Anyone who loves Alfa Romeo can’t help loving its wheels: there is just something about them - their precision, their richness, their instantly recognizable harmony and elegance, the product of years of research and dedication to finding the right forms and materials.
Such as the wheel used on the very first Alfa, the 24 HP with 12 wooden spokes, it was the first in a long line of Alfa Romeo wheel designs.

There was still a long way to go though
The excessive weight of this first wheel meant that something lighter had to be found: this led to the creation of raking metallic spokes, with central fastening wing nuts. In some cases, the spokes were covered by exclusive aluminium hemispherical hub-caps, such as on the fascinating Villa d’Este, which among other things was also the winner of a prize for elegance

Mass production, which began after the Second World War, led to a need for forged iron wheels with holes and chrome-plated hub-caps. These were mounted on the Giulietta in 1954 and on the Giulia saloon of 1962. Not to mention the 6C CM with its raking spokes, whose front wheels ‘protruded’ slightly to make room for the disc brake callipers.

The desire for racing cars with even better performance led to the need for light alloy wheels, such as those used on the TZ, the TZ2 and the 33 Stradale. Note the concave surface on the last model.
These wheels were later used on the more ‘up-market’ versions of production models such as the 156 (with star-shaped alloy wheels with round holes) and the 147 GTA.

The front is without doubt one of the most distinctive elements of any Alfa Romeo, where the headlights and traditional radiator are instantly recognizable.
On the 24 HP from 1910, the large vertical brass radiator was flanked by gas ‘lanterns’ on either side. Twenty years later, the front was already more inclined, with a protective grille at the front.

With the advent of new manufacturing processes, forms became more fluid and aerodynamic: this led – first on the B Lungo, then on the Villa d’Este – to the shield shape with its extra slits.
But it wasn’t until the Giulietta that the famous triangular form appeared, with a central shield and the classic side ‘whiskers’, accompanied by round lights that made the car even more attractive, as if that were possible.

In the modern, ‘rational’ era, the entire width of the front is taken up by an air intake incorporating both the shield and lights. The lights are the elements that underwent the greatest change: they were round on the GTA, rectangular on the Alfasud and trapezioid on the Alfa 75.
While on the 164 and the GTV/Spider the shield seemed to rest on the hood, on the 156 it once again took up its ‘dominant’ position at the front, shifting the vehicle’s number plate sideways.

In more recent years, Alfa Romeo cars have often featured a modern reworking of the classic triangular form – just take a look at the 147 or the new 8C Competizione for example – and along with the Brera have created a sort of new ‘family feeling’.

Anyone who thinks about Alfa Romeo can’t help but think about it’s distinctive logo. A logo that has always remained true to itself: it has changed relatively little over the years, but rather has been adapted to cater for entrepreneurial, stylistic or historical needs.
The name A.L.F.A. is the acronym from Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili, and this is what appeared on the very first car in 1910, next to the coat of arms of the Visconti family and symbol of the city of Milan – the snake.

Next to the coat of arms of the Visconti family and symbol of the city of Milan – the snake. The words ALFA and MILANO at the top and bottom of the logo were separated by Savoy dynasty knots, which remained until the fall of the Italian monarchy.
When Alfa was taken over a few years later by Nicola Romeo, his surname was added to the logo, and so was born Alfa Romeo. Victory in the first world championship by the P2 led to the addition of another element: the crown of laurels.

The austerity of the immediate post-war period – together with the destruction of the original mould in a bombing raid – led to a simplified, monochromatic logo, and the Savoy knots were replaced by two wavy lines.
The Fifties saw the return of the colour version of the logo, and in 1972 the decision was made to remove the word ‘Milano’, following the opening of the Alfa Sud plant near Naples.

The last restyling came in the Eighties, when the logo was increased in diameter and the crown of laurels was removed, leaving the logo as it is today, known and loved by thousands of fans around the world.

The Alfa Romeo door handle is one of the details that has changed the most over the years.
On the earliest models, handles weren’t of prime importance, and were largely ‘copied’ from other existing handles: the handle on the 24 HP looks like a wardrobe handle, for example, while the 20-30 has a lever handle reminiscent of those that can still be seen in homes of the period.

