Italy’s ALFA (Anomina Lombardo Fabbrica Automobili) was five years old when industrialist Nicolo Romeo took control in 1915. Within a few years, Alfa Romeo was a dominant power in European auto racing and a respected builder of fast, touring and sports cars that brimmed with competition-proven technology.

Alfa Romeos dominated the toughest races in pre-war Europe, including the Targa Florio and the Mille Miglia. Alfa Romeo was also a force on the Grand Prix circuit, forerunner of today’s Formula 1 racing. Enzo Ferrari launched his career as an Alfa race driver and was its racing team manager in the 1930s.

The Alfa Romeo Guilietta was the sports car that put this Italian automaker on the map.
The Alfa Romeo Guilietta was the sports car that put this Italian automaker on the map.
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In this article, you will discover how Alfa emerged from World War II to create rakish, high-priced sporting automobiles that attracted such figures as Hollywood’s Rita Hayworth and Egypt’s King Farouk. Alfa reached out to a broader audience in the 1950s with the 1900 series of four-cylinder models. These spawned the sports car that put Alfa on the mainstream map, the Giulietta series. The Giulietta was succeeded in 1966 by the lovely Duetto -- the little Alfa roadster found stardom as Dustin Hoffman’s ride in the 1967 film, “The Graduate.”

We'll get started on the next page by exploring one of the first post-war cars made by Alfa Romeo -- the 6C 2500.

To learn more about Alfa Romeo and other sports cars, see: