Alfa Romeo 916 GTV and Spider E-Book

Robert Foskett

• Herausgeber: Crowood
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 370

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2013

Beschreibung

Alfa Romeo 916 GTV and Spider traces the complete story of the Alfa Romeo GTV and Spider models produced between 1994 - 2005, commonly known to enthusiasts by the manufacturer's project code as the 916 series. The 916 models would always be controversial - they replaced the iconic Spider, the best-selling Alfa Romeo sports model of all time, and the brand-establishing Alfetta GTV. Sharing components and a platform with a humble Fiat hatchback, would the cars ever be considered 'real' Alfa Romeos? The cars were critically acclaimed, and, though they faced tough competition in the late 1990s from the likes of the Audi TT, they remained in production for over a decade.

Leseprobe

Copyright

First published in 2012 by The Crowood Press Ltd, Ramsbury, Marlborough, Wiltshire, SN8 2HR

www.crowood.com

This e-book edition first published in 2013

© Robert Foskett 2012

All rights reserved. This e-book is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

ISBN 978 1 84797 533 1

Acknowledgements My thanks to everyone who lent a hand with this e-book, particularly Dave Comber and Rob Lawlor from Rusper Alfa Romeo, who have been so generous with their time and expertise. I am grateful to Eric Ingram for his invaluable efforts in revealing the secrets held in reams of cryptic Alfa Romeo production data. Thanks also to Mike Buckler whose encyclopaedic knowledge and enthusiasm for everything Alfa is clearly infectious. And to my son Joseph who I’m pleased to report is developing a healthy enthusiasm for Italian cars. And my daughter Olivia who most certainly is not …

Every reasonable effort has been made to trace and credit illustration copyright holders. If you own the copyright to an image appearing in this e-book and have not been credited, please contact the publisher, who will be pleased to add a credit in any future edition.

Frontispiece: The Phase 1 Alfa Romeo 916 GTV TB

CONTENTS

Title Page

Copyright

1 Introducing the GTV and Spider

2 Heritage

3 The Tipo Connection

4 Designing the 916

5 Phase 1 – Entering Production

6 Phase 1 – Drivetrains

7 Phase 2 – Improving the Breed

8 Phase 3 – The End of the Line

9 Making an Impression

10 The Finishing Touch

11 Succession

12 Buying and Ownership

Appendix: List of GTV Cup Chassis Numbers

Index

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCING THE GTV AND SPIDER

‘Every time I see an Alfa Romeo pass by, I lift my hat.’

Henry Ford

There is something intrinsically magical about an Italian car. Perhaps it is the flair, aesthetic sensibility and love that designers have lavished on even the most humble of their designs that shines through, enriching the ownership experience with elegant form and delightful detail just waiting to be discovered. Happily, as a reflection of the Italian nation’s post-war democratic leanings, the experience is not reserved exclusively for luxury car buyers; even the most basic of Italian transport usually contains a satisfying feature or an intriguing line or two – cleverly conceived flourishes sure to delight an owner. Perhaps the artistry in car design is merely an expression of an idealized, stereotyped Italian approach to life and style, an echo of spontaneity and confidence that crystallizes in the form and function of the cars they produce. Even better, an Italian car will usually exhibit the same confident exuberance on the road; progress is often exciting, but at the same time somehow carefree, easy-going and always a great deal of fun.

Whatever the indefinable characteristic that makes Italian cars special, enthusiasts are captivated. It takes more than mere unreliability to turn an Italian car fan from the object of their passion and they usually remain loyal for life – a curious affliction, given that Italian cars of old were perhaps equally capable of frustrating as delighting their owners. The notorious lack of reliability and resilience are well-publicized clichés that are nevertheless rooted in historic reality. To choose an Italian car in the 1970s and 1980s was to live in the permanent shadow of impending electrical breakdown and the early onset of terminal corrosion, the nightmare often compounded by abysmal manufacturer support and dealer indifference.

And while Italian cars are no longer the quality control nightmares they were thirty years ago, a shadow of the legacy remains; quirks and irritants are often apparent even in the best of the breed. Most owners tolerate and some delight in idiosyncrasies that include excessive oil consumption, awkward seating and recalcitrant controls, even arguing that such foibles are embedded within the character of their favourite marque. Happily, in recent years design and construction processes have improved to the point that excuses are no longer necessary. In newer models, such quirks are very minor in nature and usually easy to ignore. Sadly, journalists and amateur pundits often seize upon minor foibles, so that these come to dominate press coverage and discussion about a certain model, overshadowing virtues the car may possess. In this climate of criticism, it is hard to imagine why a prospective owner would choose to invest their hard-earned funds in an Italian car, no matter how extreme the exaggeration of its failings, or outdated the tales of unreliability may be.

So why do enthusiasts buy Italian cars? Some are surely seduced by the promise of high performance, whether or not they intend to exploit the turn of speed. Many will buy in anticipation of an involving driving experience, craving incisive and informative steering, precise and powerful braking, and optimal gearing accessed through a positive and accurate shift mechanism. Some will be sufficiently discerning to hope that these responsive controls harness vivacious handling and tenacious roadholding capabilities to make every drive an event to be savoured. Ultimate speed and handling prowess are by no means the sole preserve of Italian manufacturers, though many feel these Italian products offer the least compromised and most driver-focused performance capabilities, in a package that emphasizes satisfaction and rewards skill.

