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May 1950 saw the debut of a car with a fair claim to being the most important post-war Alfa Romeo. The 1900 was both their first with unitary bodywork and their first with LHD. The Italian rule of the road had changed from left to right in 1924. However, many drivers still preferred RHD, regarding it as safer and a mark of their social status. But the 1900 was also to be Alfa’s first volume-produced vehicle, as opposed to a coach built machine.

The 1900’s styling, courtesy of Dr Orazio Satta Puliga, was low-key; from some angles it seems to anticipate the Volvo Amazon. The interior was a strictly practical combination of cloth upholstered seats and rubber mats on the floor. ‘In accordance with normal Continental practice, a pressed-steel facia panel is used, and the general standard of interior trim is somewhat severe, not to say austere, by British standards’ noted The Motor Year Book 1951. However, the combination of a 1,884cc DHOC 4-cylinder engine, independent front suspension and a very carefully located live rear axle resulted in a 93 mph sports saloon.

It was “Dr. Satta” who steered Alfa Romeo towards volume car production when he was appointed the Design and Development manager in 1946. A sum of $2.1 million allotted from the Marshall Plan allowed the concern to revitalise their plant and machine tooling. The 1900 was one of the stars of the 1950 Paris Salon in November - 2,080,000 lira was still a considerable sum of money for most Italians but the new Alfa appealed to the affluent middle-classes.

In the following year, Alfa introduced the Ti (Tourismo Internazionale), which featured twin carburettors and a top speed of over 100mph. In 1953, the Ti scored class victories in the Tour de France and the Millie Miglia, as befitting ‘’The family car that wins races’. The 1954 1900 Super and Ti Super boasted a 1,975cc engine, revised instruments and a larger rear window. The latter was equipped with twin Solex carburettors so the proud owner could battle with Lancia Aurelias along the Autostrada.

Meanwhile, the police favoured the modified 1900 “Pantera” (“Panther”), with special equipment that included a bullet-proof split windshield and mesh guards ahead of the front wheels to protect the tyres from nails and/or bandits firing at them. The suspension was modified, armour plating shielded the engine, and there was also a canvas sunroof over the rear seat. Two submachine guns were mounted on the back of the front seat and an opening roof meant the officers could take better aim at a getaway car!

By the end of production in 1959, Alfa Romeo had built 17,390 Berlinas. You were very unlikely to have seen one in the UK, for you would have to be exceptionally well-heeled to place an order with Thompson & Taylor of Brooklands. Most Britons would simply marvel at the 1900 on the Alfa stand at the Earls Court Motor Show, but in its homeland, it had become a symbol of ‘il miracolo economico’. And every subsequent Alfa Romeo owed a debt to this seemingly-modest saloon.

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