1933 Alfa Romeo was rescued by the government, which then had effective control. Alfa Romeo became an instrument of Mussolini's Italy, a national emblem. During this period, it built bespoke vehicles for the wealthy, with bodies normally byCarrozzeria Touring orPininfarina. This era peaked with theAlfa Romeo 2900B Type 35 racers.
The Alfa factory (converted during wartime to the production ofMacchi C.202 Folgore engines: the Daimler-Benz 600 series built under license) was bombed during the Second World War and struggled to return to profitability after the war. The luxury vehicles were out. Smaller, mass-produced vehicles began to be produced beginning with the 1954 model year, with the introduction of theGiulietta series ofberline (saloons/sedans), coupes and open two-seaters. All three varieties shared what would become theAlfa Romeo overhead Twin Cam four-cylinder engine, initially displacing 1300 cc. This engine would eventually be enlarged to 2000 cc and would remain in production until 1995.
Once motorsports resumed after the Second World War, Alfa Romeo proved to be the car to beat in Grand Prix events. The introduction of the new formula (Formula One) for single seat racing cars provided an ideal setting for Alfa Romeo's Tipo158 Alfetta, adapted from a pre-war voiturette, andGiuseppe Farina won the first Formula One World Championship in 1950 in the 158.Juan Manuel Fangio secured Alfa's second consecutive championship in 1951.
In 1952, Alfa Romeo experimented with its first front-wheel-drive compact car, "Project 13–61".[12] It had the same transverse-mounted, forward-motor layout as the modern front-wheel-drive automobile. Alfa Romeo made a second attempt in the late 1950s based on Project 13–61. It was to be called Tipo 103 and resembled the smaller version of its popular Alfa Romeo Giulia. However, due to the financial difficulties in post-war Italy, the Tipo 103 never saw production. Had Alfa Romeo produced it, it would have preceded the Mini as the first "modern" front-wheel-drive compact car. In the mid-1950s, Alfa Romeo entered into an agreement withBrazil's Matarazzo Group to create a company called Fabral (Fábrica Brasileira de Automóveis Alfa, "the Brazilian Alfa automobile factory") to build theAlfa Romeo 2000 there. After having received government approval, Matarazzo pulled out under pressure from Brazil's PresidentJuscelino Kubitschek with the state-ownedFNM company instead commenced building the car as the "FNM 2000" there in 1960.[13]
Alfa Romeo Tipo 33TT12
During the 1960s, Alfa Romeo concentrated on motorsports using production-based cars, including theGTA (standing for Gran Turismo Allegerita), an aluminium-bodied version of theBertone-designed coupe with a powerful twin-plug engine. Among other victories, the GTA won the inauguralSports Car Club of America'sTrans-Am championship in 1966. In the 1970s, Alfa Romeo concentrated on prototype sports car racing with theTipo 33, with early victories in 1971. Eventually the Tipo 33TT12 gained theWorld Championship for Makes for Alfa Romeo in 1975 and the Tipo 33SC12 won theWorld Championship for Sports Cars in 1977.[14][15]
As Alfa Romeo was a state-controlled company, they were often subject to political pressure. To help industrialize Italy'sunderdeveloped south, Alfa Romeo's new compact car was to be built at a new factory atPomigliano d'Arco inCampania. Even the car's name,Alfa Sud (Alfa South), reflected where it was built. 18 January 1968, saw a new company named "Industria Napoletana Costruzioni Autoveicoli Alfa Romeo-Alfasud S.p.A." being formed, 90% of which belonged to Alfa Romeo and 10% to Government controlled holding companyFinmeccanica.[16] This plant was built in the wake of France's1968 protests and Italy'sHot Autumn and was never "properly started."[17] The employees had mainly construction backgrounds and were not trained for factory work, while industrial relations were troublesome throughout. Absenteeism rates in the Pomigliano factory ran at 16.5 percent through the 1970s,[18] reaching as high as 28 percent.[19]
By the 1970s, Alfa Romeo was again in financial trouble, with the company running at about sixty percent of capacity in 1980.[17] Since Alfa Romeo was controlled by the Italian government owned Istituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale (IRI), a deal was made where about a quarter of worker's salaries were paid through state unemployment agencies to allow Alfa's plants to idle for two weeks every two months. An aging product lineup and very low productivity combined with near-permanent industrial unrest and Italy's high inflation rates kept Alfa Romeo firmly in the red.[17][20][19] Other creative measures were attempted to shore up Alfa, including an ultimately unsuccessfuljoint venture with Nissan endorsed by Alfa's then-president, Ettore Massacesi, and Prime MinisterFrancesco Cossiga. By 1986, IRI was suffering heavy losses—with Alfa Romeo having not been profitable for the last 13 years[21]—and IRI presidentRomano Prodi put Alfa Romeo up for sale. Finmeccanica, the mechanical holdings arm of IRI and its predecessors owned Alfa Romeo since 1932. Prodi first approached fellow Italian manufacturer Fiat, which offered to start a joint venture with Alfa.
