X-Nico

10 unusual facts about Alfa Romeo


CANT Z.1010

The aircraft was powered by a version of the de Havilland Gipsy Major 4-cylinder inverted inline engine, licence built by Alfa Romeo, which produced 90 kW (120 hp) and drove a two blade propeller.

Caproni Ca.331

Its original Piaggio propellers proved inadequate, but their replacement with Alfa Romeo-built propellers in 1941 resulted in the aircraft having improved performance which, in fact, exceeded expectations.

Caproni Vizzola F.4

No further F.4s were ordered, and a proposal to build a production model powered by an Alfa Romeo-built DB 601A as the F.5bis was dropped in favor of pursuing development of the more advanced Caproni Vizzola F.6M.

Gabardini Lictor

Two versions were built, the Lictor 90 with a 90-hp Fiat engine, and that Lictor 130 with a 130-hp de Havilland Gipsy Major engine built by Alfa Romeo.

Lewat Tengah Malam

Lono (Rachmat Hidayat) is a former revolutionary soldier who has become a criminal, recognised by the Alfa Romeo-produced car he drives.

Masaaki Sakai

Due to business commitments he gave up racing in 2002 and gave his Alfa Romeo race car to Masahiko Kondō who is also a singer and race enthusiast.

Piaggio P.108

Alfa Romeo also lacked a powerful, modern engine, and its 1,010 kW (1,350 hp) AR.132s were two Bristol Mercurys in tandem.

Porsche family

The father of Chris Reitz, the former head of design for Alfa Romeo, was adopted by Dorothea, the wife of Ferry.

The Snake the Cross the Crown

Their current name is a reference to the logo of Italian car company, Alfa Romeo, where Kevin Jones' father owned a repair shop that burnt to the ground.

Undercover Angels

The three "angels" travelled in Alfa Romeos performing deeds such as decorating a nursery for a young couple with newborn children, and finding a replacement puppy for children whose dog had been stolen.


1933 Belgian Grand Prix

Tazio Nuvolari, part of Scuderia Ferrari, the works Alfa Romeo team, was unhappy at how his team had been preparing his car, and so decided to try out a Maserati 8CM as well as his usual Alfa Romeo Monza during practice.

1983 European Grand Prix

Kenny Acheson (RAM-Ford), Corrado Fabi (Osella-Alfa Romeo) and Jacques Laffite (Williams-Ford) all failed to qualify while the Theodore-Ford of Johnny Cecotto was withdrawn before the start of the weekend.

1985 Australian Grand Prix

The slowest qualifier for the race, Huub Rothengatter in the Osella-Alfa Romeo, was 10.473 seconds slower than Senna with a time of 1:30.319.

Alfa Romeo 146

The Alfa Romeo 146 (Type 930) is a five-door family hatchback produced by the Italian automaker Alfa Romeo in Pomigliano d'Arco, Italy between 1995 and 2000.

Alpine Rally

The Coupe d'Argent was awarded to five drivers; Maurice Gatsonides (1956), driving for Jaguar and Triumph, René Trautmann of Citroën (1963), Donald Morley of Austin-Healey (1964), Paddy Hopkirk (1965), who drove for Triumph, Sunbeam and Mini-Cooper, and Jean Rolland of Alfa Romeo (1966).

Charlie Martin

He started racing at Southport sands on the Lancashire coast in 1932 moving on to circuit racing driving an MG, also racing in Bugatti's and Alfa Romeo's at Donnington and throughout Europe at Pau and Deauville in Grand Prix gaining wins at Brooklands in 1936.

Consalvo Sanesi

Consalvo Sanesi (28 March 1911, Terranuova Bracciolini, Arezzo – 28 July 1998, Milan) was best known as the Alfa Romeo works' test driver in the period following World War II, but he also competed in five Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on September 3, 1950.

Datsun Sports

The series was a predecessor to the Z-car in the Fairlady line, and offered an inexpensive alternative to the European MG, Triumph, Fiat and Alfa Romeo sports cars.

Debora SP92

Didier Bonnet, Gérard Tremblay and Jacques Heuclin were selected to drive the car, which was fitted with a 3-litre Alfa Romeo V6 engine.

Debora SP93

Both cars were fitted with a 3-litre Alfa Romeo V6 engine, and both were run at the 24 Hours of Le Mans by Didier Bonnet Racing.

Double wishbone suspension

Examples of makes in which double wishbones can be found include Alfa Romeo, MG, Pontiac, Honda and Mercedes-Benz.

Ermanno Cressoni

Ermanno Cressoni (died 30 June 2005) was an Italian car designer who worked for both Alfa Romeo and Fiat during his career.

Ferrari 166 Inter

It was an elegant coupe designed by Carrozzeria Touring of Milan who had previously created a number of similar Ferrari and Alfa Romeo models.

Ferrari Colombo engine

Enzo Ferrari had long admired the V12 engines of Packard, Auto Union, and Alfa Romeo (where he was long employed), but his first car, the 1940 Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, used a Fiat straight-8.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles

FCA will serve as the parent company for a group whose product brands include Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Ferrari, Fiat, Fiat Professional, Jeep, Lancia, Maserati, Ram Trucks and SRT.

Fiat Twin Cam engine

The engine was produced in a large number of displacements, ranging from 1,297 cc to 1,995 cc and was used in Fiat, Lancia, Alfa Romeo, SEAT and Morgan cars

Ford Kent engine

Satta/Hruska designed Alfa Romeo 750/101 1290cc DOHC unit, and Alex von Falkenhausen designed SOHC 1773cc BMW M118 engine may have had similar influence on the motorsport scenes in Italy and Germany respectively, but not even comparable internationally.

Fulvio Bonavia

Though he has shot ad campaigns for a wide range of international clients, such as Adidas, Heineken, Swatch, Amnesty International, and Alitalia, he is best known for his campaigns for automotive companies including Jaguar, BMW, Saab, Alfa Romeo, Daimler-Chrysler, and Audi.

Gary Ayles

After planning to enter a new team in 2006, he formed the A-Tech team, which entered the BTCC for 2007, with a pair of Alfa Romeos for David Pinkney and Richard Marsh.

John Tipler

He has been writing books since 1990, with over 30 published on a variety of motor vehicles, including Morgan, TVR, Lotus, Caterham and Alfa Romeo sports cars, Land Rovers, Triumph and Harley-Davidson motorcycles, plus several on Lotus formula 1 cars, as well as biographies of racing drivers Graham Hill, Ronnie Peterson and Ayrton Senna.

Lambretta GP/DL

The GP/DL range was designed by Nuccio Bertone who was also acclaimed for designing several vehicles for Alfa Romeo, Lamborghini, and Fiat.

Lotus-Ford Twin Cam

Although it still used the Ford iron block, Mk.XIII was a properly developed racing engine that was far from just another souped-up production motor, and its dominance in Formula B was close to being absolute against the main rivals Satta/Hruska designed Alfa Romeo 105/115 1570 cc DOHC unit, and Alex von Falkenhausen designed SOHC 1573 cc BMW M116 engine.

Philippe Étancelin

After Étancelin switched to Alfa later in the year, he came fourth in the Marne Grand Prix and won the four-hour Dieppe Grand Prix, ahead of Czaykowski's Bugatti and Earl Howe's Delage.

Toulo de Graffenried

Following his retirement from racing, de Graffenried earned his keep operating his car dealership in Lausanne, selling Alfa Romeo, Rolls-Royce and Ferrari automobiles.