One hundred and thirteen years of history: over a century of innovations, concepts, and designs that have repeatedly redefined the course of the automotive industry in Italy and the world. This is the illustrious and unique legacy of Alfa Romeo’s design. A metaphorical giant on whose shoulders the brand’s designers now sit, tasked with an undertaking as challenging as it is exciting: to translate that experience and transition it into the future of electric mobility.

The journey officially began with the launch of the Tonale Plug-in Hybrid Q4, the car that completes the Tonale range and with which the brand has set a clear goal: to provide an “Alfa answer” to the electric transition without distorting Alfa Romeo’s DNA. The approach chosen by the designers is an evolution and tribute to those 113 years of history. We want to revisit them by remembering the brand’s most important milestones.

The story of Alfa Romeo began in 1910 when Cavalier Ugo Stella acquired the Società Italiana Automobili Darracq, the Italian branch of a French manufacturer. In 1915, the company became A.L.F.A. (Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili), and from the outset, it focused on the design and engineering of cars. Leading the charge was Giuseppe Merosi, one of the most respected engineers of the time. The first vehicle produced was the 24HP, a car we would today describe as a sports sedan, capable of reaching a top speed of about 100km/h.

The allure of speed led the company to work on a prototype that seemed straight out of a sci-fi movie: the 40/60HP “Aerodinamica.” Built on commission by Carrozzeria Castagna, the vehicle was the first true minivan in history. Made entirely of metal, it had circular portholes and an unusual submarine-like curved shape, allowing it to cut through the air and reach top speeds of 139km/h.

Following the first world war, the second chapter in Alfa’s story began, marked by the union with entrepreneur Nicola Romeo’s name, who had taken over the company before the Great War. The years between the two world conflicts saw a succession of ever-new ideas and significant innovations, both from an engineering and technological point of view and in terms of design.

In 1922, the production of the Alfa Romeo RL began. It was the company’s first major international success and a winning car like few others before it. In the 1920s, Alfa Romeo won everything it could in car competitions.

However, alongside its sporting vocation, the brand’s pursuit of design was also pushed forward: a journey that culminated at the end of the decade in the 6C model, which allowed Alfa Romeo to win both in competitions and in elegance contests thanks to an innovative and unique design.

From 1931 to 1939, the racing sector was dominated by the 8C, the first true hypercar in history. The eight-cylinder was a concentration of unprecedented technology and design. Legend has it that it was an 8C 2900 that led Henry Ford to say, “Every time I see an Alfa Romeo pass by, I tip my hat.”

In 1947, Alfa Romeo launched the 6C 2500 “Freccia D’oro,” “Villa D’Este,” and “Supersport. “Both immediately became style icons. New design elements that still distinguish the brand today debuted on this model, such as the triangular shield-shaped central grille, with the logo in the center, and the side air intakes, which we find today on the Tonale in a contemporary reinterpretation. The ’50s also saw a resumption of race victories, with the Tipo 158, the first true “Alfetta”: a masterpiece of engineering and aerodynamics. Thanks to its design and the most powerful 1500 engine ever built, it could reach 306 km/h.

However, in the early ’50s, the company decided to withdraw, practically unbeaten, from car racing to focus instead on commercial production. With the introduction of assembly lines and the transition to mass industrial production, the company transformed into a large-scale global manufacturer. That decision would result in decades of great success, cementing Alfa Romeo’s role as an undisputed symbol of the quality of Italian automotive design.

In 1954, the Giulietta was born. The car was presented as the Giulietta Sprint model designed by Bertone at the Turin Auto Show: it was a real watershed moment, not only for a design that would make history but also for the technological advancements the car championed, such as the 1300cc Twin Cam engine with an aluminum alloy head – Alfa Romeo would manufacture it for decades. The Giulietta Sprint was an unprecedented success: Alfa Romeo was forced to suspend orders a few days after the presentation to be able to meet the unexpected demand.

On the wings of the Giulietta’s success, Alfa Romeo introduced another model destined to make history just eight years later: the Giulia, presented at the Monza Autodrome in 1962. The new model was ripe with innovation, starting with a wind tunnel-tested design that guaranteed an aerodynamic drag coefficient of 0.34. It weighed only 1000 kg and sported — in the TI version — a 1570cc engine that ensured ease of driving and excellent sprint.

Sales were going so well that Alfa Romeo decided to add a new production hub in Arese, near Milan, alongside the Portello factory: the company would move its official headquarters here until 1986. From the Giulia, other successful models were derived that still find a place in the annals of Alfa Romeo, from the Sprint GT to the Spider Duetto (1966), the model Dustin Hoffman used to drive in the 1967 film “The Graduate.”