Fiat withdrew its plan for a joint venture with Alfa Romeo whenFord put in an offer to acquire part of Alfa Romeo and restructure the company, while increasing its stake over time. However, Fiat chose to put in a bid to acquire the entirety of Alfa Romeo and offer job guarantees to Italian workers, an offer that Ford was unwilling to match. It also did not hurt any of the parties involved that an acquisition by Fiat would keep Alfa Romeo in Italian hands. In 1986, the deal was concluded with Alfa Romeo merged with traditional rivalLancia into Fiat's Alfa Lancia Industriale S.p.A.[21][20] Already in 1981, Alfa Romeo's then-President Ettore Massacesi had stated that Alfa would never use Fiat engines—the engines being, to a large extent, Alfa Romeo's identity—but would be happy to cooperate fully with everything else.[22]
Alfa Romeo 156 GTA
Models produced from the 1990 onwards combined Alfa's traditional virtues of avant-garde styling and sporting panache with the economic benefits of product rationalisation, and include a "GTA" version of the147 hatchback, theGiugiaro-designedBrera, and a high-performance exotic called the8C Competizione (named after one of Alfa's most successful prewar sports and racing cars, the8C of the 1930s).
In 2005,Maserati was bought back fromFerrari and was now under Fiat's full control. The Fiat Group then created a sports and luxury division from Maserati and Alfa Romeo.[23] There is a planned strategic relationship between these two; engines, platforms and possibly dealers are shared.[24]
In the beginning of 2007, Fiat Auto S.p.A. was reorganized and four new automobile companies were created; Fiat Automobiles S.p.A., Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A., Lancia Automobiles S.p.A. and Fiat Light Commercial Vehicles S.p.A. These companies were fully owned by Fiat Group Automobiles S.p.A. (from 2007 FCA Italy S.p.A.).[25]
Sculpture commemorating 100 years of Alfa Romeo
On 24 June 2010, Alfa Romeo celebrated 100 years from its foundation.[26]
Alfa Romeo has been suffering from falling sales. In 2010, it sold a total of about 112,000 units, which was significantly lower than Fiat CEO Marchionne's global sales target of 300,000. The company set about to achieve a sales target of 170,000 units in 2011, including 100,000Giulietta and 60,000MiTo models, but it actually sold 130,000 units that year.[30] Its medium-term target was 500,000 units by 2014 including 85,000 from the North American market.[31] In 2017 Alfa Romeo increased production by 62 percent, building a total of 150,722 vehicles at the company's three factories.[32]
In spite of falling sales, Alfa Romeo CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato announced in 2021 that a new model would be launched every year between 2022 and 2026, starting with the much-delayedTonale, with full electrification of new models from 2027.[34]
Alfa Romeo was imported to the United States byMax Hoffman from the mid-1950s.[35] The Giulietta Spider was developed on the request of Max Hoffman, who proposed an open top version of the Giulietta.[36] In 1961 Alfa Romeo started exporting cars to the United States through its own dealer network.[37]
In 1995, Alfa Romeo ceased exporting cars to the United States,[38] the last model sold in that market being the 164 sedan.
