Autodelta SpA was the name of

Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian carmaker known for its sports-oriented vehicles, strong auto racing heritage, and iconic design. Headquartered in Turin, Italy, it is a subsidiary of Stellantis Europe and one of 14 brands of mu ...

's competition department. Established in 1961 as Auto-Delta by

Carlo Chiti Carlo Chiti (19 December 1924 – 7 July 1994) was an Italian racing car and engine designer best known for his long association with Alfa Romeo's racing department. He also worked for Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari and was involved in the design of t ...

and Lodovico Chizzola, former

and

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...

engineers, the company was officially made a department of Alfa Romeo on March 5, 1963 by the then president of Alfa Romeo Giuseppe Luraghi. Originally based in Feletto Umberto,

Udine Udine ( ; ; ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in northeastern Italy, in the middle of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic Sea and the Carnic Alps. It is the capital of the Province of Udine, Regional decentralization entity ...

, the team subsequently moved closer to Alfa Romeo's facilities in Settimo Milanese in 1964, officially becoming Autodelta SpA. The move enabled Autodelta to use the Balocco test track for new racing cars and prototypes. The purpose of the company was bringing Alfa Romeo back to the top level of motor racing after Alfa Romeo's success in the 1950s. The first car jointly developed by Alfa Romeo and Autodelta was the Giulia TZ in June 1962. The TZ was updated to TZ2 in 1965, with both cars taking many wins in various touring car championships. Alfa Romeo and Autodelta would later introduce the GTA. After success in

grand tourer A grand tourer (GT) is a type of car that is designed for high speed and long-distance driving with performance and luxury. The most common format is a Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, front-engine, rear-wheel-drive two-door coupé with ...

racing, Chiti persuaded Alfa Romeo to develop sportscars for the

World Sportscar Championship The World Sportscar Championship was the world Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance racing series run for sports car racing, sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), from 1953 World Sportscar Championship, 1953 t ...

, from 1967 onwards. Alfa Romeo built 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0 litre V8 engines, and later a flat-12 for what would become the Tipo 33 racing car. This racing program led to Alfa Romeo winning the constructors championships in

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

and

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

. Autodelta manufactured a road going version of the Tipo 33, the

Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale The Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale is a Mid-engine design, mid-engine sports car built by Italian automobile manufacturer Alfa Romeo. It was the fastest commercially available car for the standing kilometer upon its introduction.Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale tu ...

between 1967 and 1969. After winning the sportscar championships, Alfa Romeo turned to supplying engines to the

Brabham Motor Racing Developments Ltd., commonly known as Brabham ( ), was a British race car, racing car manufacturer and Formula One racing team. It was founded in 1960 by the Australian driver Jack Brabham and the British-Australian designer Ron Ta ...

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

team and eventually returned to the sport with a factory team in 1979, run by Autodelta. The team also prepared Alfa Romeo rally cars such as the Alfetta GTVs. In 1984 Chiti left Alfa Romeo to establish Motori Moderni. Although the division was eventually phased out, Alfa Romeo continued to use the Autodelta name again for their AutoDelta Squadra Corse team in the

European Touring Car Championship The European Touring Car Championship was an international touring car racing series organised by the FIA. It had two incarnations, the first one between 1963 and 1988, and the second between 2000 and 2004. In 2005 it was superseded by the World ...

run by N.Technology. File:Alfa Romeo GTA 1300 Junior - Geneva 2009.jpg, Alfa Romeo GTA 1300 Junior, original Autodelta 1966. File:2006FOS 1965AlfaRomeoTZ2.jpg, The "Giulia TZ2" from 1965, one of the most famous achievements of Autodelta. File:GiuliettaTurbo.jpg, Alfa Romeo Giulietta Turbo, the last Autodelta car.

Race results

Victories in the sports car world championship

References

External links

Autodelta factory photographs
{{Alfa Romeo F1 Alfa Romeo in motorsport Italian auto racing teams 24 Hours of Le Mans teams Can-Am entrants Automotive motorsports and performance companies

Race results

Victories in the sports car world championship

See also

References

External links