The History of Alfa Romeo
 (by Elvira Ruocco)


 Article 12

How the Centro Stile Alfa Romeo used to work

The Alfa Romeo Centro Stile (Style Centre) has been established towards the end of the Fifties, practically in conjunction with the beginning of the study and design of the Giulia. Its offices were located in a wing of the Portello’s plant. When entering there one could become aware of a different atmosphere with respect to the one that could be respired in the other production departments. The drawers were full of drawings and drafts from which the unmistakable Alfa Romeo’s style could be recognized. The different plaster models were making a fine display on shelves and partitions.
Meeting with Prof. Scarnati
at the Portello's Centro Stile

There was a big office full of drawing desks and by going beyond the partition-wall one entered the room where people were experimenting in an artisan manner with moulding plasters, polystyrene and clays and implementing prototypes which looked like real cars.
The Centro Stile designers together with the moulding artisans gave birth to models relevant for Alfa Romeo and at the beginning of the Eighties they were decorated with a Civic Merit Certificate which the Milan Municipality awards to the citizens who promote the image and culture of the city.
When the project of a new model was started, the designers had a series of meetings with the marketing managers in order to highlight the general characteristics of the car taking into account the future placement on the market; later, they met the engineers in charge of the chassis and of the mechanical parts. From the study of the line, the preliminary meetings and the production of the car, it took at least a period of four years. The General Management used to give the same directions also to an external coachbuilder for the development of a project which was eventually compared to the one worked out by the Centro Stile in order to take a decision on the final choice.
The work of the Centro Stile begun with the implementation of 1:4-scale models to be sent to the wind tunnel for the aerodynamic tests.
All this work were always done in very tight touch with all the people in charge of the design, mechanics, coachwork and trimming. With the results achieved in such meetings, one could proceed with the refinement of the plaster mould with glasses and accessories as it was a real car that was then sent back to the wind tunnel. Separately, a wooden interior space was set up where the equipment was inserted and all the interiors were implemented, with the greatest care.
The work of the Centro Stile at this point was handed over to the designers but it did not end here because they were consulted every time one had to operate on the modifications to the original project form.
I got only a couple of times the chance to visit the Centro Stile at the Portello, whereas in Arese I have had more frequent contacts. I remember that one day with De Silva we were searching among the body color samples that blue very similar to the one of the 2900 B Lungo which was then chosen for the Nuvola bodywork.
For a span little longer than three months, the Archives had passed under the direction of Wolfgang Egger and this happened when Dr. Guarini, who had been my head from 2000 to 2002, left the Company. It was a short but intense period from the point of view of involvement and cooperation..

Elvira Ruocco

Copyright Information and Credits
All the multimedia materials and the texts present in this page cannot be reproduced in any way without the explicit permit of authors and/or owners of the contents. In particular, this applies with reference to texts and pictures of Ms. Elvira Ruocco and of the Alfa Romeo Historic Archive who explicitly authorized the AlfaSport Club for publication.

Translation by Fabio Grandi


Previous Article Menu   Next Article


info@alfasport.net | Privacy | copyright club alfa sport 2019 |