In the fifth episode of “Storie Alda Romeo”, the company reveals how, for over 70 years, police officers in Italy have used the company’s cars to perform essential job functions. Starting in the 1950s, Alfas were used as call-out vehicles, patrol models in U.S. terms, and became known as the “volanti”.
Cars used by the State Police were nicknamed “Panthers” and those of the Carabinieri (military police) earned the nickname “Gazelles”. Both terms were flattering and served as metaphors for the vehicles’ power and agility.
The first Panther
Photo courtesy of Alfa Romeo
Built in 1952, the first Panther was an Alfa Romeo 1900. The Gazelles began production a few years later.
The Alfa Romeo 1900 marked a lot of firsts for its maker. It was the first Alfa to have a self-supporting body and the first left-hand drive model. The car came with a four-cylinder engine, abandoning the six- and eight-cylinder power plants that had proved popular with buyers. The engine was powered by a single carburetor and delivered 80 horsepower (that was a good amount back then).
The 1900 was the first Alfa to be produced on an assembly line, which dropped the production time of one vehicle from 240 hours to 100. Many modern factories have been able to cut this time down to 48 to 72 hours.
It was agile and fast. The car was launched to the public with the slogan “The family car that wins races”. It proved popular with buyers. Alfa sold more 1900s alone than the total number of Alfa Romeos it had sold up until the 1900 was produced.
Success in variety
Photo courtesy of Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo attributes much of the 1900’s success to product cycle management that is replicated time and time again in the modern market by companies worldwide. Alfa introduced several high-performance variants of the 1900 including the 1900 TI, 1900 C Sprint and Super Sprint, and the 1900 Super, winning important international competitions within their category.
Continued coachbuilder collaboration
Photo courtesy of Alfa Romeo
Even as the 1900 grew in popularity with the average buyer, the Alfa Romeo continued working with coach builders to launch concept cars, like the Berlinetta Aerodinamica Tecnica (BAT) on 1900 mechanics. The BAT was created by Bertone and designed by Franco Scaglione.
The Matta
Photo courtesy of Alfa Romeo
The same engine as the one used in the 1900 was also adopted by the Alfa Romeo 1900 M, which is better known as the “Matta”. Alfa made two different versions of the Matta from 1951 to 1954, one for civilians and one for military personnel.
It was a 4×4 that achieved 64 horsepower from its four-cylinder engine, which was paired with a four-speed manual gearbox.
In a similar vein as the Willys-Overland MB cum CJ-2A, several variants were produced for the agriculture, firefighting, and road maintenance industries.
The first Gazelle
Photo courtesy of Alfa Romeo
The Alfa Romeo Giulietta was the first Gazelle, which was designed as a patrol vehicle. It came equipped with a radio system so officers could stay in touch with headquarters. Even in most modern police vehicles, radios are a aftermarket accessory.
The Giulietta was shorter, narrower, and lighter than the 1900 and offered buyers a modern exterior that gave owners high levels of comfortability in the cabin. Its aluminum engine delivered 65 horsepower and the car had a maximum speed of 102.5 mph.
The car was a near instant success. It became known as “Italy’s sweetheart” and sold over 177,000 units.
At the 1954 Turin Motorshow, a coupe version of the Giulietta debuted. Called the Giulietta Sprint, the model was designed by Bertone to be a low-lying, compact, agile car.
Enter: Giulia
Photo courtesy of Alfa Romeo
As popular as Giulietta was, the Giulia was even more so.
The reasons for its popularity started at the front and rear, where, instead of beg but for style, they were designed to be shock-absorbent. This combined with a rigid passenger compartment to give drivers the comfort of knowing that they were in a safe (for its time) car. Many of these innovations were not yet compulsory.
Under the car’s hood was a 1.6-litre twin cam engine. It had one one of the lowest coefficients of drag of its time, only 0.34. Alfa Romeo’s marketing department capitalized on this, promoting the car as being “designed by the wind”.
Sales of the vehicle were beyond expetation. The company sold over 570,000 sales, more than triple those of Giulietta.
Famous police cars
Photo courtesy of Alfa Romeo
The Alfa Romeo Giulia Super was one of the most popular Alfas ever produced and one of the most famous Italian police cars ever produced. Other police cars from the Alfa lineup include the Alfasud, Alfa 75, and Alfetta Alfasud, Alfa 75156. Today, first responders drive the modern Giulia.