On 5 May 2006, Alfa Romeo made its return to the US Market as announced by Fiat CEOSergio Marchionne after a series of rumours. North American sales resumed in October 2008, with the launch of the limited production 8C Competizione coupe with Alfa Romeo models being imported by Fiat's US subsidiary Chrysler.[39] Also in 2008, Alfa Romeo and Chrysler were reported to be in discussions over the possibility of producing Alfa Romeo cars in some Chrysler manufacturing plants that had shut down due to the company group's restructure and cost cutting. Instead, as reported byThe Wall Street Journal in November 2009, Chrysler discontinued several Dodge and Jeep models while phasing in Alfa Romeo ones and the new Fiat 500.[40]
The next significant milestones in Alfa Romeo's North American return occurred in 2014, with the launch of the more affordable two-seater4C coupe. That year, Fiat Group Automobiles S.p.A. confirmed that its original agreement with Mazda Motor Corporation, for the speculated manufacturing of a new Alfa Romeo Spider based on theMazda MX-5 had been terminated mutually in December 2014. The proposed model for this joint venture became theFiat 124 Spider convertible launched in 2015. In 2015, Alfa Romeo's return to this market was further bolstered by the automaker's display of the newGiulia at the Los Angeles Auto Show. In February 2017, Chrysler featured its Alfa Romeo brand exclusively in three ads duringSuper Bowl LI.[41]
Alfa Romeo's US importer,FCA US LLC, imports the 4C, Giulia and Stelvio.
Alfa Romeo has introduced many technological innovations over the years, and the company has often been among the first users of new technologies. Its trademarkdouble overhead cam engine was used for the first time in the 1914Grand Prix car,[42] the first road car with such an engine, the6C 1500 Sport, appeared in 1928.
Alfa Romeo tested one of the first electronic fuel injection systems (Caproni-Fuscaldo) in theAlfa Romeo 6C 2500 with "Ala spessa" body in 1940Mille Miglia. The engine had six electrically operated injectors, fed by a semi-high pressure circulating fuel pump system.[43]
1969 models for theNorth American market hadSPICA (Società Pompe Iniezione Cassani & Affini, a subsidiary of Alfa Romeo)mechanical fuel injection. According to Alfa Romeo, the engine's power output and performance were unchanged from the carburetted version. The SPICA system continued until the 1982 model year with the introduction of 2.0 literBoschelectronic fuel injection.
Newer innovations include completeCAD design process used in designing theAlfa Romeo 164[51] and anautomated/paddle-shift transmission calledSelespeed used in the156;[52] the 156 was also the world's first passenger car to useCommon rail diesel engine.[53] TheMultiair -an electro-hydraulic variable valve actuation technology used inMiTo was introduced in 2009.[54] In 2016, the Alfa Romeo Giulia came with electrical brakes.[55]
Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS (1939, serial number 913.008) by Technical museum of Vadim Zadorozhny
Many famous automotive design houses in Italy have accepted commissions to produce concepts and production vehicle shapes for Alfa Romeo. These include:
Construction techniques used by Alfa Romeo has been imitated by other carmakers, and in this way, the Alfa Romeo body designs have often been very influential. The following is a list of innovations, and where appropriate, examples of imitation by other car manufacturers:
Alfa 6C 2500 S
1960s: Aerodynamics: The 116-series Giulia had a very low Cd. Toyota, in particular, sought to produce a similarly shaped series of vehicles at this time.
1970s: Fairing of bumpers: In order to meet American crash standards, Alfa Romeo formulated a design technique to incorporate bumpers into the overall bodywork design of vehicles so as to not ruin their design lines. The culmination of this design technique was the 1980sAlfa Romeo 75. The process was widely copied, particularly in Germany and Japan.
1980s: The Alfa Romeo 164: The design process and influence of this car is almost completely out of all proportion to previous Alfa Romeos. The 164 introduced complete CAD/CAM in the manufacturing cycle, with very little directly made by hand. In addition, the 164's styling influence continues into the present-day line of modern Alfa Romeos. Most manufacturers incorporated design ideas first expressed in the 164 into their own designs, including greater reliance on on-board computers.[citation needed]
1990s: The pseudo-coupé: The Alfa Romeo 156 and 147, while four-door vehicles, represented themselves as two-doors with prominent front door handles, and less visible rear door-handle flaps. Honda has used this design style in the latest Civic hatchback, and a somewhat similar idea is also seen in theMazda RX-8 four-seat coupé andRenault Clio V.
