The Alfasud before the Alfasud
09/06/2024
The Alfa Romeo Alfasudwas famously presented in 1971 and it was an advanced automobile. Few people know, however, that there were plans to build an Alfasud as early as 1954 and that early design would have been even more innovative.
At the time, Alfa Romeo had recognized that new markets and a growing need for small and affordable cars were emerging. The existing cars and factories were not up to the task, so the idea was born to build up a new industry in the south with subsidies and produce a future-oriented vehicle type there.
The car was to have an air-cooled two-cylinder boxer engine with a displacement of just under 500 cm3, which drove the front wheels via a four-speed gearbox. Ready to drive, the compact car would have weighed around 480 kg and would have reached a top speed of 90 km/h with an average fuel consumption of five liters per 100 km.
A self-supporting body with two doors and a tailgate would have offered space for four people. In fact, this was almost the blueprint for the Austin Mini that appeared five years later.
Unfortunately, the plan fell through due to a lack of funding from the Council of Ministers for the Mezzogiorno. 17 years later, the Alfasud finally arrived, the boxer engine was retained, but the rest was a whole lot bigger.
The whole (now almost forgotten) story can be read in issue 49/1974 of Automobil Revue .
