Alfa Romeo

Italy, 1910 to date

(1) A.L.F.A. (Anonima Lombardo Fabbrica Automobili), Milan, 1910 – 1914

(2) SA Italiana Ing. Nicola Romeo & C, Milan, 1914 – 1930

(3) SA Alfa Romeo, Milan, 1930 – 1942

(4) Alfa Romeo SpA, Milan, 1942 to date

(5) Alfa Romeo SpA, Pomigliano d’Arco, Naples, 1971 to date

A.L.F.A. (Anonima Lombardo Fabbrica Automobili) was founded in 1909 by Cav. Ugo Stella, formerly managing director of the Società Italiana Automobili Darracq, to manufacture a completely new range of Italian cars at Portello on the outskirts of Milan where, since 1906, small French Darracq cars had been assembled.

By 1910 the last Darracq had left the factory, and production commenced of a sturdy range of Alfa cars designed from scratch by Cav. Giuseppe Merosi, a native of Piacenza, who had been Chief Technician with Bianchi in Milan.

The first Alfas were a 24hp 4.1-litre car, later known as the 20/30hp, and a 12hp, 2.4-litre, which became the 15/20hp. Both were well made, with side-valve 4-cylinder monobloc engines and shaft drive. In 1913 the sports 6.1-litre 40/60hp appeared with push-rod overhead valves operated by two camshafts in the crankcase. A one-off 4½-litre Grand Prix car was built in 1914 with a 4-cylinder twin ohc engine, but it never ran in international races.

In 1915 the factory was taken over by the industrialist Nicola Romeo, and after World War 1 the pre-war models were marketed as Alfa Romeos. The 20/30 ES Sport of 1921-22 was successful in Italian races, as was a special racing 40/60 driven by Campari, which scored the firm’s first victory at Mugello in 1920. A 6-cylinder luxury side-valve car called the G1 was not a success, but Merosi’s best remembered designs followed it; the 3-litre 6-cylinder push-rod ohv touring, sports and racing RL series cars which first appeared in 1921 and went into production in 1922. A racing version won the 1923 Targa Florio. The similar 4-cylinder 2-litre type RM was marketed in 1923-26, but the pointed radiator sports 22/90hp RLSS and the touring 21/70hp RLT, which had a flat radiator, were sold until 1927.

In 1924 Alfa Romeo won the very first Grande Epreuve they ever entered, an unparalleled achievement, when Campari was victorious in the 1924 French Grand Prix at Lyons in the new straight-eight supercharged P2 car, designed by Vittorio Jano, who came from Fiat. In 1925 Alfa Romeo were declared World Champions. 

Jano took over from Merosi in 1926 and his first touring and sports car designs soon became world famous, these having single and twin overhead camshaft 6-cylinder engines, first in 1.500cc and then in 1.750cc form. When supercharged, these cars won all the great sports car races in the period 1928-1930, with the exception of Le Mans.

The latter omission was rectified from 1931 to 1934 when victory at Le Mans each year went to Jano’s next sports car design, which had a 2.3-litre straight-eight supercharged engine with a central drive to the overhead camshafts. This engine also powered the successful Grand Prix Alfa Romeo of 1931, known as the Alfa Romeo‘Monza’ model and raced for the factory by Scuderia Ferrari. In 1932 this engine, in 2.65-litre form, powered the Alfa Romeo Type B P3 Monoposte G.P. car, which proved virtually unbeatable and bore affinities with the Alfa Romeo Type A racing car of 1931 powered by two 1.750cc engines side by side. In 1933 Alfa Romeo came under State ownership and the Alfa Romeo Monopostos were withdrawn from racing until right at the end of the season. Ferrari continued F.O. racing with Alfa Romeo Monzas enlarged to 2.6 litres.

The Alfa Romeo Monopostos in 2.9-litre form were not powerful enough against the Mercedes and Auto Unions, although Chiron won the 1934 French G.P. for Alfa Romeo, whilst Nuvolari quite unexpectedly won the 1935 German G.P. in an Alfa Romeo 3.8-litre Monoposto fitted with Dubonnet independent front suspension. From 1936 to 1939 Alfa Romeo fielded independently sprung straight-eight, V-12, and V-16 cars in G.P. racing, but against the German cars only isolated victories in smaller races were attained, usually through the skill of Nuvolari. In 1935 Ferrari built two big bi-motore racing cars, with one Alfa Romeo P3 engine under the bonnet and another in the tail.

