The Alfasud was a revelation when it stunned
crowds at the 1971 Turin Motor Show, upstaging the Lamborghini Countach. The low bonnet line, new shape, and when reviews
got their hands on it, the excellent handling and lively yet economical engine seemed like
the perfect package. Alfa Romeo was set for success in the 1970s. So why did the Alfasud help drive Alfa Romeo
to bankruptcy in 1986, and why, despite selling getting on a million cars, are they so rare
to see on the road today? This is the Alfa Romeo Alfasud Story. (music) Before we get started, I’d like to try a new feature I like to call “What’s Under
The Cover?”. I’ve been walking past this car for a couple
of years now, and only now have I decided to look “under the cover” to find out
just what it is. Have a guess now, and I’ll tell you the
answer at the end of the video. Alfa Romeo is a historic company, founded
in 1910, and since its early days it was associated with the northern Italian city of Milan. In the 1930s they fell on hard times and were
bailed out by the Government. After the war Alfa remained under Government
ownership, and although they would chart their own course as a successful motorsports team
that helped fuel demand for their large premium cars, any future funding was always looked
upon favourably if it helped whatever cause the Government had a passion for. In the late 1960s, the “passion de jour”
was correcting the disparity of wealth between the North and relatively poor South. With the Italian economy doing well, Alfa’s
president wanted to expand into the mainstream car market, and struck on the idea of building
a new factory not near their current factories in the North, but in the South, and specifically
in Pomigliano d'Arco near Napoli or Naples. Alfa actually already had a factory there. During the war they’d supervised the production
of Daimler-Benz aircraft engines. The factory was severely damaged during the
war, but by 1952 aircraft engine production had resumed. By the early 1960s Alfa and Renault set up
a joint company to sell the Renault 4 under license. The “Alfa Romeo R4” was assembled at the
Pomigliano factory, allowing Alfa an easy way to expand their range and cash in on the
growing Italian economy that was moving up from tiny Fiat 500’s into something a little
more grown up for their growing families. Alfa had explored building their own small
car since the 1950s. They’d created the 750cc Project 13-61 that
would have been the first transverse engined front wheel drive car if it hadn’t been
axed just before it would have sold like hot cakes in the wake of the 1956 Suez fuel crisis. They’d tried again with the Alfa Romeo Tipo
103 in 1960, another car that unfortunately didn’t get past the prototype stage. So, with the Italian Government looking favourably
at investment in the south of Italy, Alfa saw an opportunity to expand their range. After many proposals, the Alfasud project
was born, a name that would proclaim the car’s origins, literally meaning “Alfa South”. Design of both the car and the factory began
in parallel in 1967, and factory construction began a year later. The mechanicals would be designed by Alfa
Romeo’s engineers in the north, and it would be a departure as it was Alfa’s first front
wheel drive car. The lead designer would be Rudolf Hruska,
fresh from helping design the Fiat 124 and 128. In fact, Fiat had been annoyed about the whole
Alfasud project, and not just because Rudolf Hruska might use some of their design tricks. They saw it as the Government sponsoring a
competitor to poach some of their market. The Alfasud design team decided the car should
be easy to maintain, but have the fun, sporty handling that customers wanted from an Alfa
Romeo. It would be easy to stop as well, with disc
brakes on all four wheels – quite a rarity at the time. The project would be well funded – over
£2B in today’s money ($2.7B USD, €2.3B, $3.6B AUD), and this meant the team could
also design a brand-new sporty, yet economical engine – the flat-4 “Boxer” engine that
would be exclusive to the new car, and would allow a low bonnet line and lower centre of
gravity that helped with the handling. Work progressed well, and development was
kept on a tight rein to ensure it would be delivered on time. Like many Italian cars of the period, the
body style was given over to an outside company – in this case Giorgetto Giugiaro from ItalDesign. He created a shape that looked a little like
the Austin Allegro that would launch a year later than the Alfasud. And like the Allegro, although it might look
like a hatchback, the Alfasud was a saloon. What the development team couldn’t control
was factory construction, that was delayed due to many strikes. However, the factory was completed just three
months late in April 1972, four years to the month after work had begun. (music) The Alfasud made its debut at the Turin motor
show in 1971, where it stole the show. To lay out Alfa’s intentions for its new
car, they also presented the Caimano coupé, a concept based on the same Alfasud chassis,
using the same Boxer engine, and with a suitably futuristic dashboard. The whole windscreen opened to allow both
the driver and passenger to get in, but when lowered, that same windscreen was claustrophobically
close to your head whilst driving. The Caimano might not have gone into production,
