Il Quadrifoglio 1973

The world of 1973 was about to become modern.

In New York, that year, the World Trade Center was inaugurated, with the twin towers open to the public. The symbol of an era - destined to end in 2001 - in which optimism and progress ruled, with the counterpart of youthful rebellion expressed through music. 

The year of the publication of The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd (soundtrack of this article).

The factories were doing well, we were doing well. 

1973 was also the last year of publication of Il Quadrifoglio, the quarterly magazine for Alfisti, as we have come to know it: in fact, publication was suspended until 1983, when it was resumed with new graphics and an entirely new concept.

So, this is also the last appointment with the most vintage Il Quadrifoglio pages of our Cozzi.Lab, but we will be back (in a different way) to talk about a magazine so deeply rooted in the soul of Alfa Romeo fans.

In the meantime, let's leaf through the 1973 issues together!

IN THE SNOW WITH ALFA 

In 1973, the Alpine Ski World Cup - which opened on 7 December 1972 and ended on 23 March 1973 - was in full swing and one of the most important stages was set in Madonna di Campiglio, a popular tourist resort at the time.

Alfa Romeo did not miss the opportunity and organised aphoto shoot (today we would call it a shooting) with the Italian ski champions and the most beautiful Alfa Romeos capable of creating colour contrast on the snow.

So we see Gustavo and Rolando Thoeni with Pierino Gros posing with a Montreal, an Alfetta, a GT 1600 and an Alfasud. 

Celebrating together a golden year for the Azzurri. 

A... DOG'S PAW

Il Quadrifoglio was undoubtedly a magazine dedicated to Alfisti enthusiasts, but we mustn't forget that it was often read by the whole family: including members who knew very little about cars.

Here then is the fine article by Umberto Domina, who uses workshop jargon to explain to his readers the car components with the strangest names. So we have "the dog's paw", a part of the front door compartment, or "the kangaroo", an air intake duct in the car, "the schnitzel" and "the biscuit". 

"I hear one of them say: "Pass me the bone to bite" and the other one says: "Lorenzo has it, he's over there with his hat" "here's the clogged kangaroo" says one of them. "I'll put the scimitar away and give you a hand," says another. I'm afraid they're going to slit a kangaroo's throat with a scimitar, so I move away. 

CARS AND COMICS 

No cinema for the first issue of 1973, but comics.

After the previous years' excursus into comic and art films, this edition of Il Quadrifoglio shows how cars have become part of the collective imagination.this year's edition of Il Quadrifoglio shows just how much cars have become part of the collective imagination, so much so that they even end up in comic strips for children and young people.

Hugo Pratt's Corto Maltese, George Clark's G-Men, Phil Davis's Mandrake, Carl Barks's Uncle Scrooge and Rockerduck for Disney, all the way to Hanna and Barbera's Flintstones with their pedestrian-powered car.... 

Comic book heroes travel by car, says Quadrifoglio!

TIM ALFA AND TOM ROMEO

If there was a competition to crown the greatest Alfa Romeo fan of all time, it would probably include Tom Coronel, a Dutchman who decided to name his twin sons Tim Alfa and Tom Romeo in 1973.

Declaring his intention to also think of a little sister, to be called Giulia, of course.

STRANGE BUT TRUE! IN 1972 TWINS WERE NAMED TIM ALPHA AND TOM ROMEO

The surprising fact?

One of the twin brothers, Tim, became a pilot over the years and took part in the Dakar Rally! 

SMALL, SPACE,PUBLICITY! 

For the Alfasud, the parent company devised an advertising campaign that was very different from all the others, and the Quadrifoglio never misses an opportunity to recall this, interviewing one of the advertisers who created the slogans. 

"'Alfasud: it puts them all right'.

"Alfasud: very lively, she's all her aunt Giulia".

And so on. A young, friendly campaign, which chose drawing instead of the more classic photography without skimping on technical details. Just the way Alfa fans like it. 

THE TROPHY 1973

Finally, the trophy that rewards the drivers who distinguished themselves during 1972: signed by the Tuscan Agenore Fabbri, the work of art that can also be admired at the Museum in the Cozzi.Lab is a hymn to speed, movement and progress. 

We said at the beginning that this was an almost futuristic year!