The Biscione: Why Alfa Romeo Still Wears a Snake Eating a Man Walk past a parked Alfa Romeo. Lean in and look at the badge. What you’ll see, on every Giulia, every Stelvio, every Tonale, every 4C, every Junior, every old Spider parked in a Surrey driveway, is a blue serpent wearing a crown, devouring … Read more
Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale: the most beautiful car ever made? There is a certain kind of claim that gets repeated so often in car magazines that it loses its meaning. “The most beautiful car ever made.” Top Gear has said it. Chris Harris has said it. Pebble Beach jurors say it every time a 33 … Read more
The French Disaster That Built Alfa: Portello, 1906 Picture this. A French industrialist with a handlebar moustache walks into a Naples hotel in April 1906, signs a stack of papers, and announces he’s going to teach Italians how to build cars. Eighteen months later his factory is bleeding money in the wrong city, his Italian … Read more
The Man Who Saved Alfa Without Loving Cars: Nicola Romeo Most car brands that survive a century get a fairy tale stitched onto their origin story. There’s always a founder with petrol in his veins, a workshop epiphany, a sketch on a napkin. Henry Ford watching the Model T roll out the door. Frederick Henry … Read more
FRANCO SCAGLIONE — THE GENIUS ITALY CHOSE TO FORGET There’s a letter Nuccio Bertone wrote on May 19, 1993. It reads: “I remember with great emotion your contribution to our project. I remember your sharpness in the shape of futuristic cars. I also remember our fierce discussions looking for excellence. Your passion and knowledge of … Read more
Wifredo Ricart: The Spanish Engineer Who Made Ferrari Happen… Without Even Trying A kid from Barcelona, born in 1897. A guy who graduated in industrial engineering before turning 21. A man who designed racing cars with double overhead cams and 16 valves when most manufacturers didn’t even know those words. A Spaniard who walked into … Read more
DTM: How German Brands Created, Dominated, and Killed Their Own Championship DTM is the story of a suicide in slow motion. A brilliant championship, with the best touring cars in the world, cutting-edge technology, and elite drivers, that was destroyed by the very brands that created it. It wasn’t an accident. It wasn’t bad luck. … Read more