A handful of technically literate enthusiasts will savour the prospect of owning a machine that embodies the most advanced engineering techniques. They may be seduced by the promise of cleverly conceived engines that harness race-car technology in order to offer an intellectually satisfying combination of performance and efficiency. It is a well-judged compromise that balances outright speed with an acceptable level of economy and emissions cleanliness, a tightrope that Italian manufacturers must negotiate for success in their home market; circumventing punishing taxes imposed on profligate large-capacity motors, without sacrificing the potential for speed that certain Italian drivers demand.

A contemporary, handsome and stylish design, ideally one executed by a fashionable design house, will always exert an influence on the market. Many would-be drivers certainly wish to express their own personal style and good taste through their belongings, and there is none more important than the car they drive. There is an attractive haute-couture connotation inherent in a model obviously drawn by a big-name designer, particularly if he has attached at least equal importance to aesthetic excellence as to convenience and functionality.

There may even be a very few buyers for whom an association with a distinguished history of automotive achievement is a prerequisite for their new car purchase. They may be interested only in cars produced by a marque with a strong sporting heritage, a memorable range of historically significant cars and an unmatched track record of sporting success. They may demand a track record of the highest order – success in Grand Prix or international sports-car endurance races, or perhaps a history redolent with adventurous achievements, iconic characters and sporting legend. But most would-be owners, especially those of moderate income, have no alternative but to balance selfish obsession with the need for a measure of practicality; the ability to move people and possessions around reliably and in reasonable comfort, and without exorbitant maintenance or fuel costs. And many, often by financial necessity, though sometimes by preference, will be required to make a selection from the pre-owned market.

Anyone looking to meet one or two such criteria will find it easy to generate a lengthy shortlist of potential purchases. If performance is the criteria, a Ferrari fits the bill to perfection. Technical accomplishment can be found in modest, yet innovative, Fiat models like the 500 Twin Air. Bodywork by illustrious design house Bertone can be found on Lancia’s new Delta. And few manufacturers have a race-winning pedigree longer than that boasted by Maserati. However, a prospective purchaser wishing to encapsulate all these criteria in a single selection will find that their shortlist is, well, short – and even shorter if their budget is modest.

Front view of a Phase 1 GTV TB. Note the predominantly matt-black detailing and complete absence of chrome highlights on the first series grille design. (Radboud Vaessen)

Happily for such a picky enthusiast there is a family of cars that delivers on all counts. It is a family of moderately practical sports cars, from which any version is eminently capable of being used for work or play, as cosseted toy or year-round transport. Within this family are models that boast intelligently efficient 4-cylinder motors, striking an admirable balance between zesty performance and economy of operation, and much-admired V6 power units delivering characterful and muscular performance, to the accompaniment of a sublime soundtrack.

They hail from one of the most revered of automobile manufacturers, with an illustrious roller-coaster history and an incredible scorecard of motorsport success. A marque with a backstory that includes engineers of undoubted genius, famous racing drivers, whose exploits have become legend, and even the protective shadow of Fascist patronage. A manufacturer whose story is intertwined with perhaps the most iconic of all characters in motoring history; factory driver and competition manager, Enzo Ferrari.

Norwegian market 3.0 GTV 24V. (Joachim von der Lippe)

Note the standard, flattened exhaust outlet to the 3.0 GTV 24V, perhaps a missed opportunity to distinguish visually the highest performing Phase 2 model from 4-cylinder cars. (Joachim von der Lippe)

Phase 1 GTV TB in profile. The matt-black painted sills and lower bumper mouldings would feature only on this first series of GTV/Spiders. (Radboud Vaessen)

Sketched by a gifted designer working at the most fashionable Italian styling house, who conceived a single elegant design to clothe two distinctive models – purposeful coupé and glamour-infused Spider. Moderately priced and relatively attainable when new, today they represent a startlingly glamorous yet cost-effective classic-car purchase. Their manufacturer devised this family of cars under an in-house project number that has become familiar to enthusiasts – Progetto 916.

They are the Alfa Romeo GTV and Spider.

CHAPTER 2

HERITAGE

THE COMPANY

Today’s Alfa Romeo is in many respects a pale shadow of its former self. Although the firm now builds cars in far greater numbers than it ever managed before the Second World War, current offerings are less special machines than their illustrious predecessors. Today’s Alfas are in the main attainable and relatively affordable mass-market cars with practical appeal, albeit infused with a strongly sporting flavour. The Alfa Romeo of old was a legend of the automotive world – a constructor of the ultimate exclusive and exotic high-speed transport, available only to the most wealthy of enthusiasts. Founded before legendary competitors Maserati and Ferrari even came into existence, this was the exciting environment in which Enzo Ferrari honed his skills before being driven first to emulate, and then usurp, his ex-employer at the pinnacle of racing and sports-car manufacture.

Pre-war supercar – Alfa Romeo 8c 2900. (Alfa Romeo)

Founded in Milan in 1907, the motor manufacturer originally known as SAID was formed with the intention of building somewhat delicate automobiles based on French Darracq designs. Their cars proved wholly unsuited to the Italian market – too fragile and underpowered for rough and hilly roads, and it was quickly apparent that this initial venture would not be a commercial success. By 1910 SAID had been rebranded A.L.F.A. (Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili) and in revitalized format made a second attempt to meet Italy’s burgeoning demand for reliable and robust personal transport. Within a year the company had engaged a new chief designer, Giuseppe Merosi, who quickly conceived a solidly conservative design known as the 24 HP, to be built in a new factory at Portello, on the outskirts of the city. The fledgling company slowly gathered sales momentum, selling nearly 300 cars per year by 1914. Inevitably, the First World War would abruptly bring car production to a halt. There was a temporary suspension of all motor vehicle production while the company focused instead on building compressors, generators, aircraft engines and railway equipment for the war effort, under the direction of successful and wealthy entrepreneur and industrialist Nicola Romeo, who assumed total control of the company in 1916.

RACING SUCCESS

Car production did not resume until 1919; initial efforts focused on the expedient of assembling pre-war designs from stockpiled parts that were still lying around the factory. New models would be sold under a revised brand, Alfa Romeo – the new name maintaining a link with the pre-war efforts of A.L.F.A., while also recognizing the outright ownership that Romeo had achieved by 1918. Romeo was a focused and dynamic owner, with the result that under his direction the marque became engaged in profile-raising motor-sport participation. The marque was soon winning important races, including a notable second place for young Italian driver Enzo Ferrari in the demanding Targa Florio road race of 1920.

Alfa Romeo has participated in motor sport from the earliest days. Shown here is a Merosi-designed 24hp racer. (Alfa Romeo)

Although he never reached the absolute pinnacle of Alfa Romeo’s cadre of driving talent, Ferrari was nevertheless a most capable pilot, securing several notable successes, usually in Italian National events. At one such meeting he drove perhaps his greatest race, taking the chequered flag in the 1924 Coppa Acerbo at Pescara, piloting an Alfa Romeo RL sports-racer. But Ferrari would prove to be even more valuable to the Milanese manufacturer in the role of racing team manager. He persuaded vastly talented engineer Vittorio Jano to defect from Fiat to become Alfa Romeo’s chief designer, replacing competent, if conservative, Merosi, who had proved unable to deliver the ever-greater successes the firm craved. Jano’s advanced and beautiful P2 Grand Prix car would push Alfa Romeo to the forefront of motor sport, securing the inaugural World Championship for Grand Prix cars in 1925 with a win that marked the start of a golden period for the company. Alfa Romeo’s sporting achievements in the following decade would become legend.

Giuseppe Merosi-designed 24 HP model. (Benny Shih)

Jano’s extraordinary talent, allied with Ferrari’s determination and uniquely motivational approach to racing management, transformed Alfa Romeo into a dominant motor-racing force. The P2 would be competitive for the remainder of the decade and success would continue unabated into the 1930s with a worthy successor, the P3. Another Jano masterwork, the P3 was introduced shortly before the factory racing effort transferred to the independent racing team, Scuderia Ferrari, the P3 winning on its 1932 debut at Monza in the hands of legend Tazio Nuvolari. The new Scuderia (stable) would continue to uphold Alfa Romeo’s honour on track, racing factory designs on the company’s behalf and even developing its own Alfa Romeo-based racing cars. The ferocious Bimotore was one such effort, a vast and magnificent twin-engined Grand Prix racer contrived in an ultimately fruitless attempt to match the incredible performance of the German state-funded Mercedes and Auto Union Silver Arrows racers.

Alfa Romeo P3 Grand Prix car. (Rob Lawlor)

The marque capitalized on its motor-sport achievements; Jano refactored P2 componentry for a family of extraordinarily capable road-going machines that would include the 6C 1500 Sport, the first road car ever to be offered for sale with a twin camshaft engine, and the fabulous 6C 1750. This magnificent sports car would achieve notable competition success in the hands of Nuvolari, his tally including Alfa Romeo’s third successive victory at the demanding Mille Miglia event in 1930. Indeed, Alfa Romeo would become synonymous with this legendary road race, winning eleven times – most remarkably in 1933 when the first ten finishers wore the marque’s cloverleaf racing emblem.

By now, the Alfa Romeo racing juggernaut was unstoppable. There was a fourth consecutive win at Le Mans in 1934 for the mighty 8C 2300, its 8-cylinder motor an intelligent evolution of the 6 from the 6C 1750, and single-seater success continued apace with the fabulous P3 Grand prix car.

1900C coupé sporting elegant Touring bodywork of Superleggera construction.

ENTER MUSSOLINI

However, despite such magnificent machinery and the company’s extraordinary competition achievements, all was not well at Alfa Romeo. By the early 1930s the company had fallen far into debt, the expense of racing having contributed in no small part to its parlous financial situation. Luckily, Italian leader Benito Mussolini was a great Alfa Romeo enthusiast and he decided it would unacceptable for such a prominent symbol of Italian technical accomplishment to fail. In 1932 the Italian Government became Alfa Romeo’s major shareholder and as a convenient by-product Il Duce could continue to indulge his passion for the company’s cars.

Freed from financial pressures, Alfa Romeo concentrated on its art, producing aspirational and fabulously expensive dream cars to showcase Italian engineering prowess and aesthetic flair. Under the protection of the Government, Alfa Romeo became a specialist in extravagant and outlandish super-cars for the super-rich. Tiny numbers of cars emerged from the factory, blending Grand Prix drive-train technology with breathtaking bodywork designs from Touring and Pininfarina. The 1938 Mille Miglia-winning 8C 2900B, dubbed at the time the fastest car in the world, would represent the final glorious chapter in a golden period. The aftermath of the Second World War would render such heights unattainable.

