The symbolic return of Autodelta to racing is a top Alfa Romeo honour for the legendary racing division, which this year celebrates its 60th anniversary.α his birthday. Since 1963 Autodelta has been the official racing division of Alfa Romeo, offering countless moments of joy and success with unforgettable cars and top drivers.
Sunday 5 March 2023 marks the 60th anniversary of theα Autodelta's birthday, an anniversary that coincides with the premiere of this year's Formula 1 World Championship, the Bahrain Grand Prix. For this reason, the Alfa Romeo team's car, the C43, bears the Autodelta anniversary logo.
Designed by Centro Stile Alfa Romeo, the anniversary logo highlights the brand's timeless ideals with a modern expression, as the brand enters a new era and aims to redefine its sporty character for the 21st century.ο century.
The new Autodelta logo keeps the historical characteristics of the legendary symbol unchanged, while introducing two new elements, the Italian flag and the anniversary dates. Despite the passage of six decades, the Autodelta name and logo remain alive in the minds of motorsport enthusiasts.
Two years ago the Autodelta logo came back into the spotlight thanks to the creation of the modern Giulia GTA. The Giulia GTA is Alfa Romeo's ultimate expression of style, performance and driving pleasure. The unveiling of the car took place at Officine Autodelta, Alfa Romeo's Centro Sperimentale (development centre), the site where the Giulia Sprint GTA, one of the most successful cars in the brand's history, was created in the 1960s. In developing the modern Giulia GTA, Alfa Romeo drew on the expertise gained through its involvement in Formula 1 and its collaboration with Sauber Engineering.
Cristiano Fiorio, Alfa Romeo F1 Manager: "The first race of the Championship is always special. For Alfa Romeo the symbolic return of the Autodelta logo to the track with the C43 represents the brand's unbreakable link with racing from the beginning of its history to the present day. We are totally focused on our cause. From the green light on the Bahrain circuit, to the last corner of the last Grand Prix of the world. Prix of the year, the Alfa Romeo will fight with all its might to achieve its ambitious goals."
Autodelta: The legendary Alfa racing division Romeo
On 5 March 1963 Carlo Chiti and the Chizzola brothers founded a small company based in Feletto Umberto, near the city of Udine. The aim was to collaborate with Alfa Romeo to build the Giulia TZ, a Zagato-designed compact gran turismo based on the Giulia's mechanical parts and fitted with an exclusive tubular chassis, hence the acronym TZ (Tubolare Zagato). This was the start of one of the most extraordinary chapters in the history of motorsport. Very soon the new company evolved into the official racing division of Alfa Romeo. With the acquisition of Autodelta by the Italian brand in 1965, the aim was to return to racing after 1951, the year in which Alfa Romeo won its second Formula 1 World Title with the "Alfetta".
For this reason, the brand has chosen to create a division independent of its other activities so that it can operate seamlessly to achieve its purpose. The effort was led by the charismatic engineer Carlo Chiti, who moved the facilities to a warehouse in the Settimo Milanese area near Arese. There he would create some of Alfa Romeo's most famous race cars, including the 1965 Giulia Sprint GTA, which won three consecutive "Challenge Europeo Marche," dozens of national championships and hundreds of victories around the world. At the same time, the Giulia Sprint GTA was the first production car to complete a lap of the Nordschleife circuit of the Nurburgring in under 10 minutes.
In 1967, Alfa Romeo took the big step into the prototype class, one of the leading forms of motorsport at the time. The entry into the class was a storming entry, with the "33/2-liter" winning the first distinction in its first race at Fléron in Belgium. The following year, the Autodelta racers won their class at the 24 hours of Daytona, the 1000 km of the Nurburgring, the 500 km of Imola and the 24 hours of Le Mans. The 1975 "33 TT 12" (probably Autodelta's most successful year) was also memorable. Autodelta cars won the "World Championship of Marche", a success repeated two years later with the "33 SC 12". From that year Autodelta was to take full control of all Alfa Romeo racing activities, from the single championship with Alfasud to Formula 1. In 1984 Carlo Chiti left Autodelta and the following year the organisation ceased to exist. In history, Autodelta, apart from the highly successful race cars it created, has been remembered as an excellent "school" for dozens of racing drivers who went on to brilliant careers, such as Andrea De Adamich, Arturo Merzario, Andrea De Cesaris, Bruno Giacomelli, Giorgio Francia, Jochen Rindt, Jacky Ickx and Mario Andretti.