2000s: The Brera and 159: These vehicles' design, by Giorgetto Giugiaro, have proven influential in sedan and coupé styling, demonstrating that concept vehicles are often immediately translatable into road car form, providing that initial design takes place using CAD systems.
Several concept cars have been made by Alfa Romeo:
1950s – The B.A.T. cars
TheBerlina Aerodinamica Tecnica prototype cars were designed by Bertone as an exercise in determining whether streamlining and wind-tunnel driven designs would result in high performance on a standard chassis and whether the resulting vehicles would be palatable to the public. Alfa 1900 Sprint were the basis of the B.A.T. 5, 7 and 9.[56] The later B.A.T. 11 was based on the 8C Competizione.
1960s and 1970s – Descendants of the Tipo 33
The Tipo 33 racing car, with its high-revving 2000 cc V8 engine became the basis for a number of different concept cars during the 1960s and 1970s, two of which ultimately resulted in production vehicles. Most made their appearances at the Auto Salon Genève. Here is a brief list:
Gandini/Bertone Carabo (1968) – Marcello Gandini expressed ideas that would come to fruition in the Lamborghini Countach.
Tipo 33.2 (1969) – Designed by Pininfarina using a design already known from a Ferrari concept car.
Gandini/Bertone Montreal Concept (1967) – making its appearance at the 1967 Montreal Expo, this Giulia-based concept resulted in the productionAlfa Romeo Montreal road car with a variant of the Tipo 33's V8 engine.
Bertone/Giugiaro Navajo (1976) – A fully fibreglassed vehicle, and in some ways the epitome of Giugiaro's 'Origami' style of flat planes.
1980s-today – Modern ideas
In general, concept cars for Alfa Romeo have generally become production vehicles, after some modification to make them suitable for manufacture, and to provide driver and passenger safety. The Zagato SZ, GTV, and Spider, Brera, and 159 are all good examples of Alfa Romeo's stylistic commitment in this direction.
In June 1910, the Società Anonima Darracq became Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili, and was readying its first model, the24 HP. The board asked chief engineerGiuseppe Merosi to devise a badge for the radiator shell of the new car; Merosi turned to his collaborators.[60] One of them, Cattaneo, was inspired by thecoat of arms he had seen on the gates ofCastello Sforzesco to include thebiscione in the logo.[60] Merosi liked the idea, and together with Cattaneo came up with a sketch, then approved by managing director Ugo Stella; Cattaneo was entrusted with doing the final design.[60]
The original badge was round, of enamelledbrass, measuring 65 mm (2.6 in) in diameter, and carried already all the present day accoutrements: the red cross on a white field of Milan on the left, a greenbiscione on a light blue field on the right, all surrounded by a blue ring inscribed with the words "ALFA" at the top and "MILANO" at the bottom.[61] In honour of theKing of Italy, the two words were separated by twofigure-eight knots—named Savoy knots in Italian, and symbols of the then-reigningHouse of Savoy. Originally solid brass, the lettering was changed to white enamel in 1913.[62] In 1918, after the company had been bought byNicola Romeo, the wording "ALFA" was replaced with "ALFA-ROMEO".
In 1925, to commemorate the victory of theAlfa Romeo P2 in the inauguralWorld Manufacturers' Championship of1925, a silver metallaurel wreath was added around the badge, used (in varying form) until 1982.[58][63] The addition of the wreath had enlarged the badge to 75 mm (3.0 in) diameter; in 1930 it was reduced back to 60 mm (2.4 in).[61]
In 1946, after theabolition of the monarchy and proclamation of theItalian Republic, the figure-eight knots of the Savoy were replaced with two curvy lines.[64] Concurrently the badge was completely redesigned, and further reduced in size to 54 mm (2.1 in), a diameter unchanged ever since.[61] Made of stamped steel, the new badge bore the traditional elements—the scripts, the cross, a newly stylizedbiscione and a thin laurel wreath—embossed in antique silver, over a uniformAlfa Red background, which had replaced the blue, white and light blue fields. This red-and-metal badge was used until 1950, when the company switched back to a traditionally enamelled and coloured one; in 1960 the badge was changed from brass to plastic, without substantial differences in design.[64]
At the beginning of the 1970s the all-newAlfa Romeo Pomigliano d'Arco plant (nearNaples) was completed. When in 1972 theAlfasud produced there became the first Alfa Romeo passenger car manufactured outside Milan, the word "Milano", the curved lines and the hyphen between "Alfa" and "Romeo" were eliminated from the badge on all Alfa Romeos.[64] At the same time it was redesigned, most notably acquiring a modernisedbiscione andtype face.