A Gran Sport 6C 1750 with wonderfully minimalist Zagato bodywork.

POST-WAR SURVIVAL

It was immediately apparent after the war that it would be impossible for Alfa Romeo to pick up production where it had left off and a change of direction would be necessary to ensure survival. Car production was resumed as early as 1946, with small numbers of largely hand-assembled 6C 2500s quickly finding buyers in a market desperate for new vehicles, almost irrespective of style or type. The age of these cars’ pre-war mechanical platforms was cleverly masked with contemporary sporting body styles, though it was obvious that production of these older designs would suffice only as a stopgap until new, more appropriate cars could be made ready.

More humble designs, suitable for volume production, would be required for the austere, financially chastened post-war marketplace. Alfa Romeo entrusted Jano’s successor, designer Orazio Satta Puliga, with setting a new direction. Satta, as he was commonly known, defined what would become the Alfa Romeo template with his new 1900, a unitary-bodied car conceived from the outset to be built on an industrial production line. Its design emphasized simplicity and economy in production and operation, in stark contrast with the pre-war extravagance of handcrafted super-cars. The 1900 was clothed boldly in a body of utilitarian style and with basic trim levels, though Satta wisely determined that high performance would remain a sacrosanct characteristic for Alfa Romeo. Engine capacity would be by necessity modest, but advances made by Alfa Romeo on pre-war racetracks and in the wartime quest for ever-more aero-engine power would be harnessed for this gutsy new motor. Despite having only 4-cylinders and a capacity of 1884cc, this motor could generate an excellent 90bhp courtesy of innovative technical details specified by talented engineer Giuseppe Busso, including twin camshafts and sodium-cooled valves.

1900C coupé, participating in a recent Mille Miglia historic road-racing event. (Rob Lawlor)

THE GIULIETTA FAMILY

If the 1900 set a more intelligent, prosaic direction for the marque’s output, even greater humility and simplicity would be achieved with the 1954 Giulietta family. This range of small cars took the efficient concept of the 1900 further still to deliver a family of small and light cars comprising saloon, coupé and convertible sports models. Cleverly designed smaller capacity 4-cylinder motors, based heavily on those of the 1900 were installed – now of all-aluminium construction – and were capable of excellent performance in spite of tiny dimensions. The Giulietta was a brilliant package, a superb small car that was reasonably priced and therefore ideally suited to the burgeoning middle-class market. In many ways, it is the Giulietta that represents the spiritual ancestor of all modern Alfa Romeos; handsomely designed, modest and practical transport, with real sporting capability, which was offered at a reasonable, though never a bargain, price. The Giulietta’s twin-camshaft engine would come to be recognized as a technical icon, elegantly simple, powerful and charismatic, with its basic design continuing to see service in the production car range even into to the 1990s.

A legend in the making – the iconic twin-cam engine, here fitted to the Giulietta GT.

The first sporting version of the 1950s Giuiletta range, the Sprint coupé, actually beat to market the saloon on which it was based. The first examples of this compact Bertone design were hurriedly constructed by hand in 1954, to be given away as prizes to winners of a lottery Alfa Romeo had arranged to generate development capital for the Giulietta family. The saloon was launched the next year, followed in a matter of months by a beautiful, open two-seat Giulietta Spider model, its creation instigated by legendary US sports-car importer, Max Hoffman. Produced on a shortened wheelbase, the glamorous Spider was clothed with elegant bodywork penned by Bertone’s arch rival, coachbuilder Pininfarina.

A Giulietta Spider enjoying an on-track adventure. (Angus Mcleod)

The Giulietta range would be the first Alfa Romeos powered by the classic Giuseppe Busso designed twin-cam engine, a 4-cylinder in-line design constructed entirely of light aluminium alloy and featuring chain-driven twin overhead camshafts. In its initial capacity of 1290cc, the engine produced an excellent 53bhp for a most impressive top speed of 140km/h (87mph). As the model evolved, so did the twin-cam; capacity and power outputs steadily increased, the final Spiders being capable of 170km/h courtesy of the 92bhp generated by the enlarged 1,570cc engine.

The Giulietta had a lengthy production run, its longevity necessitating several cosmetic and mechanical updates throughout its lifetime. Happily, the changes were executed with sympathy to the original design and the cars retained their elegance and charm throughout – if anything, the larger engines and more luxurious fitments only increased the appeal. The Giulietta played a key role in generating income for post-war Alfa Romeo and equally importantly restored the marque’s desirability and credibility worldwide; future US president John F. Kennedy was just one notable owner won over by the diminutive Spider’s endearing style.

RETURN TO LUXURY – THE 2000/2600 SPIDER

Despite the irrefutable logic of Alfa Romeo’s post-war move downmarket, the manufacturer never fully gave up aspirations for a return to the rarefied luxury market it had dominated previously. The 1900’s competent mechanical platform would form the basis for a larger, more expensive model to run alongside the more prosaic Giulietta range, aimed at the discerning and well-heeled Italian car buyer.

