Alfa Romeo 75 (Milano)
The Alfa Romeo 75 was introduced in May 1985 as successor to the Giulietta saloon, and its name announced its purpose plainly: the car was launched to celebrate Alfa Romeo’s 75th anniversary, founded in 1910 as A.L.F.A. under Ugo Stella. It would prove, in retrospect, to be the last chapter in a particular engineering tradition — the final Alfa Romeo road car built with rear-wheel drive and the transaxle layout that stretched back through the Alfetta (1972) all the way in engineering philosophy to the 159 Alfetta Grand Prix cars. When the 75 was discontinued in 1992, it was succeeded by the front-wheel-drive 155 — and enthusiasts have called the 75 “the last real Alfa” ever since.
The technical package was unapologetically traditional in the best Alfa sense. The gearbox and clutch were housed at the rear axle in the transaxle configuration, giving near-perfect front-to-rear weight distribution. Suspension was independent torsion bars at the front, De Dion tube at the rear, with inboard rear disc brakes to minimise unsprung weight — identical principles to the Alfetta and recognisably descended from the racing philosophy that had given Alfa Romeo its motorsport dominance. Designer Ermanno Cressoni at Centro Stile Alfa Romeo gave it a sharply wedge-shaped silhouette: angular, assertive, Italianate.
The engine range ran from a 1.6-litre twin-cam at the base through the 2.0-litre Twin Spark with variable valve timing — one of the first production engines to use the technology, though Alfa Romeo had actually pioneered it first in the Spider in 1980 — to the 2.5-litre and 3.0-litre V6 variants, the latter producing 188 hp in the flagship model. The V6 was the work of Giuseppe Busso (the “Busso V6”), a masterpiece of Italian engine design whose singing exhaust note made it among the most characterful powerplants in the segment. In North America the car was sold as the Milano, launched in 1986 with the V6 engines only; the 3.0-litre variant became the Milano Verde.
For motorsport, 500 examples of the 75 Turbo Evoluzione were produced in spring 1987 to homologate aerodynamic modifications for Group A racing — the engine was de-bored slightly to 1,762cc to avoid competing in Class 1. The resulting 75 Turbo Group A ran in the 1987 World Touring Car Championship with Alfa Corse, drivers including future DTM champion Nicola Larini and Gabriele Tarquini. Alfa withdrew before the overseas races due to political complications. Gianfranco Brancatelli won the 1988 ITC (International Touring Car series) in a 75-derived programme.
Production ended in 1992 with approximately 386,767 units built. By that point, Fiat — which had acquired Alfa Romeo in 1986 — was re-orienting the brand toward front-wheel-drive platforms. The 75 was replaced by the Alfa Romeo 155, and the transaxle/De Dion tradition that had defined Alfa road-car engineering for twenty years was set aside. Whether this represented pragmatism or loss depended on who you asked.
Connections
- Alfa Romeo — manufactured_by, 1985–1992, source: wikipedia.org
- Alfa Romeo Alfetta — engineering lineage: same transaxle/De Dion layout; 75 is direct successor, source: wikipedia.org
- Alfa Romeo Giulietta — preceded_by (75 replaced Giulietta saloon), source: wikipedia.org
- Fiat — Fiat took over Alfa Romeo in 1986 during 75’s production run; production transferred to Fiat Auto by 1991, source: wikipedia.org
- Alfa Corse — ran 75 Turbo Group A in 1987 WTCC, source: wikipedia.org