The Box-Shaped Hatchback That Became a World Rally Dynasty The Lancia Delta HF Integrale may be the most famous example of an ordinary shape becoming extraordinary through competition. At first glance, the Delta was a practical five-door hatchback designed for…
At the Southern Edge of Italy, Where Europe Looks Toward Africa Lampedusa is Italy, but it is an Italy that seems to have drifted south until the familiar map almost stops making sense. On clear days the island feels less…
The Pininfarina Flagship That Carried Alfa into a New Era The Alfa Romeo 164 is a car of transition, and transition is rarely simple. It was developed while Alfa Romeo was still controlled by the Italian state, launched after the…
The Bertone Coupe That Defined Italian Sporting Elegance Some cars become classics because they are rare. The Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GT became a classic because it was right. The proportions were right, the mechanical recipe was right, the timing…
The Expo Dream That Became a V8 Grand Tourer The Alfa Romeo Montreal began with an almost impossible brief. For Expo 67 in Montreal, the organizers asked Alfa Romeo to provide a car representing the highest aspiration of modern man…
The Racing Prototype That Became Rolling Sculpture There are beautiful cars, and then there is the Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale. Even among Italian exotics of the 1960s, a period not exactly short of dramatic machinery, the 33 Stradale appears almost…
The Little Coupe That Turned Alfa Romeo into a Modern Manufacturer\n\nThe Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint is beautiful enough that its industrial importance can be easy to overlook. Look at one today and the eye goes immediately to the delicate roofline,…
The Supercar That Brought the Alfa Dream Back to Life\n\nFor years, Alfa Romeo enthusiasts had learned to survive on memory. They had the 33 Stradale, the Tipo 33 racers, the great prewar 8C cars, the Giulia GTA, the Montreal and…
Padua is a city that has spent much of its history thinking. This may sound like a dangerous habit, but in Padua it produced rather good results: one of Europe’s oldest universities, revolutionary frescoes, scientific discoveries, a botanical garden that…