A superb and rare
photo of the new Alfa Romeo 1900 C convertible
Astral , photographed for its introduction.
The Alfa Romeo 1900 was a sports
sedan designed by Orazio Satta for the Alfa Romeo company in 1950. It was Alfa
Romeo's first car built entirely on a production line and was also Alfa's first
production car without separate chassis and first Alfa offered with left-hand
drive. The car was introduced first time for bigger audience in 1950 Paris
Motor Show. The 1900 was offered in two door or four door models, with a new
1884 cc, 90 bhp, 4 cylinder twin cam engine. It was spacious and
simple, yet quick and sporty. The slogan Alfa used when selling it was
"The family car that wins races", not-so-subtly alluding to the car's
success in the Targa Florio, Stella Alpina, and other competitions. In 1951 the
short wheelbase 1900C (c for corto (Italian for short) version was
introduced. It had a wheelbase of 2,500 mm (98.4 in). In the same year the 1900TI with a more
powerful 100 bhp (75 kW; 101 PS) engine was introduced, it had bigger
valves, a higher compression ratio and it was equipped with a double
carburetor. Two years later the 1900 Super and 1900 TI Super (also 1900 Super
Sprint) with 1975 cc engine were introduced. The TI Super had two double
carburetors and 115 bhp (86 kW; 117 PS). Transmission was a 4-speed manual
on basic versions and 5-speed manual in Super Sprint version, the brakes were
drum brakes. The 1900 has independent front suspension (double wishbones, coil
springs and hydraulic telescopic shock absorbers) and live rear axle.
Production at the company's Milan plant continued until 1959: a total of 21,304 were
built, including 17,390 of the saloons. The chassis was designed specifically
to allow coachbuilders to rebody it, the most notable of which was the Zagato
designed, 1900 Super Sprint Coupe, with an improved engine and custom body
design. 1900M AR51 or "Matta" is 4wd off-road variant of this car.
Interestingly, Industrias Kaiser Argentina produced between 1960-1962 a car named IKA Bergantin in Argentina, the
body and suspension was from 1900 Berlina and engines were from Willys line,
4-L 151 cu in (2.5 L) In. and the 6-L 226 cu in
(3.7 L).
The company that
became Alfa Romeo was founded
as Società Anonima Italiana Darracq (SAID) in 1906 by Cavaliere Ugo Stella, an
aristocrat from Milan, in partnership with the French automobile firm of Alexandre Darracq.
The firm initially produced Darracq cars in Naples, but after the partnership collapsed
Stella and the other Italian co-investors moved production to an idle Darracq
factory in the Milan suburb of Portello, and the company was renamed A.L.F.A. (Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili). The first
non-Darracq car produced by company was the 1910 24 HP, designed by Giuseppe
Merosi. Merosi would go on to design a series of new ALFA cars with more powerful engines (40-60 HP). ALFA also
ventured into motor racing, drivers Franchini and Ronzoni competing in the 1911
Targa Florio with two 24 HP models. However, the onset of World War I halted
automobile production at ALFA for three years. 1916 saw the company come under
the direction of Neapolitan entrepreneur Nicola Romeo, who converted the factory to produce military
hardware for the Italian and Allied war efforts. Munitions, aircraft engines
and other components, compressors and generators based on the company's
existing car engines, and heavy locomotives were produced in the factory during
the war. When the war was over, Romeo
took complete control of ALFA
and car production resumed in 1919. In 1920, the name of the company was changed
to Alfa Romeo with the
Torpedo 20-30 HP becoming the first car to be badged as such. Their first
success came in 1920 when Giuseppe Campari won at Mugello and continued with
second place in the Targa Florio driven by Enzo
Ferrari. Giuseppe Merosi continued as head designer, and the company
continued to produce solid road cars as well as successful race cars (including
the 40-60 HP and the RL Targa Florio). In 1923 Vittorio Jano was lured away
from Fiat, partly thanks to the persuasion of a young Alfa racing driver named Enzo
Ferrari, to replace Merosi as chief designer at Alfa Romeo. The first Alfa
Romeo under Jano was the P2 Grand Prix car, which won Alfa Romeo the inaugural
world championship for Grand Prix cars in 1925. For Alfa road cars Jano
developed a series of small-to-medium-displacement 4, 6, and 8 cylinder inline
power plants based on the P2 unit that established the classic architecture of
Alfa engines, with light alloy construction, hemispherical combustion chambers,
centrally-located plugs, two rows of overhead valves per cylinder bank and dual
overhead cams. Jano's designs proved to be both reliable and powerful. Enzo Ferrari proved to be a
better team manager than driver, and when the factory team was privatised, it
then became Scuderia Ferrari. When Ferrari left Alfa Romeo, he went on to build
his own cars. Tazio Nuvolari often drove for Alfa, winning many races prior to
WWII. In 1928 Nicola Romeo left, with Alfa going broke after defense contracts
ended, and in the end of 1932 Alfa Romeo was rescued by the government, which
then had effective control. Alfa became an instrument of Mussolini's Italy, a national emblem. During this period
Alfa Romeo built bespoke vehicles for the wealthy, with the bodies normally
built by Touring of Milan or Pininfarina. This was the era that peaked with the
legendary Alfa Romeo 2900B Type 35 racers. The Alfa factory (converted during
wartime to the production of Macchi C.202 Folgore engines) was bombed during
World War II, and struggled to return to profitability after the war. The luxury
vehicles were out. Smaller mass-produced vehicles began to be produced in
Alfa's factories beginning with the 1954 model year, with the introduction of
the Giulietta series of berline (saloons/sedans), coupes and open two-seaters.
All three varieties shared what would become the classic Alfa Romeo Twin Cam
engine, initially in 1300cc form. This engine would eventually be enlarged to
just under 2 liters (1962cc) and would remain in production
through 1995.
You can always
contact us for more Alfa Romeo and other automotive photos!
This is a very
nice and very rare photo that reflects a wonderful era of Alfa Romeo ‘s
automotive history in a wonderful way.
This is your rare chance to own this photo, therefore it is printed
in a nice large format of ca. 8" x 10" (ca. 20 x 26 cm). It makes it perfectly suitable for framing.