but Alfasud production started ramping up in 1972, and soon the automotive press got
their hands on the new car. They enthused over its new fashionable style,
the solid, predictable handling, and great performance from the raspy 1.2L engine. Inside it was spartan, but comfortable with
a quiet ride, and thanks to the front wheel drive, excellent interior space. Suddenly the prospect of 2.4 children didn’t
mean giving up the performance you’d come to expect from your pocket sports car, and
you’d have enough room in the boot for the pram. But the Alfasud wasn’t cheap, at least compared
to the competition, and constant strikes at the Pomigliano factory kept supplies to a
trickle. This was likely to just drive-up demand for
a car that despite being expensive, was the best car in its class, and this would likely
help increase the caché of the Alfa Romeo brand, but one thing you need to complete
this strategy is rock solid quality and this is where it all went wrong. The new factory was staffed by workers who’d
only assembled Renault parts, not built a complete car from scratch, and some workers
hadn’t done even that. Mistakes were made, and this, coupled with
a new design, meant the Alfasud was unreliable. Bad worker relations, which led to frequent
strikes, didn’t help rectify these problems. But the larger problem with the Alfasud was
rust, due in part to unprotected storage. Raw steel was left out in the rain due to
constant strikes. When cars were being built, the completed
bodies had to be moved to a separate building to be painted, even if it was raining. But the main reason for rust was the low-quality
Soviet steel the Italians received in payment for the Soviet’s use of Fiat’s car designs. This meant that inadvertently Fiat were lowering
the quality of Alfa Romeo’s cars! With little rustproofing, customers could end up
with rust just a few months after taking ownership. Alfa rushed through a quick fix – all box
sections were filled with a special synthetic foam, but this merely absorbed the moisture,
trapping it and making the problem worse! Rust would go on to plague the Alfasud, and
Alfa’s reputation for years to come, but initially at least sales looked good. And although the base car had a lively engine,
in 1973 Alfa would introduce the more powerful “ti” or “Touring International” model. Where the base Alfasud was a 4-door, the “ti”
would be a 2-door. Exterior and interior flourishes differentiated
it from the base model such as four front headlights, the engine got a longer stroke,
new camshafts and a twin-choke carburettor to increase output by 5hp (3 kW). With a new 5-speed gearbox, the 0-60 time
was brought down to just 12.6 seconds. Trim levels improved in 1974 with the SE and
the following year the Alfasud L. Some had criticised the low-spec interior, so Alfa
added cloth seats, headrests, a padded dashboard with glove compartment and an optional tachometer. To show off the cars handling and performance,
the Alfasud Trophy racing series in the mid to late 70s would be held throughout Europe. The sporty Alfasud became more practical with
the Alfasud Giardinetta. This had been a pet project of Rudolf Hruska
and Giorgetto Giugiaro, and they had high hopes for its success. The loading area was equipped with elegant
fake wood (well, it was the 1970s!), and the practical tailgate allowed acres of storage
space, but it was about as popular as the Allegro estate, launched the same year, with
sales never going above 2% of saloon sales. It seems Italians equated estate cars with
work vehicles, and with only three doors, ironically rear access was limited. Alfa would attempt to combat the rising rust
concerns with better rustproofing in 1975, which would slow the onset of rust, but it
didn’t get to the root of the problem and Alfasud rust would still be a big problem. Alfa’s attitude was “Never mind about
silly issues like rust, look at our new models!”. They launched the stylish new Alfasud Sprint
in 1976. The new sports coupé had been planned since
the conception of the Alfasud in 1968 as a replacement for the GT 1300 Junior, and was
again styled by Giugiaro. It took the Alfasud’s rounded shape and
squared it off, taking the car to the next level. Where the Alfasud was going toe-to-toe with
Volkswagen’s new Golf, the Sprint’s three-door shape seemed to compete with the Scirocco,
also styled by Giugiaro, although unlike the Scirocco the rear seats of the Alfasud Sprint
didn’t fold down. The Boxer engine became a 1.3L and got the
car over 100mph (169km/h) for the first time, and the engine was also available on the regular
Alfasud ti. Alfa were clearly so proud of their cars sporting
credentials they added the fabled four-leaf clover badge, a symbol that went back to Alfa’s
early days of motorsports where driver Ugo Sivocci painted one on his car to break his
long streak of bad luck. The lucky charm worked, and Alfa still carries
it on their racing cars today. Sales of the Alfasud continued to be steady
when Alfa launched the “second series” in 1977. Calling it a new generation car was a bit
of marketing hyperbole, as the updates amounted to a few trim changes both inside and out. The unloved Giardinetta was also updated and
continued to be just as unloved. Despite continuing strikes at the Pomigliano
