Giulio Alfieri (10 July 1924 – 20 March 2002) was an Italian

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarde ...

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

, affiliated with Maserati in Modena,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

since 1953, where he was central to the development of racing and production cars in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Alfieri was born in

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 inhabitants, Parma is the second mos ...

. After graduating the Politecnico of Milan, he first worked on steam turbines for the ship industry ''Cantieri Navali of Tirreno'', in

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

, before joining the automaker

Innocenti Innocenti () was an Italian machinery works, originally established by Ferdinando Innocenti in 1920. Over the years, they produced Lambretta scooters as well as a range of automobiles, mainly of British Leyland origins. The brand was retired in ...

in 1949. Employed in September 1953 by

Adolfo Orsi Adolfo Orsi (23 March 1888 – 20 December 1972) was an Italian industrialist, known for owning the Maserati automobile maker. Born within a poor family in Sant'Agnese, near Modena, Orsi lost his father in 1899 - an event that forced him to start ...

, Alfieri joined the technical staff of Maserati alongside

Gioacchino Colombo Gioachino Colombo (1903–1988) was an Italian automobile engine designer. Colombo was born in Legnano. He began work as an apprentice to Vittorio Jano at Alfa Romeo. In 1937, Colombo designed the 158 engine for the Alfetta and caught the attenti ...

, Vittorio Bellentani and two others. He was best known for the Maserati 3500 GT design (1957) and the

Maserati Birdcage The Maserati Tipo 60/61 (commonly referred to as the Maserati Birdcage) are a series of sports racing cars produced between 1959 and 1961 by Italian automobile manufacturer Maserati for privateers racing in sports car events including the 24 Hours ...

(1961), both employing the superleggera lightweight body. Alfieri worked on the six- and eight-cylinder engines used in the

Maserati A6 Maserati A6 were a series of grand tourers, racing sports cars and single seaters made by Maserati of Italy between 1947 and 1956. They were named for Alfieri Maserati (one of the Maserati brothers, founders of Maserati) and for their straight-si ...

(1955),

Maserati 250F The Maserati 250F was a racing car made by Maserati of Italy used in '2.5 litre' Formula One racing between January 1954 and November 1960. Twenty-six examples were made. Mechanical details The 250F principally used the SSG 220 bhp (@ 7400 rpm) ...

(1957), as well as V8 racing engines, later to be used as a basis for the V6 of Maserati Merak and

Citroën SM The Citroën SM is a high-performance coupé produced by the French manufacturer Citroën from 1970 to 1975. The SM placed third in the 1971 European Car of the Year contest, trailing its stablemate Citroën GS, and won the 1972 ''Motor Trend' ...

(1969). Alfieri also developed the prototype 4.0 L V8 engine for the SM, tested over 12,000 kilometers, proving that the capabilities of the chassis could easily accommodate a 50% increase in power. The engine was then removed and preserved, while the rest of the car was destroyed by Alejandro de Tomaso. The ''SM Club of France'' created an exact replica of this car using the actual engine from the original and displayed it at the 2010 '' Rétromobile'' show in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. He also contributed to

V12 V12 or V-12 may refer to: Aircraft * Mil V-12, a Soviet heavy lift helicopter * Pilatus OV-12, a planned American military utility aircraft * Rockwell XFV-12, an American experimental aircraft project * Škoda-Kauba V12, a Czechoslovak experim ...

prototype engines intended for use in Cooper- Maserati for

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

racing (1966). Alfieri produced a chassis design for the Momo Mirage, a few of which were then produced by

Automobili Stanguellini Automobili Stanguellini was an Italian maker of small sports cars, based in Modena and founded by Vittorio Stanguellini; it was most active between 1946 and 1960. They continued to produce competition cars until 1981, when Vittorio Stanguellini ...

before the project was cancelled. As Maserati was taken over in 1975 by Alejandro de Tomaso, Alfieri ended over 20 years of service for the Modenese company. De Tomaso had tried to buy Maserati in 1968 from the Orsi family. This failed primarily on Giulio Alfieri's resistance. After de Tomaso bought Maserati in August 1975, he dismissed Alfieri on the day of taking over the business. He was succeeded by Aurelio Bertocchi, the son of longtime Maserati test driver Guerrino Bertocchi. Alfieri later worked for Lamborghini with Ubaldo Sgarzi on V8 and V12 engines (1975–1987). He died in Modena in 2002.

Gallery: Cars of Alfieri

File:Maserati 250 F, Bj. 1957 (1977-08-14) Südkehre.jpg, Maserati 250F File:1958 Maserati 3500 GT coupé - white - fvr.jpg, Maserati 3500 GT File:Maserati 4000 Quattro-porte - Flickr - mick - Lumix.jpg, Maserati Quattroporte I File:Maserati Bora 01 new.jpg, Maserati Bora File:Maserati Khamsin.jpg, Maserati Khamsin File:1972 Citroen SM US model.jpg, Motor of Citroën SM File:Lamborghini Countach - Flickr - exfordy (2).jpg, Lamborghini Countach S

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alfieri, Giulio 1924 births 2002 deaths Engineers from Parma Italian automotive engineers Italian automobile designers Polytechnic University of Milan alumni Italian motorsport people Maserati people Lamborghini people 20th-century Italian engineers