After a mild restyling in 1982, which deleted the wreath and changed lettering and all chrome details to gold, this iteration of the badge remained in use until 2015.[65]
On 24 June 2015, 105th anniversary of the company, a new logo was unveiled at a press event at theAlfa Romeo Museum; together with theAlfa Romeo Giulia as part of the brand's relaunch plan.[66] The redesign was carried out by Robilant Associati, who had previously reworked several otherFiat Group logos—includingFiat Automobiles' andLancia's.[67]
The logo colors have been reduced from four to three: the green of thebiscione, the red of the cross, and the dark blue of the surrounding ring. Other changes are a new serif type face, and the absence of the split white and light blue fields, replaced by a single silver textured background.
Since 1923, thequadrifoglio logo (also called the 'cloverleaf') has been the symbol of Alfa Romeo racing cars and since WWII, it has also been used to designate the higher trim models of the range. Thequadrifoglio is usually placed on the side panels of the car, above or behind the front wheels—on thefront wings in the case of modern vehicles. The logo consists of a green (or in some cases golden)cloverleaf with four leaves, contained with a white triangle.
Thequadrifoglio has been used on Alfa Romeo cars since the death ofUgo Sivocci in 1923. As a friend ofEnzo Ferrari, Sivocci was hired by Alfa Romeo in 1920 to drive in the four-man works team—Alfa Corse—withAntonio Ascari, Giuseppe Campari, and Enzo Ferrari. Sivocci was thought to have enormous experience, but often hampered by bad luck and considered the eternal second-placer. To banish his bad luck, when theTarga Florio came around, the driver painted a white square with a green four-leaf clover (thequadrifoglio) in the centre of the grille of his car. Sivocci had immediate success, crossing the finish line first. Thequadrifoglio subsequently became the symbol of the racing Alfa Romeos with the victory at the Targa Florio. Almost as if to prove the magic effects of this symbol, Sivocci was killed while testingMerosi's newP1 atMonza, a few months after winning the Targa Florio. TheSalerno driver's P1, which went off the track on a bend, did not have thequadrifoglio. Since this period in 1923, the bodies of Alfa Romeo racing cars have been adorned with thequadrifoglio as a lucky charm. The white square was replaced with a triangle in memory of Ugo Sivocci.[68]
The first road car to bear thequadrifoglio was the 1963Alfa Romeo Giulia TI Super, a variant of the Giulia saloon car devised for competition but put regularly on sale; it had green four-leaf clovers on its front wings, without the triangle. In the 1970s "Quadrifoglio Verde" or "Green Cloverleaf" became the trim level for each model's sportiest variant, equipped with the most powerful engine. TheAlfasud,Sprint,33,75,164 and145 all had Quadrifoglio Verde versions. Also in the 1970s and through the 1980s golden four-leaf clover badges were used to denote the most luxurious and well-equipped variants of Alfa Romeo cars, named "Quadrifoglio Oro" or "Gold Cloverleaf". TheAlfasud,Alfetta,Alfa 6,90 and33 had Quadrifoglio Oro versions. In recent times thequadrifoglio was revived on the 2007Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione and Spider sports cars. With theAlfa Romeo MiTo andGiulietta, the Quadrifoglio Verde was reinstated as the sportiest trim level in the range, and green four-leaf clovers on the front wings are once again the hallmark of high-performance Alfa Romeos. Alfa Romeo's 2016 sport sedan, the all-newGiulia, was launched first in Quadrifoglio trim before the release of the base models.
