Alfa Romeo’s Twin Spark engines

The words “Twin Spark” became almost synonymous with Alfa Romeo in the late Eighties and Nineties. Still, few know what it was all about, and even fewer know the reasons behind Alfa’s long-standing adoption of double ignition on its engines…

Al late Twin Spark 16v under the bonnet of a GT (c. Wheelsage.org)

It’s February of 1987.

Alfa Romeo presents a new version of its 75 family saloon, the 2.0 liters “Twin Spark.” Alfa itself had officially ceased to exist as a company entity just a few weeks earlier: its asset merged with Lancia’s ones into a newly formed company under Fiat’s control, called Alfa Lancia Industriale.

While that corporate entity only lasted until ’92, the words “Twin Spark” would go on much longer, becoming almost synonymous with the Milanese brand.

Powering the future

By the late 1970s, the inline-four cylinder twin-cam engine known as “bialbero” that powered the bulk of Arese’s production was an over twenty-years-old design.

A late “bialbero” engine from the 80s (c. Wheelsage.org)