The Alfa Romeo Sportscar: Small but Sassy

Alfa Romeo has a long history of producing Grand Prix and Formula One race cars since the early 1900′s. The automaker has long been a leader of producing lighter sports cars with smaller engines that strike a balance between the thrill of racing and being one with the road and the luxury and comfort of a touring sedan.

Everything about an Alfa Romeo from the handling on winding mountain roads to the sound of the exhaust speaks volumes about the car’s racing lineage. The use of alloy metals and other lightweight materials and parts combine with 4-cylinder high performance engines to make cars that can handle the demands of any road while also challenging larger cars with more horsepower when the light turns green.

Alfa Romeo has a long history of Grand Prix racing and at one point even had a “Ferrari” driving its cars.

History of Alfa Romeo

Alfa Romeo 24HP

Currently owned by the Fiat Group, Alfa Romeo has roots that go back as far as 1906 when the automaker was started as Societa Anonima Italiana Darracq (SAID) by a Frenchman, Alexandre Darracq along with some Italian investors. When SAID sales were slow and didn’t meet expectations, Italian designer Giuseppe Merosi was hired to develop designs for some new cars. On June 24, 1910 the Italian investors founded a new company, Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobil, or A.L.F.A with the new cars designed by Merosi. Two models of their first car, the 1910 24 HP, were entered in the 1911 Targa Florio race. In 2015 the A.L.F.A. factory was converted to produce military hardware for the war efforts under the direction of Nicola Romero.

Following the war in 1920, the company was officially changed to Alfa Romeo, producing the first car under that name, the Torpedo 20-30 HP. In 1925, Alfa Romeo won the inaugural world championship for Grand Prix cars with a new designer from Fiat, Vittorio Jano. Jano was persuaded to join the Alfa Romeo by a young driver, Enzo Ferrari. The young Ferrari eventually left Alfa Romeo to go on to design his own cars that still bear his name. Alfa Romeo continued to produce Grand Prix cars during the 1950′s and 1960′s with their innovative light alloy engines.

Innovation

Alfa Romeo 6C 2500

Alfa Romeo revolutionized automaking with their use of in-line 4,6 and 8 cylinder small to medium displacement engines that had hemispherical combustion chambers, centrally located spark plugs, two rows of overhead valves per cylinder and dual overhead cams. In 1954, Alfa Romeo created a 1.3 liter overhead twin cam 4-cylinder engine that might have increased in size through the years (to 2.0 liter), but remained in production until 1995. This power plant served as a blueprint for future models of Alfa Romeo cars produced since this time.

Alfa Romeo also developed one of the first electronic fuel injection systems created for use in the Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 in 1940. This led to the development of Mechanical Variable Valve Timing that was introduced in the Alfa Romeo Spider which was sold in the U.S. in 1980. The 105 Series Giulia came out in the early 1960′s with all-wheel disc brakes and the lowest drag coefficient in its class. The Alfa Romeo 156 was the first passenger car to use a Common rail direct fuel injection diesel engine. A CAD design process was used to design and develop the Alfa Romeo 164.

These many innovations helped establish the foundation for the sporty high performance vehicles that Alfa Romeo produces today. The Alfa Romeo 4C personifies their commitment to engineering excellence.

Alfa Romeo 4C

Alfa Romeo 4C

The 4C is an engineering marvel with its small but powerful 240 HP engine and incredibly light overall weight. It weights just 900kg (just under 2,000 pounds). Every effort was made to lighten the car in order to give it power and speed (4.5 second 0-100 km/hr (0-62 mph) acceleration), while still using an economical 4-cylinder engine. It also has an advanced ride control system and double wishbone suspension to keep it in constant contact with the road. Brembo brakes and ventilated front disks allow the 4C to come to a stop from a speed of 100 km/hr in only 36 meters. Light weight aluminum, carbon fiber and other low-density materials are used throughout the car to provide added strength while also minimizing the weight.

The Alfa Romeo 4C has a DNA driving system that allows drivers to select “dynamic”, “natural” and “all-weather” driving modes to enhance the driving experience and add even more safety to the ride. The system also has an Alfa Race mode that is an extreme performance mode that puts the driver in complete control of the car under racing conditions. An Alfa TCT 6-speed transmission with dual clutch combines the instant power of sequential shifting with shifting ease of an automatic for smooth but swift acceleration.

The interior is like a racing car with racing seats of composite structure and lightweight padding. Even the steering wheel is molded at the bottom, while the dashboard is made from a thermoformed shell similar to those found in limited edition super cars. Aluminum petals and heel guards add a nice finishing touch to a car that might look compact, but means business.

Alfa Romeo Giulietta

Alfa Romeo Giulietta

The Alfa Romeo Giulietta is one of the most efficient touring cars out on the market today. Available with eight different engine configurations, the Giulietta is an ultra-light and economical car packed with many features. The 2.0 liter diesel engine with Alfa TCT twin clutch transmission gives the car terrific performance, like a 7.7 second 0-100 km/hr acceleration, and the lowest fuel consumption and emission levels for a car in this power range.

The interior is pure Alfa Romeo luxury with a soundproofed interior, 5 leather seats, a horizontally extended dashboard and clean lines throughout. The Alfa DNA driving selector comes standard with an advanced McPherson front suspension and MULTILINK rear suspension hold the car on any kind of road.

The Alfa Romeo Giuletta was used in the 2013 film, The Fast and Furious 6. The other Alfa Romeo model currently being produced is the small economical Mito.