Sporting luxury – handsome Touring-bodied 2600 Spider. (Rob Lawlor)

The outcome was a small range of luxurious and expensive cars – a sprawling six-seat saloon, an open two-seat model and later a large four-seat coupé. The open sports car would be christened ‘Spider’, the term this time acting as the model name, rather than as a suffix to an existing name, as had been the case with the open Giulietta. Originating in horse-drawn carriage manufacture, the term Spider defined a small four-wheeled carriage with a compact passenger compartment and tall, spindly wheels. Like much horse-drawn carriage terminology, it was carried forward to the nascent automotive world where it would be redefined to describe sporting cars of similarly pared-down configuration.

The new Spider shared a strong family resemblance to the smaller Giulietta Spider. Surprisingly, this was not as a result of any involvement by Pininfarina; the bigger roadster body was by Carrozeria Touring, a design house that specialized in large and elegant sports cars for exotic marques including Maserati and Aston Martin. Although it certainly shared a superficial likeness with the Giulietta, the Spider eschewed that car’s humility, replacing it with confident and indulgent detailing – luxurious appointments and liberally sprinkled chrome highlights emphasized its prestige and went some way to justifying its substantial price tag.

Bertone clothed the four-seat coupé, known as the Sprint, in a contemporary and modernist bodywork style that would reappear on a slightly reduced scale, and with more pleasing proportions, on the Giulia-based 105 series coupé.

The 2000/2600 range by no means typified the post-war Alfa Romeo; the big cars were less obviously sporting in character, and felt more suited to cruising than racing. The iron-block 2-litre engine of the earlier cars gave way to a more powerful all-aluminium 2,600cc motor generating 130bhp, though even so equipped, they remained relatively leisurely performers; a slightly soft-edged Alfa Romeo in tune with the dolce vita that the cars’ wealthy buyers doubtless enjoyed.

POST-WAR RACING

Notwithstanding post-war austerity, motor-sport participation remained a favoured promotional tool, harnessed by Alfa Romeo to remind potential buyers of the company’s undoubted engineering prowess, in spite of the new-found humility of its road-car range. There would be a final period of glory at the uppermost level of competition. Racers conceived for the pre-war voiturette class – the 158 Grand Prix Alfetta and its successor the 159 – were dusted off to dominate the immediate post-war Grand Prix scene, and in 1950 Alfa Romeo made an astonishing clean sweep, winning every Grand Prix of the season. The lead works driver, Giuseppe Farina, would thus become the first-ever Formula One World Champion.

GIULIA GT COUPÉ AND DUETTO SPIDER

Alfa Romeo’s company resurgence accelerated in the 1960s, with the Giulietta’s successor, the 160km/h (100mph) Guilia, becoming an even bigger success than its ancestor. Here was a brilliant new range of cars from Alfa Romeo that would set the class standard for performance, roadholding and style. Its introduction in 1962 coincided with a move away from the firm’s crucible; the outmoded Portello factory would be replaced by a modern, purpose-built facility at Arese, north-west of MIlan. The Guilia saloon would quickly be complemented by two overtly sporting variants, both models coming to embody the essence of Alfa Romeo’s brand more perfectly than any model before or since. The cars in question were the Giulia GT coupé and the Duetto Spider.

The purposeful Bertone-designed Giulia GT coupé arrived in 1963, a handsome and sporty 2+2-seat coupé that would enjoy an extended and highly successful production run. Wonderfully responsive to drive and endowed with exceptional handling, it was clear that the coupé could happily accommodate a more powerful version of the 1,600cc motor, in order to become the GTV (Gran Turismo Veloce). It would also form the basis of the uncompromising, aluminium-panelled GTA (Gran Turismo Allegerita or ‘lightened GT’), which was fitted with the twin-spark plug ignition power plant that was developed for Autodelta’s tubular-framed TZ series. Featuring extensive use of exotic magnesium-alloy components in its body and aggressively swollen flanks, the GTA and later GTAm, would be assured competitors, fully maintaining Alfa Romeo’s honour in the wake of withdrawal from Grand Prix racing.

Giulietta GT coupé by Bertone.

Track-ready GTA ready for action in the Paddock at Brands Hatch 2011. (Joseph Foskett)

105/115 SERIES GIULIA GTV

Succession planning for such a beautiful, popular and successful coupé as the Giulietta Sprint must have been a terrifying challenge. However, with the benefit of the excellent Giulia saloon as a mechanical donor, combined with the confident talent of a youthful Giorgietto Giuigiaro, it was almost a foregone conclusion that the 105 series coupé would not disappoint. Giuigiaro, at that time ensconced within the astoundingly creative enclave of Carrozeria Bertone, delivered a scheme that drew heavily from two of his previous works, the British Gordon Keeble GT and the Alfa Romeo 2600 Sprint coupé. The coupé was a triumph; confident lines and glassy cabin encased by elegantly slimline pillars worked even better on this more compact scale. The new car was a smash hit, selling well, and garnering overwhelmingly favourable press coverage.

Launched in 1963, the first model produced at Alfa Romeo’s new Arese factory would be badged simply as a ‘GT’, though the evocative GTV nameplate would be adopted just three years later, to denote an uprated version’s improved abilities. In many ways the GTV is the classic post-war Alfa Romeo. Irrespective of capacity or age, every model is seductive – all of them handle beautifully, are powered by charming, sparky engines and offer practical four-seat accommodation wrapped with beautifully designed bodywork.

