![]() An Alfa Romeo’s shape is characterized by ideal proportions, and must have timeless style that engages onlookers long into the future.Ĭertainly, the sight of a Duetto (think The Graduate) brings smiles today just as the first one did in 1966. We recently spent an hour in a virtual presentation by Alessandro Maccolini, head of design for Alfa Romeo, who noted that the marque’s identity comes from its unique front face, and the “tri-lobo” grille that flanks a triangular center with horizontal spears to either side. A look at the A+ designs through the decades makes it difficult to single out just a handful. A few were Franco Scaglione at Bertone, Pinin Farina, Ercole Spada at Zagato and Carrozzeria Touring’s Carlo Felice Bianchi Anderloni. The company’s affiliation with Italian carrozzerie goes back to the beginning, comprising a who’s who of coachbuilders and individual designers whose indelible marks resonate as loudly today as they did when their creations were new. There is no shortage of seductive Alfa Romeos. ![]() Throughout the company’s history, Alfa Romeo has shown the world that great design can be expressed as eloquently in a modest city car as it can in a concept-car masterpiece. Ushering in series production from the mid-1950s was the Giulietta (Tipo 101 and 750) in coupe, spider and sedan form, as well as numerous specials. And so, the sheer variety of prewar Alfas is staggering, and most are staggeringly beautiful. Part of that comes down to the fact that, prior to the 1950s, Alfa Romeo was a luxury carmaker whose chassis were dressed by the finest coachbuilders in Italy. But as a style leader, Alfa Romeo has, from the beginning, led the charge. Fiat 500s and Pandas have impacted the landscape in greater numbers Maserati’s original Ghibli remains a high watermark of automotive beauty, and Jeep’s indefatigable role in World War II makes it one of the most important vehicles ever made. Probably more so than any other marque in the Stellantis stable, Alfa Romeo is the one whose design legacy has had the greatest influence, independent of its broad accomplishments in engineering and motorsports. But most Alfa lovers-and who isn’t?-are optimistic about the marque’s future under a new corporate umbrella that encompasses 14 automotive brands, including Fiat, Maserati, Dodge and Citroen. Celebrating its 110th year, the Milanese automaker is older than most, having survived two World Wars, financial and fuel crises and a spate of owners, the most recent being Stellantis. For those who regard style, finesse and balanced performance as the true measure of a car, and for whom history and pedigree are important, few marques shine like Alfa Romeo.
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