Alfa Romeo Tipo 103

Alfa Romeo Tipo 103
File:Alfa Romeo 103 1954.JPG Alfa Romeo Tipo 103 in the Alfa Romeo Museum
Overview
Manufacturer	Alfa Romeo
Production	1960
Body and chassis
Class	Experimental
Body style	4-door sedan
Layout	Front-engine, front-wheel-drive
Powertrain
Engine	896 cc cc I4
Transmission	4-speed manual
Dimensions
Wheelbase	2,230 mm (87.8 in)
Length	3,630 mm (142.9 in)
Width	1,500 mm (59.1 in)
Height	1,300 mm (51.2 in)
Kerb weight	725 kg (1,598 lb) (empty)

Under the project name Alfa Romeo Tipo 103 or Project V the Italian automobile manufacturer Alfa Romeo developed a small car in the late 1950s, which should establish the company as a major auto manufacturer. The Tipo 103 had some very innovative design features such as a transversely mounted engine and front wheel drive. The car never ended as mass production for economic reasons. The Tipo 103 is considered forerunner of ten years later featured Alfasud. The only remaining example of the type 103 is kept at the company's historical museum.

Background

Alfa Romeo was until the outbreak of World War II, a manufacturer of high-priced sports cars have been availed of the market segment of the upper class. After the war, the company management decided on a repositioning of the brand, the 1950 with the Alfa Romeo 1900 began, a sporty saloon of the upper middle class, the factory via a standardized self-supporting body possessed and half the price was as the exclusive pre-war vehicles. 1954 appeared with the Giulietta, the first Alfa Romeo, which was designed as a mid-range model immediately.

The history of the 103 began towards the end of April 1954, at the Turin where they were presented the Giulietta Sprint and Romeo, Ing. Rudolf Hruska informed me of the intention of Finmeccanica to start developing a micro car. Following the presentation of the Fiat 600 , in 1955 , the leadership Alfa Romeo authorized the study of a ' small car in front-wheel drive , the sector in which the Milanese house had never ventured before. The project for the new car, called the Type 13-61, which was attended by technicians Rudolf Hruska, Orazio Satta Puliga and Giuseppe Busso. This never reached the prototype stage, because of the high costs involved for the production and the company then suspended the project in 1958, preferring to build on license models 4 and Dauphine of Renault, in order to penetrate the market of small cars. Alfa Romeo ended up canceling the project without knowing that it could have revolutionized the world of the automobile.

In 1959 , after the enormous interest to Mini of Alec Issigonis, was picked up the idea of building a car with front wheel drive. In 1960 was created the first prototype of Tipo 103 model, following the principals of Type 13-61. Until 1962 undertook Alfa Romeo numerous tests with the Tipo 103. Notwithstanding the allegedly convincing results of these tests Alfa Romeo finally decided for economic reasons against mass production of the Tipo 103, as to achieve greater profits allegedly with models of the middle and the upper middle class were ; Some sources also refer to an alleged market sharing of the Italian automotive market between Fiat and Alfa Romeo, which would be the 103 become irrelevant by a series production.

The concept of the compact front wheel drive car was picked up a decade later with the Alfasud whose development and production to a large extent has been promoted by the state again. Notwithstanding influenced the body of the 103 more later presented production vehicles.

Technology

The Tipo 103 was a 3.6-metre (12 ft) small car with unibody construction. It was equipped with a four-cylinder double overhead cam (2 valves per cylinder) 4-cylinder inline engine with 0.9 L displacement, mounted transversely. The engine has maximum power 52 PS (38 kW; 51 hp) at 5500 rpm. The power was transmitted to the front wheels via four speed fully synchronized gearbox. Top speed during testing was 139 kilometres per hour (86 mph) and standing kilometer took 41.2 seconds.

The body was designed as a four-door sedan. The structure was formed straight, the rear doors ended in front of the wheel arches. Renault took the basic concept of the body for the 1962 featured R8, but with a rear-mounted engine. The rear of the Tipo 103 had a sunken in the middle trunk lid and transversely arranged thereunder taillights. This design concept took over Alfa Romeo, with only minor changes for the Giulietta successor Giulia, which came on the market in 1962.

The vehicle's curb weight was 725 kg (1,598 lb).

Bibliography

• Georg Amtmann, Halwart Schrader: Italienische Sportwagen. Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3-613-01988-4.
• Stefan Heins: Süd-Früchtchen. 30 Jahre Alfa Romeo Alfasud. In: Oldtimer Markt, Heft 10/2002, S. 188 ff.

External links

• Alfa Romeo 103 at www.carfolio.com