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The History of the Alfa Romeo 75
The Alfa Romeo 75, sold in North America as the Milano, is a compact sports sedan / compact executive car produced by the Italian auto maker Alfa Romeo between 1985 and 1992. The 75 was commercially quite successful just in three years 170,000 cars were produced and until 1992 it was produced around 187,300.
The 75 was introduced in May 1985 to replace the Alfetta and Giulietta (both with which it shared many components), and was named to celebrate Alfa's 75th year of production. The body, designed by head of Alfa Romeo Centro Stile Ermanno Cressoni, was styled in a striking wedge shape, tapering at the front with square headlights and a matching grille (similar features were applied to the Cressoni-designed.
In 1986 at the saloon of Turin a prototype 75 estate was to be seen, an attractive forerunner of the later 156 Sportwagon. This version was, however, nixed after Fiat took control of Alfa Romeo. The car was made by Italian coachbuilder Rayton Fissore and it was made using 75 Turbo as basis, dubbed as 75 Turbo Wagon.In 1987 at Geneva Motor Show was shown also two estate versions, one was this Turbo Wagon and the other was named as Sportwagon.
The 75 featured some unusual technical features, most notably the fact that it was almost perfectly balanced from front to rear.This was achieved by using Transaxle schema - mounting the standard five-speed gearbox in the rear connected to the rear differential (rear-wheel drive). The front suspension was a torsion bar and shock absorber combination and the rear an expensive De Dion tube assembled with shock absorbers; these designs were intended to optimize the car's handling; moreover the rear brake discs were fitted at the centre of the rear axle, near the gearbox-differential group. The engine crankshaft was bolted directly to the two-segment drive shaft which ran the length of the underside from the engine block to the gearbox, and rotated at the speed of the engine. The shaft segments were joined with elastomeric 'doughnuts' to prevent vibration and engine/gearbox damage. The 2.0 L Twin Spark and the 3.0 Litre V6 were equipped with limited slip differential.
The 75 featured a then advanced dashboard-mounted diagnostic computer, called Alfa Romeo Control, capable of monitoring the engine systems and alerting the drivers of potential faults.
The 75 engine range at launch featured four-cylinder 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0 liter petrol carbureted engines, a 2.0 liter intercooled turbodiesel made by VM Motori, and a 2.5 liter fuel injected V6. In 1986 was introduced 75 Turbo, which featured fuel injected 1779 cc twin cam engine using Garrett T3 turbocharger, intercooler and oil cooler.
In 1987, a 3.0 liter V6 was added to the range and the 2.0 L Alfa Romeo Twin Cam engine was redesigned to have now two spark plugs per cylinder, the engine was named as Twin Spark. With fuel injection and variable valve timing this engine produced 148 bhp. In North America, where the car was known as the Milano, only the 2.5 and 3.0 V6s were available, from 1987 to 1989.
In 1988 engines were updated again, the 1.8 L carburetor version was replaced with fuel injected 1.8 i.e and new bigger diesel engine was added to the range. In the end of 1989 the 1.6 L carburetor version was updated to have fuel injection and 1990 the 1.8 L turbo and 3.0i V6 got some more power and updated suspension.
Turbo Evoluzione was produced 500 examples in spring 1987 to meet group A reguirements.Car had many modifications compared to normal turbo model. Engine was 1762 cc (normal 1779 cc) and claimed power was same as standard turbo, but the engine is more capable for power upgrades than standard 75 Turbo engine.
Alfa Romeo and it's racing department Alfa Corse raced the 75 Turbo Group A in the World Touring Car Championship in 1987 season, the team racers had such names as Nicola Larini, Gabriele Tarquini, Sandro Nannini, Jacques Laffite and Mario Andretti.
Gianfranco Brancatelli won the 1988 ITC serie with Alfa 75 Turbo and Giorgio Francia placed second in the 1991 ITC. The 9th Giro d'Italia in 1988 was won by the team of Miki Biasion, Tiziano Siviero and Riccardo Patrese with a 75 Turbo Evoluzione IMSA.
