Alfa Romeo A15 / A19 / A38 / F20 are a discontinued line of utility trucks, or lorries, produced by Alfa Romeo from 1967-1974. The models originated from the collaboration between Alfa Romeo and

Saviem The Société Anonyme de Véhicules Industriels et d'Équipements Mécaniques (), commonly known by the acronym Saviem (), was a French manufacturer of trucks and buses/coaches part of the Renault group, headquartered in Suresnes, Île-de-France ...

(part of the

Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufacture ...

group), which was signed in 1967. The collaboration began earlier when Renault and

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." "A ...

produced R4 and Dauphines in Italy. The Lorries that were produced following this agreement were similar to Saviem SG2 (A15/A19) and SG4 (A38) models.Trucksplanet
Alfa Romeo A15 / A19 / A38 / F20 (Commercial vehicles) - Trucksplanet
accessdate: 4. August 2017 Around 3,500 units of A15, A38, A19 and F20 were produced in the Pomigliano d'Arco plant near Naples before 1974. The Alfa Romeo naming of lorries and vans reflected the production options chosen by the customer. This comprised a letter followed by two digits: A for "Autocarro" (truck) or F for "Furgone" (van), plus a number referring to the payload (expressed in quintals, as is the usual practice in Italy). All models are equipped exclusively with Alfa Romeo-Saviem type 559 diesel engines, producing at with a

MAN A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromo ...

-licensed direct injection. Saviem did not want this engine and insisted on mounting their own diesel engine, which developed only , a level of power that was deemed insufficient in comparison to competing Italian vehicles. This engine was subsequently installed in French models from 1967.

A15

The A15 model had a full load of 3.5 tons and was equipped with a 4-cylinder

diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engin ...

engine of and at 3200 rpm. Four years after launch, the displacement was updated to , which allowed the vehicle to reach a maximum speed of . The A15 had a payload of up to .

A19

The A19 model had a full load of 3.9 tons and mounted a 4-cylinder diesel engine of and at 3200 rpm. Four years after launch, the displacement was updated 3,319 cc. This allowed the vehicle to reach a maximum speed of . The A19 had a payload of up to .

A38

The A38, with its 6.3 tons full load, was available with several chassis (including a shielded autotelaio and a bus chassis), which were characterized by having different steps. It was also available in an

all-wheel drive An all-wheel drive vehicle (AWD vehicle) is one with a powertrain capable of providing power to all its wheels, whether full-time or on-demand. The most common forms of all-wheel drive are: ;1x1 : All unicycles Reflecting one axle with one w ...

variant. The A39 had a 4-cylinder diesel engine of by , which allowed the vehicle to reach a maximum speed of . Four years after its initial launch, the cylinder was brought to . In the standard truck version, the payload was . The A38 was available in several variants: a basic A38, an A38/L1 wheelbase, and an A38/L2

wheelbase In both road and rail vehicles, the wheelbase is the horizontal distance between the centers of the front and rear wheels. For road vehicles with more than two axles (e.g. some trucks), the wheelbase is the distance between the steering (front ...

. In 1970 the round headlights were replaced by oval headlights. At the same time, the Alfa Romeo A38 became A38n, an advanced model. The four-wheel drive version was developed in collaboration with the company Man Meccanica on the basis of an Alfa Romeo A19, an adaptation almost identical to that carried out in France by Sinpar TP3 (also Saviem TP3).l'automobile ancienne
Man Meccanica
accessdate: 4. August 2017

F20

The Alfa Romeo F20 was presented at the Turin 1967 as a prototype and produced from 1969. It was born out of a collaboration agreement between

and

and signed in 1967. The F20 had a full load of 4.3 tons, a 4-cylinder diesel engine of and at 3200 rpm; Then the displacement was brought to . The F20 had a payload of . The F20 was offered as a paneled van with sliding side door, another with side doors on each side, and a final version without any side door. A chassis-bare version was also offered to coachbuilders for further customization.

Production end

Alfa Romeo-Saviem production ended in 1974, and the Alfa Romeo vans AR40 and AR80 were not produced until 1978, when they were rebadged Iveco Daily. This was the second commercial failure. The vehicles sold poorly because they had underpowered engines for Italy's topography, and had payloads which were too low. High royalty prices far above customs duties were also a factor. Alfa Romeo abandoned this cooperation and joined forces with

Fiat Veicoli Industriali Fiat S.p.A., or ''Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino'' (Italian Automobile Factory of Turin), was an Italian holding company whose original and core activities were in the automotive industry, and that was succeeded by Fiat Chrysler Automobi ...

in the industrial vehicle sector. Renault-Saviem reacted reasonably, and the French group sought technical cooperation with Fiat and Alfa Romeo, with whom they signed an agreement on September 13, 1974 for the creation of a joint venture (

Sofim Sofim ( it, Società franco-italiana di motori) is a joint diesel engine enterprise established between Fiat, Saviem (Renault) and Alfa Romeo on 13 September 1974 and was bought by Iveco in 1981. The manufacturing plant is located in Foggia in sout ...

- ''Société Franco Italienne de Moteurs''). The aim of this venture was to design and manufacture fast and powerful new-cylinder engines. The new factory was constructed in the municipality of Foggia in the south of Italy. Each manufacturer contributed 33.33% of the capital. The first engines—released in 1977—gave the factory an excellent reputation. They were named the Sofim 8140, with a displacement of developing and were used in many vehicles, cars and utilities of the three brands.

References

{{Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo trucks Vehicles introduced in 1967 fr:Alfa Romeo A15-A19-A38-F20