Alfa Romeo is celebrating two momentous milestones this year; the centenary of the Quadrifoglio badge and 60 years of the Autodelta subdivision but there may be a pleasant surprise that will be revealed at the anniversary celebrations in the middle of the year.
Image: Yash Upadhyay
The latest press release from Alfa Romeo honours the legacy of two iconic symbols to the Italian automaker; the Quadrifoglio (four-leaf clover) and the Autodelta emblem but the first clue to a hotly anticipated supercar may have also been revealed. As part of the 100th anniversary of the legendary Quadrifoglio symbol and the 60th anniversary of Autodelta, Alfa Romeo has revealed two modernised logos that will form part of the Clubs’ and the brand’s events. In addition to these two anniversaries, the correspondence also hints at other momentous occasions when it states “activities and novelties will follow throughout 2023.”
Image: Alfa Romeo
While there has been constant rumour of Alfa Romeo creating one final supercar before going all-electric, it seems that the time for its reveal is coming sooner rather than later. How will the year pan out for Alfa Romeo and their pending celebrations? On March 5th, the Italian brand will celebrate Autodelta’s anniversary and on June 25th, on the occasion of the brand’s anniversary, two unmissable events dedicated to all fans will take place at the Alfa Romeo Historical Museum in Arese. What we believe novelties and unmissable events to signify is the reveal of the aforementioned V6-powered supercar, perhaps even two limited edition models.
For Autodelta’s 60th anniversary Alfa Romeo is also setting up a conference at the Arese Museum on March 5, the day in which the racing department was founded. Meanwhile on June 25, as part of the brand’s birthday celebrations, the Quadrifoglio Day will take place, followed by the “Backstage” conference which will feature a parade and flashmob which will be open to all of Alfa Romeo clubs.
One last dance for a petrol-powered supercar is a momentous occasion so we believe that we can expect to see the clandestine model for the first time on the 25th of June, the birthday of what will be the 123-year-old automaker. Zagato more recently unveiled their one-off GTA-powered coupe but Alfa Romeo’s in-house derivative has been kept tightly under wraps. Seen here are renderings by Yash Upadhyay demonstrating an unmistakable yet lethal-looking Alfa Romeo supercar imagined for the modern age.
Image: Yash Upadhyay
While all of this remains speculation on the future of the automaker, there is no doubt about the historic pedigree that Alfa Romeo boasts. With the more famously known Quadrifoglio emblem adorned on highly strung performance derivates of their road-going cars, 100 years ago marks the first occasion that Ugo Sivocci, painted the symbol on his RL “Corsa” for added luck. He promptly went on to win the 14th edition of Targa Florio, thus winning the first of the brand’s ten laurels in this prestigious competition. Since then, the symbol has become commonplace on all motorsport-oriented Alfa Romeos too.
The story of Autodelta starts a bit further down the timeline. On March 5, 1963, Carlo Chiti and the Chizzola brothers founded a small company based in Feletto Umberto, near Udine, with the aim of collaborating with Alfa Romeo in the construction of the Giulia TZ, a compact gran turismo designed by Zagato, built on the Giulia’s engine and mechanics and equipped with an exclusive tubular chassis, hence the acronym Tubolare Zagato.
Shortly thereafter, the company would go on to create some of the most famous Alfa Romeo racing cars including the legendary 1965 Giulia Sprint GTA, which won three consecutive “Challenge Europeo Marche,” dozens of national championships and hundreds of individual races all over the world. This compact model also became the first touring car to lap the dangerous Nurburgring’s Nordschleife under 10 minutes.
All of these unique collaborations enabled the famous Alfa Romeo to achieve hundreds of accolades and dozens of winds and championships in a spectrum of motoring disciplines, cementing the Italian automaker as one of the all-time greats.
