In the words of their publicity material “The future goes back a long
way”, and a visit to Alfa Romeo's Museo Storico certainly bears this
out, as they have a great current range of cars, with exciting new
projects coming along, but the also company has a rich and varied
heritage. Their museum is situated in the aptly named Viale Alfa
Romeo, in Varese, just to the north west of Milan, where the company
had a production facility, which ceased car production in 2003 and
engine manufacture in 2005. It was opened at the end of 1976, with a
total floor area of 4800 square metres, and during 2009 was closed
for refurbishment, reopening at the end of the year, ready to celebrate
the company's centenary in 2010.
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The well laid out exhibition areas on multi levels house some 110
cars, 35 engines, 15 aircraft engines and more than 1000 scale
model cars. The archives contain over 40000 images and 500 videos,
together with a vast library of technical publications and other
documents charting the company's long history. Talking of the
company's history, the marque's name is mostly associated with
elegant high performance sports cars, but over the years it has also
produced less glamorous machinery, like tractors, buses and
commercial vehicles, together with marine and aircraft engines. It has
also been deeply involved in motor sport in many forms throughout its
life, notably the pre-war years with the Scuderia Ferrari entered cars
driven by the likes of the great Tazio Nuvolari.
In the post-war years the Alfetta 158 model won the inaugural F1
World Championship with Giuseppe Farina, with Juan-Manuel
Fangio, doing the same for the company in 1951 in the Alfetta 159
model, before the company concentrated more on production based
cars to promote the name. Notably during the sixties there were the
TZ, TZ2, GTA and GTAM models, before moving into sports prototypes
in the seventies, which yielded the company a number of overall wins,
and the championship titles in 1975 and 1977. There was a further
foray into F1 between 1979 and 1985, plus an Indy car, and entries
and success in numerous touring car championships. Add in concept
cars and prototypes, and it can be seen that the marque has a wide
gallery with which to form an impressive museum display.
The majority of the cars in the museum are fully operational, and often
appear at prestigious events worldwide, like the Goodwood Festival
of Speed in the UK, the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in the
USA, and the Mille Miglia in Italy. Amongst the pre-war examples on
display there is a great selection for enthusiasts of that era, including
A 1923 RL Targa Florio, a P2 Grand Prix car and a RL Targa Florio
model from 1924, a stunning white Zagato bodied 6C 1750 Gran
Sport from 1931, a 1932 Tipo B P3 monoposto and a supremely
elegant pale blue 1938 8C 2900 B Lungo Coupé. There is also a real
oddity, the 1931 Monoposto Gran Premio “Tipo A”, with its pair of 6
cylinder engine/gearbox units mounted side by side with a linked gear
change set-up, and a 1940 Tipo 512 mid flat 12 powered monoposto.
The post war era of production features a trio of the very successful
158 and 159 Alfetta Grand Prix cars, one with the body panels
removed, so that the engineering detail and construction can be
appreciated and admired. Naturally there is the super smooth Disco
Volante, TZ , TZ2, GTA, GTAM and the beautiful Tipo 33 Stradale,
along with concept cars like the Pininfarina 33.2 (very similar to their
Ferrari P5), Bertone Navajo and the Ital Design Iguana. The
successful 33 series of sports racing cars is well represented, with a
1968 33.2 Daytona , a 1975 33 TT 12 and a 1977 33 SC 12, and F1
cars include their own 1985 179 F, plus a Martini liveried Brabham
BT45 with Alfa Romeo power unit. Add in a selection of their
successful road and racing saloon cars, and numerous other models
produced through the years, and it can be seen that this is a marque
with a great and diverse history, whose Museo Storico is well worth a
visit if you are in the Milan area. Entry is free, and the museum is open
between 09.00 - 12.30 and 14.00 - 17.00, Monday to Friday, although
it is best to check beforehand at - museostorico@alfaromeo.com or
telephone +39 02 444 29 322. For the Centro Documentazione the
contact details are centrodocumentazione@alfaromeo.com and that
department's telephone number is +39 02 444 29 115.
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