History of Alfa Romeo

[2] Sketched by Merosi himself,[2] the mark recalled ALFA's ties with its city of origin: on one side the Visconti serpent (the "biscione"), on the other the red cross on a white field, the medieval symbol of Milan.

[26] Due to the outbreak of World War I, in which Italy did not initially take part, the organization of international competitions was suspended and thus the ALFA Grand Prix had a rather short racing activity.

[17] After the outbreak of war, the Neapolitan entrepreneur decided to enter the military contracting business, obtaining a significant order for the Royal Army in July 1915, which involved the production of ammunition.

[3][29] On August 4, 1915, Nicola Romeo was appointed director of the Portello plant,[29] and within two years the industrial group led by the engineer from Sant'Antimo managed to gain control of the company; on this occasion, ALFA changed its name to "Società Anonima Italiana Ing.

[42] However, the RL was launched on the markets to complete the range with a road model whose competition version would have to meet the new Grand Prix regulations,[41] which called for a reduction in the maximum displacement of participating cars.

[50] In 1922 Benito Mussolini came to power; the leader of Fascism decided to make a cut in public spending and thus the Banca Nazionale di Credito was no longer able to lavish the substantial liquidity that had been provided until then.

[53] At this point, the Duce himself chose Prospero Gianferrari as director, who further improved production processes and established a sector within Alfa Romeo that would be responsible for making the bodies, thus giving the company the opportunity to build complete cars.

[74] Ricart left an indelible mark in the history of Alfa Romeo, since it was his work to introduce the De Dion tube on the brand's cars; this technical peculiarity would later characterize the Milanese automaker's models for decades.

[83] Among those who contributed to writing important pages of Alfa Romeo history in this decade were Giuseppe Campari, Tazio Nuvolari, Achille Varzi, Louis Chiron, and Mario Umberto Baconin Borzacchini.

[71] Thus, the assembly of civilian cars was drastically reduced in favor mainly of aircraft production, which in the years leading up to World War II generated almost 80 percent of Alfa Romeo's sales.

[94] As the decades passed, Alfa Romeo's aero engines became famous for their victorious participation in various attempts to break world records in aviation and for their sporting triumphs, where they demonstrated a certain technical supremacy.

[95][96] In the field of military engines, many were derived from models, such as the Jupiter,[97] produced under license and characterized by power outputs that, while adequate in the 1930s, with the rapid evolution of technology later proved to be too low for wartime use, while reliability and robustness always remained high.

[75] There was also a shortage of raw materials and there was a lack of men who could have handled the situation; Gobbato had been assassinated on April 28, 1945, and Ricart, linked to Francisco Franco, had returned to Spain following the fall of fascism in Italy.

[100] The following year, due to the great availability of labor and the large stocks in the warehouses of automotive components that had been saved from the bombing, automobile production resumed steadily, again by assembling examples of the 6C 2500.

[109] The new model, which was given the name 1900, debuted in 1950 and was decisive in rescuing the company:[71][113] in 1949 Finmeccanica was intent on closing it due to low sales of passenger cars and a drastic drop in orders for aircraft engines,[114] which, with the end of the war, were in much less demand on the market.

In developing the design of the 1900, Satta Puliga kept in mind some fundamental principles that would prove crucial to the car's success: reliability, ease of driving, sporty features, and a non-prohibitive price.

[113][117] The IRI was not able to lavish substantial funds to invest in the carmaker, and therefore aid from the United States was decisive for the relaunch of the brand,[117] which allocated $5 million to the Milanese manufacturer through the Marshall Plan.

Two Alfa Romeos won the first two editions of the Formula 1 World Championship, taking the title in the 1950 and 1951 seasons thanks, respectively, to Nino Farina aboard a 158 (nicknamed "Alfetta" because of its small size),[71] and Juan Manuel Fangio, who instead piloted a 159.

[71] After these two victories, despite complaints from fans, industry insiders and some of the most prominent political figures, Alfa Romeo temporarily withdrew from Formula 1 because of the high costs that were necessary to continue participation in the championship.

[121][123][125] Italy was in the midst of an economic boom and thus consumption was growing steadily, bringing more and more potential customers into the position of being able to afford a model like the Giulietta, preferring it to the Fiat 1100 or the Lancia Appia.

[112][126] In the years following the launch, many versions of the Giulietta followed, all of which were fitted with a 1.3 L engine from which Giuseppe Busso, i.e., the designer who developed the mechanics of Alfa Romeo models starting with the 1900, was able to obtain up to 90 hp of power.

[107] The official decision to open a new production site was made on February 27, 1959, when the board of directors decreed the purchase of a large vacant area just outside Milan, between the towns of Arese and Garbagnate Milanese.

[152] The Alfetta featured completely new mechanicals that were developed to modernize the transmission, suspension, and chassis, whose schemes dated back to the 1900[162] and had become obsolete, especially in light of the technological advances made by competitors.

[162] The choice of the name was not accidental, nor was it dictated by tradition: the new mechanicals were derived from the competition cars and included a chassis with double wishbone front suspension and a De Dion rear axle.

[162] Specifically, the De Dion tube solution was derived from the competition cars of the 1950s and was installed because it allowed the wheels to move independently without having unfavorable camber deviations, resulting in improved road holding.

[165] The drivers responsible for these successes were Arturo Merzario, Jacques Laffite, Jochen Mass, Derek Bell, Nino Vaccarella, Jean-Pierre Jarier, Vittorio Brambilla and Henri Pescarolo.

[112][167] Luraghi considered the proposal to open a second plant in the South uneconomical, especially in light of the difficulties that arose due to the energy crisis, preferring, on the contrary, the upgrading of the Arese production site.

The prelude dated back to the previous decade, when the Biscione company had supplied the powerplant to minor racing teams,[174] and to the early part of the 1970s, when Alfa Romeo engines had been fitted, from 1970 to 1971, to McLaren and March cars.

At this point Alfa Romeo found itself lacking the cash to radically renew the range by replacing the older cars, so the management decided to launch a new flagship on the markets that would be based on the previous models.

[184] This financial situation was mainly due to high production costs; for example, in the early 1980s, Alfa Romeo spent three times as much to assemble an Alfetta as the price at which the model was then sold to the public.