The Alfa Romeo 1750 Berlina and Alfa Romeo 2000 Berlina (both 105 series) were
executive car
Executive car is a British term for a large car which is equivalent to the European E-segment and American full-size classifications. Executive cars are larger than compact executive cars (and the non-luxury equivalent mid-size cars), and small ...
s (
E-segment
The E-segment is the 5th category of the European segments for passenger cars, synonymous with the term executive car.
E-Segment is a niche in Europe (2-3% penetration in 2010s). As of 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020, E-segment sales account for 2.7 ...
) produced by Italian car manufacturer
Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis. The company was founded on 24 June 1910, in Milan, Italy. "Alfa" is an acronym of its founding name, "Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili." ...
from 1968 to 1977. ''Berlina'' is the Italian term for a
saloon car
A sedan or saloon (British English) is a passenger car in a three-box configuration with separate compartments for an engine, passengers, and cargo.
The first recorded use of the word "sedan" in reference to an automobile body occurred in 19 ...
.
Both cars had
Alfa Romeo twin cam inline-four engine
A straight-four engine (also called an inline-four) is a four-cylinder piston engine where cylinders are arranged in a line along a common crankshaft.
The vast majority of automotive four-cylinder engines use a straight-four layout (with the ...
s; the 1.8-litre 1750 Berlina was made between 1968 and 1971, when it was phased out in favour of the improved 2.0-litre 2000 Berlina.
1750 Berlina
The 1.8-litre engined 1750 series cars were introduced by Alfa Romeo in 1968. The 1750 Berlina four-door
notchback
A notchback is a design of a car with the rearmost section that is distinct from the passenger compartment and where the back of the passenger compartment is at an angle to the top of what is typically the rear baggage compartment. Notchback cars ...
saloon was presented to the international press in January 1968 in
Vietri sul Mare
Vietri sul Mare ("Vietri on the Sea"; Campanian: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Salerno, in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is situated just west of Salerno, separated from the Port of Salerno by only a harbour wall. The ...
(
Salerno
Salerno (, , ; nap, label= Salernitano, Saliernë, ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' in Campania (southwestern Italy) and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after ...
), together with the
1750 GT Veloce coupé
A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and two doors.
The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the French past parti ...
and
Spider Veloce. Some days later it was displayed at the
Brussels Motor Show.
The 1750 Berlina was based on the existing
Giulia saloon, which continued in production. The 1750 was meant to top the
saloon range, above the 1300 and 1600 cc versions of the Giulia. In the United States, however, the Giulia
saloon ceased to be available and was entirely replaced by the 1750 Berlina. The 1750 entered full production in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
in early 1969, later complemented by the 2000.
In contrast to the Giulia, the 1750s had reworked bodywork and bigger engine, shared many parts with other concurrent models in the Alfa Romeo range, but sold many fewer units during their production span.
The 1750 bodyshell had a longer wheelbase than the Giulia, and revised external panels, but it shared many of the same internal panels. The windscreen was also the same. The revisions were carried out by
Bertone Bertone is an Italian surname meaning "descendant of Roberto". Notable people with the surname include:
* Alicia Bertone, American academic, researcher, and veterinary surgeon
* Catherine Bertone (born 1972), Turkish-born female Italian marathon r ...
, and while it resembled the Giulia some of that vehicle's distinctive creases were smoothed out, and there were significant changes to the trim details. The car's taillights were later used on the
De Tomaso Longchamp
The De Tomaso Longchamp is a grand tourer which was produced by the Italian automaker De Tomaso from 1972 to 1989.
History
The Longchamp was derived from the De Tomaso Deauville four-door saloon, using a shorter wheelbase chassis with the same s ...
.
The car has a 1779 cc twin-carb engine and hydraulic clutch. The 1.8 L engine produced with two twin sidedraught
carburettors. For the US market the 1750 was equipped with
SPICA fuel injection
Fuel injection is the introduction of fuel in an internal combustion engine, most commonly automotive engines, by the means of an injector. This article focuses on fuel injection in reciprocating piston and Wankel rotary engines.
All comp ...
. In November 1969 the 1750 received some minor changes, including side blinker lights at front, a wood-rimmed steering wheel, and top-hinged pedals. This model is referred to as the second series.
In 1971, the 1750 Berlina was fitted with an experimental three-speed
ZF automatic gearbox. The model designation was 1750A Berlina. According to official Alfa Romeo archives, 252 units were produced with very few surviving to this day. Some of 1750A Berlina didn't have the model plate with production date embossed. The automatic gearbox wasn't well-suited to the four-cylinder motor due to baulky shifting and ill-chosen gear ratio. Because of this, its fuel consumption was frighteningly high and acceleration was a bit too slow.
During 1971 the 1750 series was superseded across the Alfa Romeo range by the 2000 series; at the top of the saloon line, the 1750 Berlina gave way to the 2000 Berlina.
Some 83 final 1750 Berlinas were assembled in 1972. A direct replacement in the 1.8-litre saloon class came that same year, in the form of the all-new
Alfa Romeo Alfetta.
2000 Berlina
![Alfa 2000 Berlina 1974](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Alfa_2000_Berlina_1974.jpg)
The Alfa Romeo 2000 Berlina was produced by
Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis. The company was founded on 24 June 1910, in Milan, Italy. "Alfa" is an acronym of its founding name, "Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili." ...
between 1971 and 1977. The engine was bored and stroked out to 1,962 cc. A different grill distinguishes 2000 from 1750. Also, external lights were different between the models. The 1750 had 7 inch diameter outboard headlights, whereas the 2000 had 5 3/4 inch diameter in all four positions. The tail light clusters were also of a simpler design on the 1750.
With two carburetors, this 2 litre
Alfa Romeo Twin Cam engine
The Alfa Romeo Twin Cam engine is an all-alloy inline-four engine series produced by Alfa Romeo from 1954 to 1994. In Italian it is known as the "bialbero" ("twin-shaft"), and has also been nicknamed the "Nord" (North) engine in reference to its be ...
produces . Top speed was and 0- acceleration took 9 seconds. Gearbox was 5-speed manual (also 3-speed automatic on some versions).
The federalized spec 2000 Berlina was built from 1972 until 1974, with remaining stock being sold into 1976. For the US, the engine was equipped with mechanical fuel injection and late cars received
catalytic converter
A catalytic converter is an exhaust emission control device that converts toxic gases and pollutants in exhaust gas from an internal combustion engine into less-toxic pollutants by catalyzing a redox reaction. Catalytic converters are usually ...
s. Late US-model cars also received safety bumpers made of black rubber with a centre chrome ribbon. 3,395 2000 Berlina were sold in the United States, of which 1,453 reportedly received a catalytic converter.
In 1977 the Alfetta 2000, a two-litre upmarket Alfetta version, replaced the 2000 Berlina. The 2000 Berlina was produced in 89,840 examples, of which 2,200 units were fitted with automatic gearboxes.
Production
Notes
References
*
External links
Motorbase: Alfa Romeo 1750 BerlinaMotorbase: Alfa Romeo 1750 GTVMotorbase: Alfa Romeo 1750 SpiderBerlina Registerallcarsmanuals.com: Workshop manuals and technical information
{{Alfa Romeo timeline 1950-1979
1750
Various sources, including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, use the year 1750 as a baseline year for the end of the pre-industrial era.
Events
January–March
* January 13 – The Treaty of Madrid between Spain ...
1970s cars
Sports sedans
Executive cars
Rear-wheel-drive vehicles
Cars introduced in 1968