The registry
Alfa Romeo Registry: Models, Builds & Photos
Alfa Romeo started in Milan in 1910 as A.L.F.A. (Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili), built on the remains of a failed Italian Darracq venture. Engineer Nicola Romeo took control in 1915, and the cars carried the Alfa Romeo name from 1920. The company won the first Formula One World Championship in 1950 with the 158 Alfetta, spent 1933 to 1986 under Italian state ownership through IRI, and was sold to Fiat in 1986. It survives today inside Stellantis, still building front-line road cars, which makes it one of the oldest continuously operating car brands in the world.
Pick your model
Where the marque came from
A.L.F.A. was founded in Milan in 1910 on the remains of a failed Darracq venture. Nicola Romeo took control in 1915, during World War I, and the cars were badged Alfa Romeo from 1920, starting with the Torpedo 20-30 HP. The pre-war years produced Vittorio Jano's twin-cam straight-eights, and the racing effort, run from 1933 to 1938 by Enzo Ferrari's Scuderia, dominated grand prix racing into the 1930s. Giuseppe Farina won the first F1 World Championship in a 158 in 1950, and Juan Manuel Fangio repeated in a 159 in 1951.
State ownership, front drive, and Fiat
The Italian state holding company IRI controlled Alfa from 1933. Postwar, the 1954 Giulietta moved the firm from hand-built cars to real production volume, all with aluminum twin-cam fours. The Alfasud, shown at Turin in 1971, brought a flat-four and front-wheel drive, an architecture that carried through most later small Alfas. Losses piled up, and Fiat bought the company in 1986. Alfa Romeo is not defunct; it continues under Stellantis. After the rear-drive 75 ended in 1992, every volume model was front or all-wheel drive until the 2016 Giulia, the only exceptions being low-volume cars like the 8C Competizione (2007-2010) and the mid-engined 4C (2013 on), both rear drive.
The model lines owners actually run
- 147 (2000-2010): C-segment hatch on a shortened 156 platform, European Car of the Year 2001. Twin Spark fours and the 3.2 Busso V6 in the GTA of 2002-2005. The Selespeed automated manual is the known weak point; Twin Spark cam variators rattle when worn.
- GTV: the name covers three unrelated cars. The 105/115-series coupes (1963-1977) began as the Giulia Sprint GT, a Giugiaro shape for Bertone, and wore GTV badges as the 1750 GTV and 2000 GTV, all rear drive with the twin-cam four. The 116-series Alfetta GT and GTV (1974-1987) use a rear transaxle with a de Dion axle and gained the 2.5 V6 in 1980 as the GTV6. The 916-series GTV (1995-2004, last cars sold into 2005) is front drive with Twin Spark fours and Busso V6s.
- 145 and 146 (1994-2000): hatchback twins on the Tipo-derived platform; the 145 arrived in 1994, the 146 went on sale in 1995. Both launched with carryover boxer engines from the Alfasud lineage, then switched to Twin Spark fours in early 1997.
- 164 (1987-1998): executive sedan on the shared Type Four platform with the Saab 9000 and Lancia Thema, styled by Pininfarina. Front drive, offered with 12-valve and 24-valve versions of the Busso V6. It was the last Alfa Romeo sold in the United States before the brand withdrew after the 1995 model year.
- Spider (1966-1994): the Pininfarina-bodied 105/115-series roadster, launched as the Duetto with the 1.6 twin cam. Boat-tail through 1969, Kamm tail after, with 1750 and 2000 engines and SPICA mechanical injection on US cars from 1969 until Bosch electronics arrived in 1982. One body shell ran 28 years.
What owning one means
Rust is the constant across every era, especially Alfasud-derived cars and 105-series floors. The twin-cam four and the Busso V6 both reward valve-adjustment discipline and timing-belt vigilance (the V6 belt interval is not a suggestion). Parts support is genuinely good for 105-series Spiders and GTVs through specialist suppliers, thinner but workable for 145/146/147, where used and European-market parts fill the gaps.
Asked all the time
What years was the Alfa Romeo 147 made?
The Alfa Romeo 147 ran from 2000 to 2010, with a facelift in late 2004. Engines were 1.6 and 2.0 Twin Spark fours, JTD diesels, and the 3.2 liter Busso V6 in the 147 GTA of 2002-2005. It was never sold new in North America.
Are there two different Alfa Romeo GTVs?
There are three. Alfa Romeo put GTV badges on the rear-drive 105/115-series coupes descended from the 1963 Giulia Sprint GT (1750 GTV, 2000 GTV, through 1977), on the 116-series Alfetta GT/GTV of 1974-1987 including the transaxle GTV6 with the 2.5 V6, and on the front-drive 916-series GTV built from 1995 to 2004 with sales into 2005. They share a badge and nothing mechanical.
Is Alfa Romeo still in business?
Alfa Romeo never went under. It was state-owned from 1933, sold to Fiat in 1986, and is now a Stellantis brand still selling new cars, including the Giulia and Stelvio.
What should I watch for on an Alfa Romeo 164?
On the Alfa Romeo 164 (1987-1998), the Busso V6 timing belt and tensioner are the critical service item, and the automatic transmissions are weaker than the manuals. Electrical gremlins in the dash and climate control are common, and body parts are harder to source than mechanical parts.
How is parts availability for the classic Alfa Romeo Spider?
The 105/115-series Alfa Romeo Spider (1966-1994) has strong specialist parts support because the same body and twin-cam engine family ran for 28 years. SPICA injection components on 1969-1981 US cars need a specialist, and floor and trunk rust repair panels are readily available because you will need them.
The wall
The most-documented Alfa Romeo vehicles in the registry, every photo by the owner.
