#Alfa Romeo Giulia Super Torpedo

[carsthatnevermadeitetc]

Alfa Romeo Giulia Super Torpedo, 1965, by Carrozzeria Colli. A beach car created by removing the doors and roof and fitting bench seats with grab handles and a canopy to provide some cover from the sun. Colli made just 2 of these Torpedo models though given the simplicity of the conversion it wouldn't be difficult to carry out the work on any Giulia Super

[alencar07-blog]

ALFA ROMEO

ALFA ROMEO is a brand that has enchanted, and continues to dazzle, many around the world. There are characteristics that have always been part of a global collective image of the brand: its "cuore sportivo" (as the Italians would say) or sports heart (for us Brazilians), indomitable vitality, the sound of the engine, the elegance of the shapes and the design purely Italian. Stories tell that Henry Ford used to take off his hat every time he saw an ALFA ROMEO pass, and that on the day that won the Italian team, Enzo Ferrari cried like a baby. The brand spanned more than a century of a mythical saga and many of its memorable pages contributed to the history of cars and glories on the tracks.

The story The company originated in 1906 when Cavaliere Ugo Stella, an aristocrat from Milan, and Alexandre Darracq, a French car manufacturer, founded the company "Societá Italiana Automobili Darracq", which started producing cars under the Darracq brand in the city of Naples. With the end of the partnership in 1910, Stella, with funding from other Italian investors, moved the production line to a disused factory in Portello, an industrial suburb in the northwestern region of Milan, changing on June 24 the name of the company for ALFA, abbreviation for Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili. The first car produced entirely by the new automaker was the 24 HP model, named after the power generated by its engine (4-cylinder engine and top speed of 100 km per hour) and designed by Giuseppe Merosi. With three hundred units produced, the model presented modern characteristics for the time, including monobloc motor and single joint transmission, distinguishing itself by the excellent recovery and carefully constructed mechanical parts. Subsequently, Merosi participated in the development of new ALFA cars, with more powerful engines, from 40 to 60 HP. ALFA also ventured into auto racing with Nino Franchini taking part in the 1911 Targa Florio riding a 24 HP model.

In 1915, under severe financial problems, the Neapolitan engineer Nicola Romeo assumed his leadership, changed his name to ALFA ROMEO and turned it into a war factory to meet the needs of Italy and its allies during the First World War. Ammunition, engines and parts for airplanes, generators and compressors based on engines of cars previously produced and even locomotives were manufactured by the company during the time that the world conflict lasted. With the end of the war, Nicola Romeo definitively assumed full control of the company and car manufacturing resumed in a timid manner in 1919. The following year, the Torpedo 20-20HP was the first car manufactured under the new brand ALFA ROMEO. Giuseppe Merosi continued as chief designer and the company continued to manufacture good street cars and successful race cars (among which the 40-60 HP and RG Targa Florio models stood out). Still in 1920, Enzo Ferrari joined ALFA ROMEO and with a 40-60HP car, immediately won a glorious second place in the Targa Florio race.

In 1923, then ALFA ROMEO team rider Enzo Ferrari convinced designer Vittorio Jano to leave FIAT and replace Giuseppe Merosi in the team's design team. The first model conceived under Jano's supervision was the P2 Grand Prix, which gave the Italian team the world title of 1925. For street cars, Jano developed a series of small and medium 4, 6 and 8-cylinder in-line engines based in the P2 engine that established ALFA ROMEO's classic engine architecture: lightweight alloy construction, hemispherical combustion chambers, central plugs, two in-line valves per cylinder and dual combustion chamber. Such an architecture proved to be durable and powerful.

In 1928, the financial turmoil of the time and the specific and small market of the manufacturer caused that Nicola Romeo was removed of the company, that ended up being bought by a consortium of banks. In 1933 the ALFA ROMEO underwent an intervention of the Italian fascist government, that came to take control of the company. At this moment the company, now a state-owned company, abandoned the competitions, and then the Scuderia Ferrari, initially as the arm of ALFA ROMEO competitions (Enzo Ferrari drove to ALFA before assuming the leadership of the team, and soon thereafter started to produce their own cars). It was Enzo's team that humiliated the German teams (Auto-Union and Mercedes-Benz), winning sensationally the German Grand Prix in 1935. At that time the rivalry went well beyond the tracks, and the government-controlled ALFA ROMEO of Benito Mussolini, had to rival and prove superior than the German Nazis. With the government in charge, the automaker began mass production serving the interests and ambitions of fascism. World War II created another serious crisis for the Italian automaker, destroying much of its facilities and virtually paralyzing the production of vehicles.

The company had to restart almost from scratch and with Italy quite destroyed, it decided to remodel its production, reducing the manufacture of luxury cars, and dedicating itself to the mass production of popular cars. But it also set a new standard: in addition to production cars, it started manufacturing limited editions or exclusive models created by famous designers. In 1947, the automaker began to launch new models that had the most modern aerodynamic concepts of the time. One such model was the sporty Freccia D'Oro (Golden Arrow, in Portuguese). ALFA ROMEO, who had always made high performance and sports cars, had to adapt to the new European situation and launched the 1900 model in 1950, designed by Orazio Satta and powered by 4 cylinders. This new car was able to serve a very demanding clientele, like the middle class, and at the same time it was very economical and beautiful. It quickly became known as "The family car that wins races". It was the dividing line between artisanal production and mass production.

