Club Alfa Sport

Rejoice, Alfa Romeo fans! The time has come to look into the past and see for yourself all the key stones that have made Alfa Romeo become the legend it is.  The following set of articles will cover all the major turning points in the development of the celebrated brand.

In the very beginning

As of now, the legendary brand of Alfa Romeo has passed over the verge of a century. That first 100 years of its history was marked by a great many of obstacles, racing victories, as well as several times when the company was on the brink of going bankrupt. Nonetheless, all this time, the Italian designers, madly in love with the cars they created, managed to produce some of the most unforgettable, and heart-throbbing legends, be it an Alfa Romeo Juliette or Alfa Montreal.

However, a careful look requires a serious examination of the history, chapter by chapter. In the beginning there was only Alfa, (no Romeo), when in 1906, a Frenchman and a true pioneer of automobile construction Alexandre Darracq decided to build a car factory in the South of Italy to produce low cost version of the French affordable car Darracq.  However he was soon to find out that the hot-tempered Italian drivers would not buy his cheap carts equipped with 1600cc engines. On top of that, the affairs in the head office in France were totally getting out of hand.  In the beginning of the 20th century the car market was already slowing down.  As the result, towards the end of the year 1909 the branch of the Darracq factory, erected in the industrial suburb of Portello, in close vicinity to Milan, was sold to a group of local investors, who chose to call it ‘Anonima Lomarda Fabbrica Automobili’. The further abbreviation to ALFA, on the 24^th of June 1910 is regarded as the benchmark, whom which the history of the brand starts its count.

It was now the time to produce something of their own and the first non-Darracq car manufactured by the company in 1910 happened to be the 24HP, designed by Guiseppe Merosi and his team. The name of 24 was derived from a rather strange designation of tax schedules, where the engine displacement was combined with horse powers. The thing which will later be called the “Alfa Romeo Spirit” was already present in that first car build from the ground up by Alfa engineers. This mid-size model 24HP had ground breaking single overhead camshaft, aluminum oil pan of the crankshaft, and the rpm could go as high as 2400rotation per minute- this was truly innovative. As the result the 1910 model was able to produce an impressive for the time 42 horse powers and top the speed of 100 km an hour. And not stopping on the achieved  A.L.F.A. entered the world of motor racing, with two of their drivers Franchini and Ronzoni who competed in the 1911 on two 24 HP models.

To be continued…

1933 Alfa Monza

The first key is to honestly assess the value of your used Alfa Romeo. It may be your baby, love, or most cherished possession, but it could also be less valuable than all of the memories that you associate with it. Walk around your car, noting rust, dents, etc. Write down the exact mileage and look for sun fading on the paint. Log on to a site like Edmunds.com or kbb.com and enter all of these factors into their value formula. The last thing that you want is to have one number in mind and have that number be quite a bit more than the car’s actual market value.

Next, you need to have an understanding of the market. A used Alfa Romeo requires a niche buyer. While family sedans appeal to a great variety of people, sporty sedans do not. The market narrows if you have a convertible for sale in the winter or a hard top in the summer.

Third, is pricing your car. Once you have gotten a value from an authority site, how much do your list your car for. For the sake of having an example, let’s say your Alfa has a maximum worth of $14,995. Yes, it is very tempting to ask full value, but you will have a long wait for the right person to come by and pay that. Step one…do you have a loan? What is the pay off for that loan? Step two…add $500 to the price you must have for the car. Why? So the buyer can talk you down a little and you still get the money you want for your car. For example, let’s say you owe $10,000 on the car and want to sell it quickly. Ask $12,500. The price is not so low that people will wonder what is wrong with the car, but high enough that you are going to put money in your pocket after paying off the loan. You have room to let a buyer talk you down as much as $750 and still put a nice down payment on your next car.

Lastly, marketing your car is very important. You will want to clean you car thoroughly. Wash, wax, full detail inside and out. Even after that, a ”For Sale” sign in the window will not be enough. Advertize your car in local car magazines, newspapers, and on reliable websites. Be sure to have all maintenance records on hand to show any potential buyers. Offer a vehicle history report as well.

If you market your used Alfa Romeo correctly, you will have to deal with a torrent of gazers, gawkers, and actual buyers. This is annoying to say the least, but the right person will eventually darken your doorstep and take your baby away. It may feel as if you are losing a child, but, with money in hand, you can start looking for a new one right away.

Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili employees and the majority of the Italians love Alfas. They praise the red beauties, as being the best cars ever made. This time it’s not an exception – as always, they admire the relatively newly presented model Guilietta, as the  best handling car in its segment  that has more power and style than any of its opponents.

However, how would it stand next to its rivals in the compact hatchback department – let’s say 160 powered Peugeot 308 or for instance Seat Leon 1.4 TSI, which is basically well modified Volkswagen Golf?

Alfa is truly beautiful! Its impressive headlights are looking deep into your soul, the long-standing Alfa’s emblem is reminiscent of a heraldic shield and the elegant curves of the body don’t let one make a mistake – it’s a car that leaves a long lasting impression. Especially, Guilietta with its 170 hp MultiAir power-train. Alfa is not simply a great looking car, they looks actually cost you money, this particular version would cost one around $30.000

When you get inside the first thing you notice is how low you sit. That’s in line with the sporty style – cuore sportive, however the seat itself has a very limited side support, while Peugeot and Seat have much more prominent support.

So how does Guilietta  drives? It all depends on the selected program of the built in D.N.A. electronic system, standing for Dynamic, Normal, All-Weather. One may really not like the normal selection, as it cuts off quite a good portion of the engine output. It is only with the Dynamic program that Guilietta shines – engine is bold and aggressive, steering wheel becomes tight, and in the curves you are assisted by the Q2 Electronic system, which is also amazingly helpful.

However, and this was expected, Alfa doesn’t like any type of poor pavement, each bump would be clearly sensed and heard. So, what we have at the end? Seat is not much less of a driver’s car, while it costs much less than Alfa. As always, Alfa in unparalleled in the appearance department, but could have been better on the not so good roads. However, we have seen that the negative reaction in the press regarding Alfa Mito’s handling, made Italians rebalance the chassis, and it made the car a real gem, so it is obvious that Italian car manufacturer is watching closely what is being said, and may choose to improve Guilietta’s performance on the bumpy roads.