ALFASUD: Flawed Jewel

Little wonder really as two of Europe's most distinguished car men were responsible: Giorgetto Giugiaro from Ital Design who carried out the styling, and Dipl-Ing Rudolf Hruska, an aristocratic Austrian who had worked with the Porsche family before and after the war, who was responsible for the technical aspects of its design. With Hruska's experience at Porsche (he was intimately involved in the Volkswagen project) it was little wonder he chose to power the Alfa with a horizontally opposed "boxer" four-cylinder engine; however, he opted for water-cooling rather than air for greater levels of refinement. Like the VW, it would be of modest capacity (1186cc, 63bhp) although this would increase in time.

The suspension system comprised coil springs all round—MacPherson struts up front, pressed steel beam at the rear—tuned to give a comfortable ride and brilliant roadholding; steering by rack and pinion and braking by four-wheel discs (unusual for the time). Giugiaro developed a smoothly rounded body shape that was efficient aerodynamically, smart looking and roomy enough for four passengers and some luggage. Amazingly enough, this body would remain in production from 1972 through 1984 and apart from the addition of a plastic front air dam and the conversion of the original bootlid into a hatch very little changed. Performance was good for the time with a top speed of more than 90mph and a 0-100km/h time of around 12 seconds; it was its point-to-point road times that drew international respect for the 'Sud.

Soon Alfasuds were in the Experimental Departments of all the major car companies as the engineers struggled to understand how Hruska and his team had developed such a desirable and competent car with seemingly conventional specifications. None, however, succeeded in matching the Alfa's stunning dynamics. Unfortunately, there was a more sinister scenario going on in the background. The Alfa's body was made from inferior quality Russian steel and it did not take long for rust to begin appearing to spoil the ownership experience. There were other issues that meant that owners were often on first names basis with their road service people and this tended to take the shine off owning an Alfasud. However, as many said, that all paled into insignificance when you could give the Alfa its head on a deserted highway early on a Sunday morning—its powers or roadholding left many speechless.

As the years passed the engine was expanded in capacity to 1.3- and then 1.5-litres which enhanced the driving experience. In 1984 the Sud was replaced by the mediocre Alfa 33 that promised superior quality and a better ownership experience but failed on both counts.