Some 2.9 P3 engines were put into all-independently sprung chassis in 1937-1939 to make expensive but exceedingly fast prestige sports cars. In sportscar racing Alfa Romeos won every Mille Miglia from 1928 to 1938 inclusive, except in 1931. 

In 1934 Jano’s unsupercharged 6-cylinder twin ohc 2.3-litre car replaced the 1750 and 8C 2300, and, developed by Bruno Treviso, it later became the 2500 of 1939 and the early post-war years. It was recplaced in 1950 by the 4-cylinder 1900. This marked an important change in Alfa Romeo policy. Previously the touring Alfas had been expensive and semi-bespoke machines, whereas the 1900 and its successors were unitary construction saloons whose production has risen to about 30.000 units per annum at the present time. In 1954 was introduced the famous 1300ccc Giuletta, designed by Orazio Satta. From it were derived the successful 1600 Giulia and the 6-cylinder 2600, introduces in 1962. For 1968 the 1600s were replaced by the 1750 series, actually 1.779cc, available as a saloon(Berlina), coupé (1750 GT Veloce) or open sports (1750 Spider Veloce).

The remarkable Colombo-designed supercharged 1½-litre 8-cylinder Monoposto known as the Alfa Romeo ‘158’ was introduces in 1938 for voiturette racing. After the war it was eligible for the Grand Prix formula, and by remaining unbeaten in Grandes Epreuves in 1946-1948 and 1950 until mid-1951, it set up a record unequalled by any other G.P. design. In 1946 Alfa Romeo took the first three places in the G.P. des Nations at Geneva, and repeated this finishing order in 1947 in the Italian G.P., the G.P. d’Europe at Spa and the Swiss G.P.. The most successful drivers during these years were Jean-Pierre Wimille, Achille Varzi and Count Felice Trossi, but the deaths of all three took place before the 1949 season and Alfa Romeo withdrew from racing as they had done in 1933. The Alfa Romeo 158s returned to the tracks in 1950 with Giuseppe Farina and Juan Manuel Fangio as their star drivers, and after victories in every race the cars ran in, Farina was declared World Champion. In 1951 Fangio was World Champion on the 400bhp Alfa Romeo Type 159, though the cars had to concede their first defeat, by and unblown 4½-litre Ferrari. 

At the end of the season Alfa Romeo withdrew from G.P. racing, and although the works Disco Volante sports racing 2½- and 3-litre cars of 1952-1953 were generally unlucky in racing, the Alfa Romeo Giulias have had G.T. successes in recent years.

Competition activities were resumed in 1967 with the Alfa Romeo T33, a rear-engined 2-litre 4ohc V8 with hemispherical combustion chambers, fuel injection, alternator ignition, and a 6-speed all-synchromesh gearbox. Until 1969 a tubular trellis frame was used, replaced for 1970 by an orthodox platform, and the disc brakes were mounted inboard. This Alfa Romeo T33 was catalogued at 9.750.000 lire but was primarily used by the Autodelta racing team; later cars had 2½-litre and 3-litre engines. In 1971 Alfa Romeos won the BOAC 1.000 Kilometers, the Targa Florio and the Watkins Glen 6 hours, but in 1972 they were powerless against the all-conquering Ferraris. In the touring-car range, the six disappeared in 1969, and in 1970 the fuel-injected dry-sump 2.6-litre V8 engine was applied to a conventional front-engined coupé, the Alfa Romeo Montreal.

Other new 1972 models were the Alfa Romeo 2000, an updated 1750, and the 1.750cc Alfa Romeo Alfetta saloon with 122bhp engine, a 5-speed De Dion transaxle, double wishbone independent front suspension, and inboard disc brakes. It was the angular rear-end treatment of Alfa Romeo’s new economy saloon. The Alfasud, made in the Naples factory opened during 1971. This car had a 1.186cc flat-4 engine with cogged-belt drive for its twin overhead camshafts, hypoid bevel drive to the front wheel, all-disc brakes, and four forward speeds.