Alfa Romeo has been involved with motor racing since 1911, when it entered two24 HP models in Targa Florio competition. Alfa Romeo won the firstWorld Manufacturers' Championship in 1925 and the firstAIACR European Championship in 1931 and it scored wins at many races and motoring events such asTarga Florio,Mille Miglia andLe Mans. Great success continued withFormula One, when Alfa Romeo won the first WorldFormula One Championship in 1950 and won the secondFormula One Championship in 1951. The company also won international championships inPrototypes, Touring and Fast Touring categories in the 1960s and 1970s. Private drivers also entered somerally competitions, with good results. Alfa Romeo has competed both as a constructor and an engine supplier, via works entriesAlfa Corse,Autodelta and private entries. Alfa Romeo's factory racing team was outsourced to Enzo Ferrari'sScuderia Ferrari between 1933 and 1938. Drivers included Tazio Nuvolari, who won the 1935German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring.
Alfa Romeo have been in a technical partnership with theSauber F1 Team since 2018.[69] In February 2019, Sauber announced that it would compete asAlfa Romeo Racing although the ownership, racing licence and management structure would remain unchanged.[70] Alfa Romeo ended their partnership with Sauber and left Formula One after the 2023 season.[71]
Alfa Romeo has won fiveFIA European Formula 3 Championships and fiveFIA European Formula 3 Cups with the support from the Alfa Romeo stable Euroracing, who created the motor for the Formula 3 championship and with the support of Italian motor company Novamotor which work in the Formula 3 competition.
In the 1960s, the main Alfa Romeo factory was moved from inside Milan to a very large and nearby area extending over the municipalities ofArese,Lainate andGarbagnate Milanese. However, since then the factory was moved to Arese, as the offices and the main entrance of the area were located there.
In the late 1960s, a number of European automobile manufacturers established facilities in South Africa to assemble right hand drive vehicles.Fiat and other Italian manufacturers established factories along with these other manufacturers, Alfa-Romeos were assembled inBrits, outsidePretoria in theTransvaal Province of South Africa. With the imposition of sanctions by Western powers in the 1970s and 1980s, South Africa became self-sufficient, and in car production came to rely more and more on the products from local factories. This led to a set of circumstances where between 1972 and 1989, South Africa had the greatest number of Alfa Romeos on the road outside of Italy. The Alfa Romeos Brits plant was used from March 1983[72] until late 1985 to buildDaihatsu Charades for local consumption, but also for export to Italy in order to skirt Italian limits on Japanese imports.[73] For the last year the company was operating, the Daihatsu represented close to half of Alfa Romeo S.A. Ltd.'s total production.[74]
In late 1985, with the impending Fiat takeover and aninternational boycott of the South AfricanApartheid government, Alfa Romeo withdrew from the market and closed the plant.
During the 1990s, Alfa Romeo moved car production to other districts in Italy. ThePomigliano d’Arco plant produced the 155, followed by the 145 and the 146, while theArese plant manufactured the SZ and RZ sports cars, the 164, the new Spider and the GTV. The 156 was launched in 1997 and in 1998 was voted "Car of the Year". The same year a new flagship, the 166 (assembled in Rivalta, near Turin) was launched. At the beginning of the third millennium, the 147 was released, which won the title of "Car of the Year 2001". In 2003 the Arese factory was closed while only having some offices and theAlfa Romeo Historical Museum.
The newGiulia was unveiled to the press at the Museo Storico Alfa Romeo in Arese, on 24 June 2015. This coincided with the company's 105th anniversary and saw the introduction of a revised logo. Sales were about 34,000 examples per year (2018), then fell to 20,000 per year (2019).
TheTonale is a compact crossover SUV (C-segment) introduced in March 2022 and the first new model introduced by the brand in six years and the first model introduced under the brand of Stellantis.
Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale
TheAlfa Romeo 33 Stradale was unveiled on August 30, 2023, and is planned to be released in June 2024, with a limited production of 33 units. The car pays tribute to theAlfa Romeo 33 Stradale of 1967.
