Alfa Romeo 1900

Alfa Romeo 1900 by Ghiah
Manufacturer	Alfa Romeo
Parent company
Aka
Production	1950–1959
Assembly
Predecessor	Alfa Romeo 6C 2500
Successor	Alfa Romeo 2000
Class
Body style	sedan spider coupe
Layout	FR layout
Platform
Engine	1.9 L I4 2.0 L I4
Transmission	4 and 5 speed manual
Wheelbase	Berlina/Sprint 2630/2500 mm (103.5/98.4 in.)
Length	4400/4400 mm (173.2/173.2 in.)
Width	1600/1630 mm (63/64.2 in.)
Height	1490/1350 mm (58.7/53.1 in.)
Ground clearance
Front track	1320 mm (52 in.)
Rear track	1320 mm (52 in.)
Weight	900-1100 kg (1984- 2425 lb)
Top speed
Fuel capacity
Related	Alfa Romeo 1900M AR51 Alfa Romeo Disco Volante IKA Bergantin
Similar
Designer
Alfa Romeo 1900 Super Sprint
Alfa Romeo 1900 Sprint Touring Superleggera

The Alfa Romeo 1900 was a sports sedan designed by Orazio Satta for the Alfa Romeo company in 1950. It was Alfa Romeo's first car built entirely on a production line and was also Alfa's first production car without separate chassis. The car was introduced first time for bigger audience in 1950 Paris Motor Show.

The 1900 was offered in two door or four door models, with a new 1884 cc, 90 bhp, 4 cylinder twin cam engine. It was spacious and simple, yet quick and sporty. The slogan Alfa used when selling it was "The family car that wins races", not-so-subtly alluding to the car's success in the Targa Florio, Stella Alpina, and other competitions. In 1951 was introduced 1900TI with more powerful 100 bhp engine, it had bigger valves, compression ratio was higher and it had double carburetor. Two years later was introduced 1900 Super and 1900 TI Super (also 1900 Super Sprint) with 1975 cc engine. TI Super had two double carburetors and 115 bhp. Transmission was 4-speed manual on basic versions and 5-speed manual in Super Sprint version, brakes were drum brakes. The 1900 has independent front suspension (double wishbones, coil springs and hydraulic telescopic shock absorbers) and live rear axle.

The chassis was designed specifically to allow coachbuilders to rebody it, the most notable of which was the Zagato designed, 1900 Super Sprint Coupe, with an improved engine and custom body design. 1900M AR51 or "Matta" is 4wd off-road variant of this car.

The 1900 was Alfa Romeo’s first postwar production model and it showed the direction the Milan company would take in coming decades. Smaller and more compact than the prewar designed 6C 2500, the 1900 was powered by an iron block and aluminum head fourcylinder with chain driven dual overhead camshafts. Introduced as a sedan in 1950, it was followed a year later by the more sporting 1900C Sprint coupe on a five inch shorter wheelbase. Alfa continued to extract more power from the two liter engine, culminating in the SS (Super Sprint) with 115 horsepower.

The 1900 Alfa Romeo of 1950 marked a turning point for the marque. Gone were the all conquering supercharged straight six and eight-cylinder cars that had written so much motor racing history. Now Alfa replaced them with a modern four-cylinder engine housed in a modern style pressed steel saloon body shell. The engine still possessed twin overhead camshafts and had enormous potential for development, and the saloon’s brakes and suspension were ranked with the best of the time.

The 1900 was Alfa Romeo’s first car to utilize unit body construction. It made it more difficult for Italy’s coachbuilders to practice their creativity, but not impossible, and a variety of one off and limited production designs from Bertone, Ghia, Touring and Pinin Farina and others demonstrated the capabilities of these now legendary artisans.

The unit-body construction was not only Alfa’s first non-frame design, but the 1900 was its first vehicle intended for mass production. Nonetheless, a solid rear axle was provided, well located with a triangulating link and radius arms. Double wishbone suspension arms were used in front. Huge, finned aluminum drum brakes and the shorter wheelbase 1900C variant completed the sporting package.

The models consisted mainly of sedans and coupes, although a handful of roadsters were made. The sedans generally had steel bodies, and the coupes aluminum. Coupes were commonly referred to as three window or five window depending on the side glass configuration. The soft, rolling lines of the body and the exquisite workmanship define the elegance of the 1900C within an era of beautiful coachbuilt automobiles.

This example is the work of one of Italy’s most illustrious coachbuilders, Carrozzeria Ghia. Despite the death of founder Giacinto Ghia in 1944 and the wartime damage to its works, the Turin based company recovered quickly thanks to the talents of designers such as Giovanni Michelotti, Pietro Frua, Mario Boano and Giovanni Savonuzzi. The Ghia bodied 1900C SS was unusual, bearing much resemblance to the famous Carrozzeria Bertone BAT aerodynamic experiments. The BAT cars, formally known as the Berlina Aerodynamica Technica, were commissioned to test new theories in aerodynamics, and were based on the 1900. Three cars were built, named BAT 5, BAT 7 and BAT 9 and these remain today as foremost examples of new theory prototyping.

Production continued until 1959, a total of 21,304 were built.

Engines

Model	Displacement	Power	Top speed
1900	1884 cc	80-90 bhp	103mph- 106mph
TI	1884 cc	100 bhp	170km/h
Super	1975 cc	90 bhp	160km/h
TI Super	1975 cc	115 bhp	112mph

IKA Bergantin

Industrias Kaiser Argentina produced between 1960-1962 a car named IKA Bergantin in Argentina, the body and suspension was from 1900 Berlina and engines were from Willys line, 4-L 151CID In. and the 6-L 226CID.

Gallery of models

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  1954 Alfa Romeo 1900 SS Ghia

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  1900 Sprint Touring Superleggera

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  1900 Super Sprint

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  1900C Super

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  1900 CSS Zagato

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  1900 SS Zagato

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  Ghia Speciale 1900 CSS

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  Alfa Romeo 1900 by Pininfarina

1952 Alfa Romeo 1900 Super Sprint Passo Corto

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  1952 Alfa Romeo 1900 Super Sprint Passo Corto

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Source

1954 Alfa Romeo 1900 Vignale Coupe at Wheels Of Italy

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  1954 Alfa Romeo 1900 Coupe

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1955 Alfa Romeo Barchetta 1900

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Source

1952 Alfa Romeo SPIDER (Vignale Style)

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  The first model was sold to the King of Cambodia after in the 1952 was re-coach worked Vignale.

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  The car was derived from an Alfa 1900c before it became the Alfa Romeo 6c 2500t Spider.

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  Chassis and Motor number 913346

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  The body style (Vignale) was made at Carroceria Franconi, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

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  There are no known Fiva or Fia documents to date that would support the history of this old Italian.

1954 Alfa Romeo 1900 SS Spider bodied by Zagato

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  1954 Alfa Romeo 1900 SS Spider bodied by Zagato Source

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External links

• Alfa Romeo 1900 Register