Source: Georgano, encyclopedia of motorcar; PMAH

The information is written with the greatest of care. However, if you have any suggested amendments please contact us at office@prewarcar.com

Duesenberg

US, 1920 – 1937, 1966

(1) Duesenberg Motor Co, Indianapolis, Ind., 1920 – 1937

(2) Duesenberg Corporation, Indianapolis, Ind., 1966

Fred Duesenberg began by making bicycles and designed his first Duesenberg car, the Mason, in 1904. He and his brother August made engines with horizontal overhead valves for the 1912 Mason racing cars, and founded Duesenberg Motors in the following year in order to produce marine engines and complete racing cars bearing the Duesenberg name. The most famous of the latter appeared in 1920: a 3-litre Bugatti-inspired Duesenberg straight-8 with single overhead camshaft and three (vertical) valves per cylinder. This Duesenberg won the 1921 French Grand Grand Prix. In the 1920s the Duesenberg racing cars were the great rivals of the Millers at Indianapolis, and victory was assured in 1924 by the adoption of a centrifugal blower on Duesenberg cars. Though a two-stroke 1½-litre 8-cylinder racing engine capable of 7.000rpm was made in 1926, this was not proceeded with. The horizontal-valve Duesenberg engine was taken over in 1920 by the Rochester Motor Manufacturing Co Inc and was used in various sporting and luxury cars.

Meanwhile, at the end of 1920, the first Duesenberg production car made its debut. This Duesenberg Model A was an extremely expensive, if very advanced, luxury car, embodying an 8-cylinder in-line engine – the first to be seen in an American production car – of 4.2 litres, basically similar to the Duesenberg racing unit, but with only two valves per cylinder and developing about 100bhp. There were also hydraulically-operated front wheel brakes – another ‘first’ as far as America was concerned. The Model A was current until 1926. A handful of its little-altered successor, the Duesenberg Model X, was made in 1926-1927, but in the former year E.L. Cord of Auburn acquired control of the Duesenberg company. He stipulated that Fred Duesenberg’s next car should be completely new, and a quite exceptional machine. In fact, the Duesenberg Model J, which made its bow at the end of 1928, was the most remarkable automobile in America: bigger, faster, more elaborate and more expensive than any other, yet also superior to them in refinement and good looks. Its 6.9-litre, 8-cylinder engine, made by Lycoming (a firm which Cord had also bought), had two chain-driven overhead camshafts operating four valves per cylinder; a layout of racing type unique among American cars at the time and said to develop 265bhp at 4250rpm – more than double the output of any rival. Although the complete Duesenberg car weighed more than 4980lb, it was claimed to be capable of 116mph in top gear and 89mph in second. Only Duesenberg Model J chassis were made for which $8500 was asked in 1929. Immensely long and strong and lowbuilt, Duesenberg cars were very popular with all the leading coachbuilders. The Duesenberg company preferred to sell cars complete with bodies designed by them but made by approved builders, such as Murphy, Bohman & Schwarts, Judkins, Derham and Le Baron. In this form, catalogued Duesenberg models cost up to $17.950. The transmission – apart form the double dry-plate clutch – was conventional, as was the suspension by half-elliptic springs and hydraulic shock absorbers. The brakes, of course, were hydraulic, with vacuum servo assistance from late 1929.

In 1932 a supercharged version of the Model J, the Duesenberg SJ, was added. To cope with the 320bhp now alleged to be available, bearings, reciprocating parts and valve springs were strengthened. Usually, the shortest Duesenberg J chassis was used, with the highest axle ratio and stronger front springs. A maximum speed of 129mph was attributed to the Duesenberg SJ, with an acceleration figure of 0-100mph in 17 seconds.

Duesenberg survived the Depression, but died in the collapse of the Cord Corporation in 1937. Attempts to revive the Duesenberg name were made in 1947 and in 1966. The first Duesenberg was unsuccessful, and in 1966 only one Duesenberg car was actually made, powered by a 7-litre V8 Chrysler engine with push-rod overhead valves, developing 431bhp at 5.000rpm. Transmission was automatic, front suspension was independent, and there were disc brakes. Body styling was by Ghia. This Duesenberg venture, too, collapsed.

Source: Georgano, encyclopedia of motorcar; TRN 

The information is written with the greatest of care. However, if you have any suggested amendments please contact us at office@prewarcar.com