Alfa Romeo is the sum of all these parts, and also
of the work and professional pride of the thousands of people - engineers,
workers and managers - who have succeeded one another in its factories, offices
and on the racing track.
A brief look at the origins and history of Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica
Automobili, founded in 1910, illustrates how a legendary motoring tradition
came into being. Alfa cars were originally built for racing and for years the
public was offered cars built to exactly the same specifications. Then as now,
the cars were built to be good looking and full of character. They displayed a
magical balance between reason and sentiment, engineering and creativity.
Alfa Romeo does not see tradition as a set of
engineering traits and motifs that can be locked away in a dusty album. The
company sees it as a living heritage that can be critically reviewed and
reinterpreted whenever a new model is created.
The only thing that has not changed throughout
these 90 years is the marque's creative vitality and its way of understanding
cars. Alfa Romeos are not made for people who believe driving is boring and see
cars only as a means of getting from A to B.
They are, as they always have been, built to
transcend the essential and enter the realm of emotion. They embody aesthetic
taste, a passion for sophisticated engineering, the pleasure of sitting behind
a driving wheel and the desire to express one's own personality.
This is one of the secrets behind the vitality of
a marque that has recently enjoyed a great revival and can now rely on the
appreciation of many customers throughout the world. The act of celebrating
Alfa Romeo's 90th birthday and reviewing its history is thus a journey to the
root of a legend. This journey explains how that inimitable personality came
into being and explain why it is possible to be able to immediately tell the
difference between a car wearing the Alfa Romeo shield and any other car on the
road today.
Alfa’s 90 years: The
celebrations
To relive the story of an extraordinary legend.
This is the opportunity offered to car enthusiasts and, of course, to the
public at large, by the programme of events arranged to celebrate Alfa's 90th
anniversary.
The major event is the exhibition, “Cuore Sportivo. The Essence of Beauty”. After
its success in Dublin - more than 30 thousand visitors, including Michael
Schumacher who flew in on his way back from victory in the Formula 1 Grand Prix
in Brazil - in the autumn the exhibition will travel to Warsaw and then Vienna.
Highlight of the exhibition is a collection of 24 cars from the new Alfa Romeo
museum at Arese that are part of motoring history and which will tour Europe to
delight car enthusiasts - both young and old.
From the 6C 1750
GS (the model with which Nuvolari and Varzi battled it out in the 1930 Mille
Miglia) to the 159 Grand Prix car in which Juan Manuel Fangio won the World
Championship in 1951. Or the imposing Touring-styled 8C 2900 B Lungo from 1938
to the 6C 2500 Super Sport Villa d'Este, winner of the Villa d'Este Concours
d'Elegance in 1949. And then again, the 1900 Super Sprint from 1954, the
Giulietta two-seater designed by Pininfarina (1955), the Proteo concept car
dating from 1991 and the Nuvola prototype created in 1996. Right up to the
latest addition to the family, the Sportwagon. And alongside the cars -
engines, drawings, renderings, posters, sketches of designers and technicians,
photos of these racing cars in action on the circuit. All of which confirms
that cutting-edge technology and creative design have always been household
words at Alfa Romeo - a part of everyday activity.
Alfa Romeo will also participate in the annual
Festival of Speed scheduled for June 23 to 26 at Goodwood House, the home of
Lord March, near to what was one of the shrines of British motor sport up until
the end of the '60s. Right from the first edition in 1993 this event has not
only been a must for racing fans and collectors but also for today's drivers
and team managers.
The theme of the next meeting is 50 years of the
Formula 1 Championship that happens to coincide with Alfa Romeo's 90th
anniversary. As many will remember Alfa Romeo won the first edition of the
Formula 1 Championship in 1950 with the Alfetta 158 and this year the Company
will be participating with a number of its production car 'masterpieces' from
the Historical Museum. These will be: the
Grand Prix Tipo B or P3 from 1932 which was linked to Tazio
Nuvolari's many great victories, the 159 (with which Fangio won the World
Championship in 1951), the 2900 Le Mans prototype (created for the world's most
famous 24-hour race in 1938) and the 33 TT 12 that won the World Constructors
Championship in 1975. On show will be the 1900 Super Sprint (1954) Touring
version, the two-seater Giulietta from 1955 designed by Pininfarina, the
Giulietta SZ (1958) and the 6C 2500 Super Sprint (1947), the first Alfa
produced in the postwar years which will also participate in the 'Concours
d'Elegance' which is again part of the British event.
And then the brand will sponsor two important
sporting events that will see the participation of the Portello Team and the
RIAR (Italian Alfa Romeo Register). Concerning the former, the Team will be the
only Italian entry alongside 94 foreign teams in the 2000 London-Sydney
Marathon for cars built before 1970. This 18-thousand kilometre event will get
underway on June 2 in London and cars will cross central Europe and on through
Rumania, Turkey and Iran.
The arrival in Sydney is planned for July 2. The
car chosen to compete is a 1967 Giulia Ti Super that will be driven by Marco
Cajani, the Team's president and winner of the European Championship for
vintage cars - Touring category - in 1987, 1991 and 1995.
A further Alfa Romeo contribution to this
International Marathon - which the Company intends to style as a real 'Alfa
event' - will be a 156 Sportwagon that will act as the support car and, of
course, the involvement of subsidiaries in the countries touched by the
Marathon.
From September 1 to 9 the RIAR will organise an event linked to the
Company's sporting history: the XXI International Rally for Alfa Romeo Vintage
Cars - Sicily and the Targa Florio. An event that has also been honoured by the
patronage of the President of the Republic and the Region of Sicily. It will be
a really spectacular appointment: 50 Alfa Romeo cars built before 1965 will
drive in procession over the island's well-known tourist and sporting
itineraries. After a visit to the city of Palermo's most attractive landmarks,
the teams will drive on to Noto, Syracuse, Catania, Caltanisetta, Ragusa,
Trabia and then to the superb 'Madonie Circuit' where in 1930 Alfa Romeo won
the Targa Florio with Achille Varzi at the wheel of a P2. Then on again to
Cefalù, Acireale, Erice, Segesta and back to Palermo to be welcomed by
the Mayor, followed by the prize awards.
Apart from the official events mentioned above,
many more have been planned by other clubs and enthusiasts around the
world.