Alfa Romeo Junior
TheJunior (previously Milano) is a subcompact crossover SUV (B-segment) introduced in April 2024. It is the brand's first B-segment SUV, and its first battery electric car.
In the 1960s, Alfa Romeo became famous for models specifically designed forItalian police andCarabinieri (Italian nationalgendarmerie); among them the "Giulia Super" and the2600 Sprint GT. The colours of the Alfa Romeos used by the police (Polizia) were/are green/blue with white stripes and writing, known as "Pantera" (Panthers). The Carabinieri Alfa Romeros are dark blue with white roofs and red stripes, known as the "Gazzella" (Gazelles), a nickname meant to denote the speed and agility of these "Pattuglie" (patrol cars). However, the term "Pantera" came to be used interchangeably to refer to both agencies' vehicles, and helped create a public perception of the cars as no-nonsense, determined and respected.
Since then, Alfa Romeos remain the chosen vehicle of theCarabinieri, Polizia Autostradale (highway police),Guardia di Finanza (fiscal law enforcement) and the conventional police service (Polizia). The following Alfa Romeo cars have/can be found in service with the Italian police and/or government.[76]
Since the 1960s, the Italian Prime Minister has used Alfa Romeos (and lately the newMaserati Quattroporte) as preferred government limousines. The 164 and 166 have found been particularly utilized in the last two decades.
In 1930, Alfa Romeo presented a light truck in addition to heavy LCVs based onBüssing constructions.[78] In the Second World War Alfa Romeo also built trucks for the Italian army ("35 tons anywhere") and later also for the GermanWehrmacht. After the war, commercial motor vehicle production was resumed.
In co-operation withFIAT andSaviem starting from the 1960s different light truck models were developed.
The production of heavy LCVs in Italy was terminated in 1967. Heavy trucks continued to be built for a few years inBrazil by Alfa Romeo subsidiaryFábrica Nacional de Motores under the name FNM. The last Alfa Romeo vans were the Alfa Romeo AR6 and AR8, rebadged versions of Iveco Daily and Fiat Ducato. The company also producedtrolleybuses for many systems in Italy, Latin America,[79] Sweden,[80] Greece,[81] Germany, Turkey and South Africa. Later, Alfa Romeo concentrated only on passenger car manufacturing.
Locomotive FS E.333 built by Ing. Nicola Romeo e Co. inSaronno
Although Alfa Romeo is best known as automobile manufacturer it has also produced commercial vehicles of various size, railway locomotives,[6] tractors, buses, trams, compressors, generators, an electric cooker,[84] marine and aircraft engines.
Alfa Romeo built various aircraft engines during theSecond World War; the best known was the RA.1000 RC 41-I Monsone, a licensed version of theDaimler-Benz DB 601. This engine made it possible to build efficient fighter aircraft like theMacchi C.202 Folgore for the Italian army. After the Second World War Alfa Romeo produced engines for Fiat,Aerfer andAmbrosini. In the 1960s Alfa Romeo mainly focused upgrading and maintainingCurtiss-Wright,Pratt & Whitney,Rolls-Royce andGeneral Electric aircraft engines.
Alfa Romeo also built Italy's firstturbine engine, installed to theBeechcraft King Air. Alfa Romeo's Avio division was sold toAeritalia in 1988,[88] from 1996 it was part of Fiat Avio.[89] Alfa Avio was also part of developing team to the new T700-T6E1 engine to theNHI NH90 helicopter.[90]
Alfa Romeo also produced marine engines. The first marine engine was produced in 1929. Later, for three consecutive years: 1937-1938-1939 with remarkable affirmations, Alfa Romeo demonstrated its constructive efficiency by contributing to the development of marine engines.
Alfa Romeo official dealers worldwide mapAlfa Romeo II on its first sail
During the years Alfa Romeo has been marketed with different slogans like: "The family car that wins races" used in the 1950s in Alfa Romeo 1900 marketing campaign, "racing since 1911" used on most 1960s Alfa advertisements.[91] In the 1970s the Alfa Romeo 1750 GTV was marketed as "if this kind of handling is good enough for our racing cars, it's good enough for you."[92] The Giulia Sprint GTA was marketed as "The car you drive to work is a champion".[93]More recent slogans used are "Mediocrity is a sin", "Driven by Passion", "Cuore Sportivo", "Beauty is not enough" and present day "Without heart we would be mere machines". Also other more recent ones are: "It's not a car, it's an Alfa Romeo.", one of them after a couple argue in Italian.
