The Anniversary Alfa Romeo Would Like You To Forget
October 2023 marks a recurrence that Alfa Romeo hasn’t exactly gone out of its way to celebrate: the fortieth anniversary of the infamous Arna.
Perhaps the most misunderstood automobile in history, the Arna made its debut in front of the Italian press in October 1983 and has been ridiculed ever since.
Yet it seems the world has finally stopped laughing.
Old prejudices die hard
Still, beyond the trite jokes and TopGear-style bombastic oversimplifications lies the intriguing story of Alfa Romeo’s struggle for survival and a small car that never quite deserved the bad rap it’s gotten over the years.
Envisioned at the height of the firm’s 1960s success, Alfa Romeo’s overambitious expansion plans for the 1970s backfired amidst socioeconomic turmoil, abysmal productivity, and pervasive political meddling.
By 1979, the company’s financial situation had become untenable, and that’s when a new management sought the help of prestigious international consultancy firms to draw up a strategy to get Alfa Romeo back in the black.