In this decade, the success of the carmaker on the tracks can be translated into the achievements of the Formula 1 championships with Nino Farina in 1950, who won by riding an ALFA ROMEO 158 with compressor; and in 1951, with Juan Manuel Fangio riding an Alfetta 159 (an evolution of the 158 model with a two-stage compressor). Despite the success in the competitions, the automaker was experiencing financial difficulties and to continue to compete in Formula 1, there would be a need to build a new car, since the current ones had reached the maximum of its evolution. In this context, ALFA ROMEO has withdrawn from the tracks. This decade was also marked by the success of the 1900 model, which, thanks to exceptional mechanical characteristics and remarkable performance, became the official motor vehicle of the Italian Police, being nicknamed Pantera due to aggressive black paint. Another success of this period was the first automobile with proper name and feminine: GIULIETTA. Presented to the public in 1954 in Coupé Sprint version, its main attributes were compact dimensions, agility and good performance. With these successes, came the Alfamania, which made the desire to have an ALFA ROMEO irresistible, infecting the stars of Hollywood.

The 1960s began with the construction of a new factory in Arese, which would be inaugurated three years later in 1963. The first car produced was Giulia, which sold more than one million units in its various versions. In 1963 Autodelta was created, under the direction of Carlo Chiti, responsible for the development of race cars based on the car models of production or development of new models. These were important years for ALFA ROMEO, who consolidated both its image and its commercial position. In this decade the ALFA ROMEO became famous for its small cars and models designed especially for the Italian police (Pantere and Carabinieri), among them the glorious Giulia Super, or the 2600 Sprint GT, that received the expressive nickname of "Inseguimento" ( for being confused with the automobile used by the famous police officer, and unequaled driver, Armandino Spadafora in pursuit of thieves by a ladder in 1960). In 1967 the famous film "The First Night of a Man", starring Dustin Hoffman gave celebrity status to the Alfa Romeo Spider (also known by its Italian designations "Duetto" or "Osso di Seppia").

In the 1970s the ALFA ROMEO again went into financial crisis. The government then privatized the automaker. Despite this, the automaker created cars that became icons, such as MONTREAL, which signaled the return of the 8-cylinder engine to passenger cars, and offered sports performance and technical and mechanical characteristics adapted to day-to-day use; and the ALFETTA 2000 TD (1979), the first Italian Turbo Diesel. The 1980s were marked by the decline in ALFA ROMEO's sports participation. Even though he continued to participate in Formula 1, he became a lackluster team in the competition, contrary to his past achievements. Even so, he remained in the top motoring category until the end of the 1985 season. And then (until 1987) as an engine supplier.

At this time, in 1986, the ALFA ROMEO was acquired by FIAT, in a maneuver to avoid that the American Ford bought what was considered an Italian legacy. A new business group was created - Alfa Lancia S.p.A. - which has since dedicated itself to the manufacture of ALFA ROMEO and LANCIA cars. Before being bought by FIAT, ALFA ROMEO always maintained a daring stance in the market, trying new solutions in the tracks and using them in the series production, even with the risk of commercial losses. ALFA ROMEO has always been characterized by the controversial and unorthodox style, which for many times has raised discussions about style. Under the control of FIAT, the following year, one of the automaker's most successful models was introduced: the ALFA 164 was officially presented at the Frankfurt Motor Show, with its design project signed by the renowned Pininfarina studio, giving the car a distinct visual, and at the same time aggressive and powerful. The model achieved the feat of becoming a success also in the American market.

In 1994 the line was completed with the launch of the 164 Quadrifoglio 4, which combined the 3.0 V6 24v engine with a sophisticated four-wheel drive system with electronic traction control and a 6-speed gearbox. The new millennium begins with a record sales in 2001, when ALFA ROMEO sold 213,638 units worldwide. In January 2003, the automaker introduced the campaign "Beauty is not enough", a concept between the lines of the brand's new commercial strategy, and expressed in the importance of substance beyond form. After all, ALFA ROMEO had always been synonymous with style and elegance, but also with technical innovation. In the following years the automaker introduced a line of bold and modern vehicles such as the GT sports car, the BRERA coupe, the SPYDER convertible, the sedan 159, the exclusive 8C COMPETIZIONE sports car and more recently the compact MiTo sports car.

In 2010 the mythical brand, true Italian pride, whose technology and sportsmanship were the main factors for its success, completed 100 years. And to celebrate its centenary, ALFA ROMEO organized in Milan, a northern Italian city where everything began, several events: round the track of the Monza race track, visits to the Alfa Romeo Historical Museum (reopened temporarily), exhibition of old models in several places of the economic capital of Italy and a big parade on the streets of the city with thousands of lovers of the brand. Even with the celebration and the new releases, the brand's sales in the following years continued in sharp decline.

The turnaround seems to have begun in 2015, when ALFA ROMEO completed 105 years of a rich heritage. The commemorative date included an exciting show by tenor Andrea Bocelli, reopening of the company's museum in Milan and presentation of a completely new car designed to mark its rebirth. Its name is already known by fans of the brand: Giulia (same name of a successful sport of the years of 1960 and 1970). In addition, ALFA ROMEO has drawn up a restructuring plan that has a definite goal until 2018: to face equal, Audi, Mercedes-Benz and BMW in the segment of luxury sports. This re-launching of the brand, as it was called, cost approximately € 5 billion and involves large markets such as the United States, China and, of course, Brazil (where the brand should be relaunched in the near future), as well as reconquering Europe. The Italian automaker intends, in this period, to launch eight new car models. Nowadays there are five elements that have made ALFA ROMEO one of the most coveted car brands in the world: differentiated Italian design, state-of-the-art technology and innovative engines, perfect 50/50 weight distribution, exclusive technical solutions and the best weight ratio power. These are the indispensable ingredients for the creation of an authentic ALFA ROMEO.