As part of its marketing policy, Alfa Romeo sponsors a number of sporting events, such as theMille Miglia rally.[94] It has sponsored the SBKSuperbike World Championship andDucati Corse since 2007, and theGoodwood Festival of Speed for many years, and was one of the featured brands in 2010 when Alfa Romeo celebrated its 100th anniversary.[95][96] TheAlfa Romeo Giulietta has been used since Monza 2010 race as the safety car in Superbike World Championship events.[97] Alfa Romeo has been also shirt sponsor ofEintracht Frankfurt football club in period between 2013 and 2016.
In 2002,Alfa Romeo I, the first Alfa Romeo supermaxi yacht was launched. It finished first in at least 74 races including the 2002Sydney—Hobart Race.[98]Alfa Romeo II, commissioned in 2005, measures 30 metres (98 ft)LOA. It set a new elapsed-time record for monohulls in the 2009 Transpac race, of 5 days, 14 hours, 36 minutes, 20 seconds.[99] It finished first in at least 140 races. In mid-2008Alfa Romeo III was launched for competitive fleet racing under theIRC rule.Alfa Romeo III measures 21.4 metres (70 ft) LOA and features interior design styled after theAlfa Romeo 8C Competizione.[100]
TheBBC motoring showTop Gear repeatedly argued the significance of owning an Alfa Romeo car as a car enthusiast, stating that "You can't be a true petrolhead if you have never owned/or wanted to own an Alfa Romeo". PresentersJeremy Clarkson,Richard Hammond andJames May continuously praised Alfas for their beauty and driving characteristics even though Italian cars had a long-term bad reputation for unreliability. They argued that the owner build a personal relationship with the car despite all of its mechanical faults. Both Clarkson and May have previously owned Alfas (aGTV6 for Clarkson and anAlfa 164 for May) and both have stated that they regretted selling their Alfas the most.
As part of its U.S. relaunch, Alfa Romeo ran threecommercials duringSuper Bowl LI; the brand was the sole marque advertised by FCA during the game, after exclusively focusing on itsJeep brand atSuper Bowl 50.[41][101]
In February 2013, Alfa Romeo sponsoredUniversity of St Andrews FS fashion show[102] which saw luxury fashion designer Luke Archer and milliner George Jenkins win with their Alfa Romeo inspired garments.
Alfa Romeo announcedZhou Guanyu as China's first Formula One racing driver for the 2022 season, hailed by both the team and the sport as a historic breakthrough in a key growth market.[103]
^Shapiro, Helen (Winter 1991). "Determinants of Firm Entry into the Brazilian Automobile Manufacturing Industry, 1956–1968".The Business History Review.65 (4, The Automobile Industry): 897, 907.doi:10.2307/3117267.JSTOR3117267.S2CID153363903.
^Mastrostefano, Raffaele, ed. (1985).Quattroruote: Tutte le Auto del Mondo 1985 (in Italian). Milano: Editoriale Domus S.p.A. pp. 30–31.ISBN88-7212-012-8.
^Burford, Adrian,"A Sporting Heart Still Beats",Automotive Business Review (February 2009): 30,archived from the original on 25 February 2009, retrieved19 February 2009
^Stark, Harry A., ed. (1987).Ward's Automotive Yearbook 1987. Vol. 49. Detroit, MI: Ward's Communications, Inc. p. 86.ISBN0-910589-00-7.3,136 from a total of 6,435 cars built in 1985.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ignored ISBN errors (link)
^Fitzpatrick, Lynn (11 July 2009)."Alfa Romeo Smashes Transpac Record by a Day".Finish reports. Transpacific Yacht Club. Archived fromthe original on 17 August 2013. Retrieved16 July 2009. She came within about five hours of breaking themultihull elapsed time record 5d, 9h, 18m set in 1997 byBruno Peyron with hisCommodore Explorer.
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