The marque retains its character, but with a lot of Fiat bits underneath.

What started life as Anonima Lombardo Fabbrica Automobili (ALFA) in 1910 in a factory bought from Darracq was taken over by Nicolo Romeo in 1915. Thus began one of the great marques in motoring history. The glory days were the 1930s, when Alfas were among the best cars money could buy.

Postwar survival drove them downmarket, but the spirit remained with fine ranges of coupés and spiders to compliment the everyday saloons. Sadly it wasn’t enough and when financial losses piled too high in the 1908s, Fiat headed off a bid from Ford to take control in 1987. The marque retains its character, but with a lot of Fiat bits underneath.

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