As the car industry gradually established itself, handles were taken more seriously (the handle on the 2000 Sportiva was inset), but they retained a rather home-made feel until after the Second World War.
Handles referred to today as ‘classics’ are those from the Fifties and Sixties: chrome-plated, ergonomic and push-button, as seen on the Giulietta Sprint and the Giulia.

In the Sixties, Seventies and Eighties, forward-looking design trends led to the creation of non-protruding handles flush with the car body, examples of which can be seen on the Giulia GT, the Alfetta GTV and the Alfa 164.
A noteworthy model from the Nineties is the 156, featuring a classic aluminium handle at the front, while the rear handle is hidden in the door window frame.

The vertical movement of the handle on the 159 is typical of a period when practicality was considered as important as looks – two aspects that are still crucial in the design of every detail on Alfa Romeo cars.

The use of materials reflects the development of automotive engineering.
The basic material in Alfa’s first car in 1910 was wood, was used not just as a lining material, but actually as part of the structure of the car. Let’s not forget that the motor car came about as an evolution of the carriage!
Another material used since the early days of the car – albeit to a greater or lesser extent - is steel: just consider, for example, its abundant use on the AR51, otherwise affectionately known as the ‘Matta’ (the crazy car).

With time, the use of aluminium and aluminium alloys became increasingly common, both for mechanical and structural components and for the bodywork, as on the GTA from 1965.
Beyond its ‘classic’ use for windows, the use of glass probably reached its peak with the Alfa prototypes produce in the Sixties and Seventies, and then again in the Nineties: the 33.2 by Pininfarina, the Caimano and the Proteo are examples that are more unique than rare for the ingenuity and beauty of the end result.

Titanium, on the other hand, was used for structural details of the chassis of racing cars, such as for the suspension on the F1 179 F from 1982.
But it is perhaps in the use of ‘composite’ materials – first used on racing cars for bodywork elements and then for the entire bodyshell– that the most striking results can be seen, such as the use of fibreglass on the 3SC 12 (1977), or the Gruppo C (1986), a prototype featuring extensive use of kevlar.

Then we come to the 8C Competizione, in which carbon elements make the car quite simply unique.

As with every car – although perhaps even more so for Alfa Romeo – the dashboard is one of the elements that has changed the most over the years. It has changed as the car itself has changed, evolving over the years.
In 1910, just a few instruments screwed onto a simple wooden base were enough to make a dashboard.

On later models, the dash was already becoming more complex, with more instruments and with metal replacing wood, flat at first and then more rounded.
After the Second World War, the use of synthetic materials such as bakelite and perspex for the knobs and surrounds became commonplace: they can be seen, for example, on the Villa d’Este and on the Giulia T.I.

Gradually the classic layout using circular instrumentation developed, a layout that can still be seen to this day on the Alfa Romeo dashboards, with the rev counter and speedometer placed facing the driver. On competition and sports cars, meanwhile – such as the TZ2 and the 33 Stradale – the speedometer was pushed to the side, facing the passenger.

These main dials were later joined by the secondary instrumentation (petrol, oil and water gauges), with smaller dials placed in the centre of the dashboard: examples can be seen on the Duetto from 1966, the Alfa 156 and also on the 8C Competizione today.
The intention was to give drivers the chance to enjoy the car by having everything under control.

The story of how car seats have developed over the years is actually a very good reflection of how the concept of the car itself has developed, beginning in the early decades of the last century.
There is no doubt, for example, that the seats on the 24 HP made by Alfa are clearly derived from the seats on the horse-drawn carriages that could still be seen in great numbers on Italian streets after the turn of the century.

Seat design soon took a different direction, however, when – especially for racing models – simpler, more practical seats were needed: this gave rise to the staggered seats on the P2 and on the 8C 2300.
With improving engine performance, and particularly greater speeds on bends, came the need for seats that could provide lateral support for the driver against jolts and help him remain in the natural driving position.

Examples of this can be seen on the Giulietta SZ with its cut-off tail, and on the Alfetta Spider. Not to mention the numerous prototypes developed by Alfa in the Sixties and Seventies, such as the Carabo, Caimano, Cuneo and Eagle Spider, to name but a few.
Since then, for the last thirty years, wraparound seats – although less marked now than then – have been a feature of all Alfa Romeos, both sports cars and saloons.

A modern example is the 8C Competizione, in which the seats form a single unit with the driver, whose driving position is more comfortable than ever.