The legendary Tipo 33 was also born during those years of unstoppable ferment. The car won a lot of competition in various configurations until the end of the 1970s, spurring a series of evolutions that marked the development of Alfa Romeo’s design. The street-ready version of the 33, the “Stradale,” was a dream supercar: it could run at 260 km/h, and only 18 were built — strictly by hand. The 33 Stradale would also become the metaphorical canvas on which the greatest Italian designers of the time would experiment without limiting their boldest ideas. In 1968, Bertone designed and built the 33 Carabo prototype, a futuristic car with scissor doors that would inspire the designs of famous models from other Italian luxury brands.

In the 1970s, Alfa Romeo also responded to major market changes with a series of successful new models, such as the Alfa Sud and especially the Alfetta, named after the single-seater of the 50s, a sports sedan that would remain the sales champion in its segment for many years.

The 1980s marked another fundamental turning point for Alfa Romeo and, once again, the entry into a new era. In 1986, after a period of hardship, the company was sold by Finmeccanica to the Fiat Group. As part of the brand’s relaunch, the Turin company would favor investments in design with the opening of a new design center. At the end of the decade came the Alfa 164, the first model of the Fiat era: designed by Pininfarina and produced in Arese, it was a spacious sedan suitable also for families, but that in no way gives up its sporty look.

In the next three decades, under the guidance of Walter de Silva, the Arese Design Center would then embark on very important projects for the brand’s evolution, such as the Nuvola and Proteo prototypes, but also the 145, 156, and 147 and later the Alfa MiTo.

Towards the end of the century, the investments in design and innovation of the Arese center began to yield their most valuable fruits. In 1997, the Alfa Romeo 156 was born, rewriting the paradigms of automotive design. From a technological point of view, it introduced unprecedented innovations, such as the common rail injection system for diesel engines, that would then be adopted by practically all car manufacturers. Thanks to its innovations, in 1998 the car won the coveted Car of the Year award, marking the beginning of another new chapter of Alfa Romeo’s history of design excellence.

De Silva’s team would double down in the year 2000 by winning the same award also with the Alfa Romeo 147. With this model, the designers immediately rethought the front of the 156, despite its success, and improved it even further. The rest of the car is a triumph of sporty compactness that perfectly embodies the Alfa Romeo spirit.

In the following years, the brand continued to explore and create its design icons. In 2003, the Alfa GT Bertone arrived, a sedan reminiscent of the Giulietta Sprint. Then came the Alfa Romeo Brera, returning to the 2+2 segment, with a panoramic roof and electronic traction control on all models.

And then again, the 8C Competizione and the 8C Spider, supercars for a few that recall the glory of the sports cars of the ’60s and ’70s, up to the grand return of the Giulietta in 2010, a celebration of Alfa’s great history. In 2016, the Giulia also made its triumphant return, which, together with the Stelvio of 2017 – a crossover based on the same platform – laid the foundations for the present design of Alfa Romeo.

Here we are finally back to the present day, with the introduction of the Tonale concept in 2019. Designed by the Centro Stile in Turin, it was shown at the Geneva Motor Show in a hybrid version that would later become the Tonale Plug-In Hybrid Q4.

Today, the Tonale hits the road to complete its journey: it is the most technologically advanced car ever designed by Alfa Romeo. The designers of the Centro Stile have managed to blend technological innovations with the Alfa spirit that has always marked every new design and model of the Italian brand.

One does not need the eye of an “Alfista”, as the fans of the brands like to call themselves, to notice how much the Tonale is a contemporary tribute to Alfa’s history. In the compact SUV, it’s easy to glimpse the evolution of the carmaker’s recent style, but there are also illustrious references, such as the side recalling the elegance of the 1960 Giulia GT or the triple LED headlights inspired by the sportiness of the 1989 Alfa Romeo Sprint Zagato.

“Alfa Romeo is a particular way of living, of experiencing the car. The true essence of Alfa challenges any description”, said Orazio Satta Puliga in the 60s, the designer and director of Alfa design from 1946 until the 70s. “It can be compared to those irrational movements of the spirit that sometimes occur in man and for which there is no logical explanation. We are in the realm of sensations, passions, things that have more to do with the heart than the brain.”

This is the legacy that Tonale is carrying today. A long journey that, now more than ever, in the new era of generative artificial intelligence, electrification, and sustainable mobility, can allow a brand with 110 years of history to embrace the future with courage. Changing again, yet always staying the same.