The coupé would remain popular right to the end, despite a lengthy production run of thirteen years, due in part to regular and sympathetic styling updates. More substantial bumpers and twinned headlamps modernized and toughened the frontal aspect, and a twin-binnacle instrument panel design would make its debut as part of a 105-coupé update – it would be a feature that became part of Alfa Romeo design DNA. Throughout, the essential purity and elegance of its form remained undiminished and, even today, the Bertone coupé is to many enthusiasts the company’s finest design.

A 2000 GTV in the Brands Hatch Paddock, 2010.

The competent mechanical platform would see further service in an exclusive run of 1,000 GTC convertibles based on Bertone’s coupé but produced by Touring, and a Zagato-styled special two-seater, the GT 1300 Junior. The Giulia coupé would be refactored to become the wild GTA and GTAm racing cars, operated with great success by Autodelta in a wonderful image-building exercise that added greatly to Alfa Romeo’s already overloaded trophy cases. Even today, GTVs are popular racetrack sightings, still campaigned enthusiastically in various historic racing series worldwide.

105/115 SERIES SPIDER

Completing the range was the coupé’s elegant, demure open-topped sibling, the delicately styled Pininfarina Duetto Spider. Has there ever been a car more synonymous with Alfa Romeo than the Duetto Spider? Surely, it is this car most people see in their mind’s eye when they hear mention of the firm. An immediate and sustained sales hit, the Spider arrived midway through the 1960s, to become arguably the archetypal sportster of the decade, its status cemented with a supporting role in the eradefining film, Mike Nichols’ The Graduate. The Duetto certainly captured the public’s imagination – it sold close to 140,000 units throughout its extended lifetime, helped by continuous evolution through four distinctive guises.

Benefiting from an auspicious birth, in which the founder of Carozzeria Pininfarina, Battista Pininfarina would take to the drawing board one last time, the Spider would make his perfect swansong. Drawing influences from Pininfarina’s graceful Ferraris of the period, as well as cues from the Alfa Romeo Disco-Volante (Flying Saucer) dream car, it featured a most distinctive tail treatment. The elongated and rounded, almost pebble-like rear was visually similar to a cuttlefish bone, giving rise to its Italian nickname Osso di Sepia. The unusual tail gave the car symmetry in profile, reflecting the low-set nose, which was similarly smooth and rounded, courtesy of its faired-in headlamps. Christened ‘Duetto’, its name was the winning entry in a profile-raising competition, the prize on offer of course a new Spider. However, once the necessary press coverage for the new car had been achieved, the Duetto moniker was quietly dropped; and after a year or so the car would be referred to simply as ‘Spider’.

The original shape of the Spider was freshened up to meet the 1970s with an abruptly truncated Kamm-style vertical tail panel. This slightly shortened the car, but modernized its rear aspect, at the expense of just a little luggage space. Thereafter the car remained largely untouched for more than a decade, until 1983 when it was festooned with chunky impact bumpers and an incongruous wrap-around black tail spoiler, though even such clumsy additions could not rob the car of its wealth of beauty.

Everyone’s mental image of an Alfa Romeo sports car; a Spider featuring an unusual colour choice, at rest on a visit to Goodwood. (Angus Mcleod)

Series 4 Spider, complete with integrated and colour-coded modern impact bumpers. (Benny Shih)

The last Spiders produced between 1990 and 1994 were extensively redesigned, by Sergio Pininfarina and Renzo Carli, son and son-in-law of Battista Pininfarina. These series 4 Spiders sported smoother, neatly integrated modern impact bumpers and a cohesive tail design that was reminiscent of then-contemporary Alfa Romeo 155 saloon.

Despite its extended production run and designer’s tinkering, the Spider was a most appealing prospect to the end, anachronistic certainly, but distinctively elegant, stylish and a pleasure to drive and own. Even today, a dedicated faction within the enthusiast community champions each of the iterations of the Spider; fiercelycontesting that their own preference is the ultimate Spider. Most, if pressed, will agree that any Spider is a most enjoyable car, as good to look at as to drive – an iconic sportster of effortless style and fun.

FURTHER RACE-TRACK GLORY

Nothing could stop the marque, as success followed success; from post-war near-oblivion, the transformation of Alfa Romeo’s fortune in just two decades was profound. Numerous motor-sport wins and a hugely charismatic and strong-selling range gave every indication that Alfa Romeo’s future was secure. And optimism and ambition remained much in evidence well into the 1970s. Race-track glory continued unabated when further collaboration with Autodelta yielded the competitive prototype Tipo 33 sports car that would secure the World Championship for Makes for Alfa Romeo in 1975 and the World Championship for Sports Cars in 1977. And an inspired reuse of the Tipo 33’s V8 engine resulted in a mouth-watering road-car range-topper. Launched in 1970, the Montreal was powered by a much-detuned variant of the 33’s rabid motor, increased in capacity to 2600cc. Its appearance was equally ambitious; the bodywork almost unaltered from the acclaimed concept car Bertone had prepared on Alfa Romeo’s behalf for the Canadian Expo ’67 show. This heady blend of race-car technology and modernist good looks made for an audacious Ferrari Dino rival and won further kudos for the resurgent marque.

Beautiful V8-powered Montreal.

