Autodelta S.p.A.
Autodelta was Alfa Romeo’s semi-independent racing arm from 1963 to 1984 — the organisation responsible for the marque’s most sustained period of post-war motorsport dominance. It was founded on 6 March 1963 by Carlo Chiti and entrepreneur Ludovico Chizzola. Chizzola operated an Alfa Romeo dealership in Udine (Friuli), and the first workshops were in a shed adjacent to it. Chiti had previously been Ferrari’s chief designer — architect of the shark-nose 156 F1 car that won Phil Hill the 1961 World Championship — but personal conflicts at Maranello, particularly with Laura Ferrari, had driven him out. After a brief and unsuccessful period at the ATS project, Chizzola’s offer gave him the platform to build an independent racing organisation. In October 1964, Alfa Romeo and Autodelta formalised their relationship with a contract widening Autodelta’s remit to prototype creation, mechanical development, and direct competition management; the company relocated to Settimo Milanese, near Milan.
Autodelta’s first programme was the Giulia TZ (Tubolare Zagato) — a lightweight Giulia-based GT racer — which secured class wins at Le Mans, Sebring, the Targa Florio, and the Nürburgring 1000 km in 1964. The GTA (Gran Turismo Alleggerita) followed: homologated for Group 2 touring car racing, it won nine European Championships between 1966 and 1972 (four Drivers, five Constructors). Meanwhile, Chiti developed the Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 prototype programme, beginning in 1963–64 and running through a decade of incremental evolution. The flat-12 Tipo 33 TT 12 (1973), producing 500 bhp from a 3.0-litre 48-valve engine in a tubular chassis, finally delivered Alfa’s most emphatic post-war success: in 1975 (running under the Willi Kauhsen organisation with Campari sponsorship) the TT 12 won seven of nine rounds to claim the World Championship for Makes; in 1977, the evolved SC12 with box-section chassis went further still, winning all eight championship rounds. Drivers across both campaigns included Arturo Merzario, Jacky Ickx, Vittorio Brambilla, Mario Andretti, Jacques Laffite, Brian Redman, and Rolf Stommelen.
Chiti also developed Alfa’s presence in Formula 1, first as an engine supplier (to McLaren, March, and Brabham — Niki Lauda won two races in 1978 with the Brabham BT46 using Chiti’s flat-12) and then as a full constructor when the works Alfa Romeo F1 team debuted at the 1979 Belgian Grand Prix. This programme continued under Autodelta management until 1984. Chiti subsequently founded Motori Moderni, a Novara-based company that built turbocharged F1 engines for customer teams in the late 1980s. With the Fiat acquisition of Alfa Romeo in 1986 and the integration of racing operations, Autodelta’s formal existence was wound down. The company had operated under Chiti’s directorship from the first day to the last — an unusually stable twenty-one-year tenure.
Connections
- Carlo Chiti — founder and Director General, 1963–1984, source: tcct.com
- Alfa Romeo — contracted racing division, October 1964–1984, source: wikipedia.org
- Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 — primary prototype racing programme, 1967–1977, source: wikipedia.org
- Alfa Romeo Formula One Return 1976-1985 — Autodelta was the organisational vehicle for both the engine supply (Brabham 1976–79) and the works F1 constructor programme (1979–1984), source: wikipedia.org
- Fiat — Fiat acquisition of Alfa Romeo 1986 ended Autodelta’s remaining activities, source: tcct.com
- Alfa Romeo Giulia 1962 — GTA programme derived from Giulia platform; 9 European Championships 1966–1972, source: tcct.com
Autodelta [relates] Alfa Romeo Formula One Return 1976-1985