PASSION
The Alpha Gazelle
July 12, 2017
Elvira Ruocco Historical memory of Alfa Romeo thanks to her more than twenty years of experience at the Alfa Romeo Centro di Documentazione Storica, has become part of the Museum team and in the column "Elvira Racconta" she will share curiosities and anecdotes that you don't know or don't remember. We will go over the legendary history of Alfa Romeo with her.

According to Alfa Romeo's management, this car was supposed to be the new post-war car to be included in the medium-high segment of the 2000 6-cylinder, but it did not go beyond the prototype stage.

The first studies on a new car called the 1352, better known as the 'Gazelle', date back to the summer of 1943. According to the Alfa Romeo management, this car was to be the new post-war car in the medium-high segment of the 2000 6-cylinder cars, but it did not go beyond the prototype stage. Giuseppe Busso sketched out the engine-gearbox-differential unit towards the end of February 1944, and it was to be front-wheel drive. Although it stood out for some solutions that were unthinkable at the time, the project was abandoned because it was considered too complex and expensive for mass production. In the annex to a note from the General Secretariat in 1945, production of 1,280 units for a total of 256 million was planned for the second year. The price of the car was set at 200,000 lire. Designer Edo Masoni, in an interview with historian Griffith Borgeson, described the car as follows: 'It was at least thirty years ahead of its time, with its electromagnetic clutch for the cooling fan, which avoided wasting energy. The transmission was absolutely standard, but the gearbox forks were moved by a hydraulic piston, after the driver had selected the gear by means of a lever on the steering column, and then pressed the clutch pedal. It was a system that had never been thought of before. The engine was a jewel.
Wifredo Ricart, a Spanish engineer born in Barcelona, joined Alfa in 1936 as a consultant for testing and technical problems. He designed some racing cars for Alfa Romeo during the Second World War. At the end of March 1945, he left Alfa. In his own country he contributed to the foundation of Pegaso. I will tell you more about this designer, who can be considered Enzo Ferrari's number one enemy.  

An opportunity to remember a legendary story and all those who helped to create the Alpha myth but also to attract and motivate new generations to keep this myth alive in the years to come.