ALFASUD

But confident expansion would go a step too far with the introduction of a new range of economy cars, designed to compete directly with Italian mass-market champion, Fiat. Under heavy Italian Government influence, Alfa Romeo chose to build its new economy car, the compact Alfasud, in a purpose-built factory, Pomigliano D’Arco, located in the depressed southern Italy of the early 1970s. The car itself would be highly innovative, small and utilitarian, with a simple two-box profile and powered by an all-new boxer-engined front-wheel-drive drivetrain. Penned by ex-Volkswagen designer Rudolf Hruska, it was lightweight and comparatively cheap to build, but did not compromise on the implicit Alfa Romeo characteristics of outstanding dynamic behaviour and best-in-class performance. The concept was excellent and its pricing most attractive, but a belligerent workforce, poor-quality sheet-steel and endless quality-control issues plagued production. The Alfasud name soon became synonymous with shoddy build and corrosion-prone bodywork.

But despite all the issues, the new car sold well, though it never achieved the ambitious volumes required to deliver a profit. Alfa Romeo persevered with the concept of an inexpensive small car to run alongside its more prestigious offerings; sadly, as efforts were diverted to quality improvement, the dynamic advantage was lost to fast-improving rivals. The Alfasud’s successor, the nostalgically named Alfa 33, would certainly be a better-built car, though it would never achieve more than performance parity in the increasingly challenging marketplace.

ALFETTA GT, GTV AND GTV6

If Alfa Romeo’s stretch to produce a second model family in a wholly new factory heaped pressure on the company coffers, the Alfetta range, which was launched in 1972, provided at least some measure of respite. This mid-size Giulia replacement was a smart, if conservatively styled, saloon, aimed squarely at the growing compact-executive car market. It was named in honour of the dominant Grand Prix car of the 1950s, with which it shared a rear-mounted transaxle arrangement, partnered with an excellent De Dion rear suspension set-up. This unusual configuration was selected to optimize the Alfetta’s front/rear weight distribution and endow the saloon with race-car accuracy in its roadholding.

Late-model Alfetta GTV, featuring then-fashionable matt-black plastic bumpers, grille and front spoiler ensemble.

As had become almost a tradition for Alfa Romeo by now, the new saloon was soon joined in the showrooms by a more sporting variation of the theme, designed to exploit to even greater effect the saloon car platform’s optimal 50/50 front/rear weight distribution. The Alfetta GT was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro to replace his own design, the much-loved but now obsolete Bertone Giulia GT coupé. It was a highly individual design, contemporarily wedge-shaped and with an unusually hunched stance; not classically beautiful, but exuding dynamism and purpose. Initially available only with a 1.8-litre twin-cam motor, the range would soon expand with a faster 2-litre version, adorned with the revered GTV badge. All models offered excellent handling and decent pace, which served only to increase frustration and disappointment when all aspects of the driving experience could not consistently live up to the unusual layout’s promise. Undoubted weight distribution benefits conferred by location of the transaxle at the rear were undermined by propeller-shaft vibration and gear-shift imprecision, causing many complaints from drivers struggling to get the best from their cars.

The Alfetta coupé of 1974 was a confident and highly individual solution to the problem of carrying four occupants in comfort, in a car designed to project an uncompromisingly sporting image. In silhouette the coupé was a distinctive low-nosed wedge shape, absolutely in tune with contemporary automotive fashion for race and performance cars of the 1970s. Happily, this wedgy profile facilitated generous provision of headroom, which was, and remains, something of a novelty in a coupé design.

Typically for Alfa Romeo, the coupé would draw the majority of its technical componentry from the Alfetta saloon on which it was based, though the platform’s wheelbase was shortened by more than 10cm. Initially sold in parallel with the enduringly popular 105/115 series GTV coupé, the first the Alfetta GTs could be ordered only with a 1,750cc version of the classic twin-camshaft 4-cylinder motor. The range was soon expanded to include 1.6 and 2-litre versions, and the highest performing Alfetta would receive the GTV nameplate, the revered initials quirkily cut into a trim panel attached to the car’s fast-back C-pillar.

By 1981, the Alfetta name had been dropped altogether, to coincide with the impending retirement of the saloon range. At the same time, the coupé received a makeover; in came chunky contemporary grey plastic impact bumpers to replace the delicate chrome items, and to complete the modernization the car was subjected to a thorough de-chroming exercise. The delicacy of the original design was gone – the 1980s GTV would have a tough, purposeful appearance that was surprisingly different from that of earlier cars. Smaller-capacity motors were discontinued, minimizing overlap with the compact Alfasud Sprint coupé range. There would now be just two Alfetta models; the familiar 2-litre 4-cylinder twin-cam and a new 6-cylinder range-topper.

The updated GTV formed a perfect partnership with the fabulous V6 engine that had suffered an unspectacular debut in the Alfa 6. The GTV6, as it would be known, shared the 2.5-litre capacity of the Alfa 6, though it was here fitted with a Bosch L-jetronic fuel-injection system instead of the large saloon’s complex carburetors. By 1984 the V6 had grown in capacity to 3-litre for even more impressive levels of performance. Either version of this characterful motor endowed the GTV6 with a real punch and even the smaller 2.5-litre unit could propel the coupé to a 204km/h (127mph) top speed. Driver involvement was of the highest order, though pleasure could occasionally be marred by recalcitrant gear-shifting. This was an issue that would continuously dog all rear-gearbox-equipped Alfa Romeo models.