factory, that meant on average 1/5 of the workers were absent, sales continued to be
strong throughout the 1970s. Sales of the Alfasud Sprint had begun slowly,
but picked up in 1978 with interior and exterior updates, plus a larger 1.5L engine. The Alfasud again got the same uprated engine,
plus a slightly larger 1.3L 78hp (58 kW) version, and all models continued to receive interior
updates to keep the car looking fresh and competitive with the competition, who were
working to match Alfa’s all-round package. The Sprint got yet more power just a year
later with the Alfasud Sprint Veloce. A higher compression ratio increasing power
to 94hp (70 kW), finally taking the 0-60 time below 10 seconds, and on to 109mph (175 km/h). If you put rust issues to one side for a minute,
it came as little surprise when British “Car” magazine anointed the Alfasud as “Car of
the Decade” in 1980. It was relatively quick, practical, economical,
and quite handsome to boot. The only two things that could be held against
it were the looks which were by now 8 years old, and the rust problems. Alfa attempted to address both with the “third
series” Alfasud in 1980. But again, it seems Alfa had gone for only
small changes, including new plastic bumpers, revised front and rear lights, and a new instrument
panel inside. The unloved Giardinetta estate was axed, being
replaced in 1981 with a hatchback, which arguably the Alfasud should have been all along. Alfasuds had been racing since the mid-1970s. The Alfasud Sprint would also be entered in
various racing events in the late 1970s, and the Sprint Trofeo would become well known
in European GT competition. In 1982 Alfa designed the Sprint 6C, destined
for Group B rallying. A 158hp V6 engine from the GTV6 was mid-mounted
into a prototype, but Alfa’s financial problems and the rapidly evolving pace of Group B development
put paid to racing the Sprint 6C in anger. Alfa showed off the ESVAR and SVAR technology
demonstrators in 1982. The ESVAR was all about showcasing better
fuel economy. The car was 76kg (168 lb) lighter, aerodynamic
changes improved the drag coefficient, and the engine efficiency was improved with fuel
injection, even switching off two cylinders at low load. It all added up to fuel efficiency gains of
20%. The SVAR Alfasud focused on higher body strength,
and the use of new lighter materials such as aluminium to increase safety. These cars weren’t destined for the showroom,
as the Alfasud’s replacement, the evolutionary Alfa Romeo 33 would appear just one year later
in 1983, but it helped Alfa improve future cars. The Alfasud Green Cloverleaf and Gold Cloverleaf hot
hatches appeared in 1982, almost as close-out specials. Both featured 1.5L versions of the venerable
Boxer engine. The 5-door Gold Cloverleaf produced 94hp (70
kW) with a 0-60 under 10 seconds, but the 3-door Green Cloverleaf had the edge with
103hp (77 kW) and a sub-9 second 0-60 time. There was limited Alfasud production in Malta,
Malaysia and South Africa, where the car was known as the Alfa Romeo Export GTA. Alfasud production would end in 1983, but
the Alfasud Sprint would continue, rebranded as the Alfa Romeo Sprint. As the Alfa Romeo 33 was based on the Alfasud
chassis, the updated Sprint benefited from the 33’s new front suspension and updated
brakes. Outside the Sprint got larger plastic bumpers
along with a side strip. Inside there were new seats, a new steering
wheel along with other minor changes. Sales of the Sprint had always been dwarfed
by the Alfasud, and with the body not receiving a styling update, sales were always going
to be hard to find in a diminishing sports coupé market. Despite a new model in 1983, and special editions,
sales barely ticked upwards before nosediving the following year. Alfa made one more attempt to boost Sprint
sales in 1987 with a 1.7L version of their 15-year-old Boxer engine. Fuel injection got it to 60 in 8.5 seconds,
and uprated front disc brakes helped get it back down to 0, but the market had moved on
to hot hatches, and production ended in 1989. Not just Alfa Romeo, but all Italian car companies
who’d used that cheap Soviet steel were forever tarnished with the stigma of being
rust buckets, and as Vauxhall could tell you from its experience in the 1950s and 60s,
bad reputations like that are hard to shake off. This lowered demand for the Alfasud, and what
demand there was, was constrained by constant industrial action that limited supply. Despite all this the Alfasud and the Alfasud
Sprint sold well for low-volume Alfa Romeo, becoming their strongest selling car to that
point. When Alfasud production ended, almost 900,000
had been sold, and if you added the Alfasud Sprint to the tally, over 1M cars left the
Pomigliano d’Arco factory. But it wasn’t enough to save Alfa Romeo,
who were sold to Fiat in 1986. The “car of the decade” was clearly a
masterpiece of design. If only production had been firing on all
cylinders, who knows how many Alfa Romeo could have sold? Are you ready to find out what’s under the
cover? Well, you get one point if you guessed an
open top – probably not much of a stretch from that outline. Two points if you guessed Alfa Romeo, three
points if you got it was a mid-80s Alfa Romeo Spider, and I’d be surprised if you got it was a
Spider Veloce, but if you did, have another point!
