Just as fascinating as car racing, speedboating attracted the enthusiasm of audiences worldwide in the heroic years of motorsports. From the 1920s to the 1980s, Alfa Romeo was among the
absolute stars also in this discipline. Car engines were adapted for marine use, in series production and for the races, derived not only from the legendary Tipo 158 and 159, which brought the Brand its two first Formula 1 world titles in history, but also from the Giulietta, Giulia GTA, Montreal, Alfetta, 2600, and others. Among the various world, European, and Italian records and titles collected in the different classes, Alfa Romeo won on water almost as much as on land.
The Museo Alfa Romeo in Arese payed homage to this less known chapter in the Brand’s history by exhibiting three pieces at the Versilia Yachting Rendez-vous. Three pieces that are part of the museum’s historical collection but are normally kept in the storage room and not shown to the public. The Versilia Yachting Rendez-vous is a showcase for Italian boating excellence, scheduled for May 9-12 in Viareggio.
First among all is the motorboat Popoli-Alfa Romeo with which Leopoldo Casanova achieved the new speed record of 225 km/h in the KC 500 kg category in 1969. The Alfa Romeo 12C was
adapted for marine use in 1936 and became the first Alfa V12 engine in the speedboating version to appear in the heroic period of that discipline. Naturally, the Milanese brand now also needed a car to represent its glorious automotive history, and the choice fell on the Alfa Romeo RM Turismo from 1924. An elegant, refined, and iconic cabriolet from the 1920s representing the context and atmosphere in which this nautical adventure began.
Already present at the Versilia Yachting Rendez-vous in 2018, the Museo Storico Alfa Romeo in Arese will also be a partner of the event in the 2019 edition, which has been organised by FieraMilano in collaboration with the Technology District for Marine and Harbours Tuscany and represents the high end of the range.
The Museo Storico in Arese, which reopened its doors to the public in 2015 after a comprehensive refurbishing operation, is visited by people from all over the world each year. Visitors who all share a passion for this Brand which has written many of the most important pages in automotive history and still today perfectly embodies the ideal of made in Italy beauty, elegance, and quality.