More than just an excellent road car, the GTV6 was also a formidable competition car, garnering successes in European Touring Car Championship racing and also in unfamiliar territory for Alfa Romeo as an effective rally car. Despite some misgivings about its gearbox position, it was loved by many motoring journalists, who appreciated its combination of reasonable practicality, distinctive and aggressive styling and excellent performance. As if to emphasize its desirability, the GTV6 was even cast in a starring role alongside Roger Moore in the James Bond movie, Octopussy.

ALFA 6

The Alfetta coupé would not be the only car hobbled by the troublesome, transaxle-equipped platform. Alfa Romeo’s development budgets shrank in proportion with the underachievement of the Alfasud project, with new model development the casualty. Reuse of existing assemblies became the only realistic option for new metal. Many aspects of the Alfetta platform were incorporated in a larger executive saloon, the Alfa 6, designed to muscle in on the BMW and Mercedes executive-car territory. Originally conceived before the Alfetta, the Alfa 6 launch was massively delayed until 1979, eroding its technical advantage. Sadly, the new luxury car would be a failure. It sold terribly; fewer than 16,000 cars were produced in six years, its showroom performance no doubt hampered by its aged design and uncomfortable similarity to the smaller, cheaper saloon on which it was based.

Alfa 6, Alfa Romeo’s 1970s luxury saloon. (Alfa Romeo)

The disastrous luxury car project was not, however, a total loss for Alfa Romeo; a new engine developed specifically for the 6 would be a most valuable addition to the parts bin. It was an entirely new type of engine for Alfa Romeo, their first ever V6 and the first 6-cylinder unit since the straight-6 2600. With a capacity of 2.5ltr, it was adorned with no fewer than six Dell’Orto carburettors providing the fuel. Its lively character was at odds with the unremarkable and unloved boxy 11/10th scale Alfetta-clone, but it would soon find a more appropriate home in the Alfetta GTV coupé. The thirst and complexity of the Alfa 6’s sextet of Dell’Ortos would be addressed by adoption of fuel injection for the compact coupé, which was transformed by its new motor from a fun, sporty coupé to seriously exciting high-performance sports car. The GTV6, as it would be named, became an instant classic, offering owners a real taste of the ‘mini-Ferrari’ experience that remains a cliché to this day in used-car advertisements for V6-powered Alfa Romeos.

MOVING INTO THE 1980S

A great favourite with the motoring press, the niche appeal of the GTV and GTV6 meant that these cars could never achieve the necessary level of commercial success to ease Alfa Romeo’s fundamental financial fragility. As the 1970s drew to a close, Alfa’s only answer to the relentless market appetite for fresh metal would be further reskinning of the Alfetta platform. First was the Giulietta, reprising another historic Alfa Romeo badge, though little of the original car’s spirit and design genius were in evidence in this unremarkable saloon. The Giulietta saloon would bafflingly run alongside the Alfetta range, the newer car having a more modern, wedgy profile and a little more interior space, but otherwise offering nothing new. In much the same vein, the Alfa 6’s replacement was far too similar to its predecessor. The Alfa Romeo 90, almost unnoticeably modernized by Bertone, would similarly fail to entice buyers away from Mercedes and BMW showrooms, in spite of a typically whimsical specification that included a dashboard-mounted briefcase and twinned speedometers – one digital, one analogue.

Bertone-styled Alfa 90 luxury saloon car.

Alfa Romeo 75 saloon.

A subsequent reskin would prove more successful. The compact executive 75 saloon, unveiled on the seventy-fifth anniversary of the company’s birth, would also be known as the Milano in some markets. Here was a more convincing, if still rather quirky, sporting saloon car, with something new to offer, even if it did retain an uncomfortably close family resemblance to its predecessor. A new and muscular fuel-injected version of the 2.5-litre V6 was a welcome addition, giving the top-line 75 a real performance edge – even more so when capacity was expanded to 3.0ltr. Equally interesting was a new family of 4-cylinder Twin Spark engines that at last succeeded the venerable twin-cam in front-line service. The 75 saloon was the first mass-production car to boast this efficient ignition concept that would become a technical staple for a generation of Alfa Romeos. The twin-spark ignition system was a demonstration of the marque’s mastery of advanced engine design and a statement of confidence in their engineering prowess. The prospect of race-car technology in an everyday road car perhaps took prospective buyers’ minds off the busily layered and stratified skin of the 75 and its typically Alfa Romeo quirks, such as non-ergonomic ceiling-mounted electric window switches and a clumsy U-shaped handbrake which thankfully could not undermine the otherwise rewarding driving experience.

Contemporary press image of the Alfa Romeo 75 saloon. (Alfa Romeo)

TAKEOVER BY FIAT

Notwithstanding the decent sales volumes the 75 achieved, Alfa Romeo continued an inexorable descent into terminal financial crisis and by the mid-1980s the situation was sufficiently desperate for this proudly Italian marque to consider a takeover proposal from Ford Motor Company. At the eleventh hour, Alfa Romeo’s arch-rival Fiat stepped in to safeguard the Italian automotive icon from foreign control. The takeover was seen as a patriotic gesture, but was perhaps even more strongly motivated by a wish to deny foreign-manufacturer infiltration of the Italian car market. Maybe Fiat was also influenced by Alfa Romeo’s impressive engineering achievements in spite of its precarious financial state. The young V6 and Twin Spark engine designs were technically advanced, charismatic and powerful. And work was already under way on a new luxury saloon that would be the first output