Il Quadrifoglio 1969
April 15, 2021
"The need for an easy and sympathetic means of contact, of continuous information, to make us feel close and to update all the alphysites directly, has become apparent to us."
Giuseppe Luraghi about the magazine "Il Quadrifoglio".
1969 began, if you will, on January 30.
It was on that date, in fact, that the Beatles held their last live concert, choosing as a location the roof of the Apple in London.
With the Rooftop concert the Sixties came to an end and 1969 is the year of that strong caesura that will soon project us into the Seventies.
Let's not get ahead of ourselves, though, and enjoy this last year of the decade as always through the quarterly Il Quadrifoglio, the Alfisti magazine.
A model poses with a robe manteau decorated with the cloverleaf symbol
1969 is the year in which, with the last concert of the Beatles (on the roof), the Sixties come to an end.
ALFA ROMEO IN LATIN AMERICA
The first issue of Il Quadrifoglio in 1969 opens with the news of Alfa Romeo's expansion into Brazil, following the purchase of a majority shareholding in Fabrica Nacional de Motores. This important acquisition gave Alfa Romeo the opportunity to conquer a market, the Latin American one, which was rapidly developing in those years.
The first contacts between the two companies actually date back to the 1950s, when the FNdM began producing heavy goods vehicles under Alfa Romeo licence . Thanks to this new phase, Alfa entered the Brazilian passenger car market, which had grown by about 23% since 1957 and within 10 years.
Sales figures in Latin America in the 1960s
"The weaker sex is strong."
A title like this we accept only because it was written in 1969 🙂 🙂
Christine Beckers and Heide Utz are the two stars of the quarterly magazine thanks to their profession as drivers and a strong passion for racing cars. The Belgian Beckers and the German Utz are interviewed and filmed while testing the 33 on the track at Balocco and then linger - for the benefit of the photographers - in Milan's shopping streets.
"In short, Christine is better off in a car than in armchairs and, if she hasn't had her honeymoon yet, it's because - his is the boutade - she probably married the Alfa Romeo."
christine beckers, belgian champion, and heide utz, german driver of the year: a common passion, alfa romeo
CONQUERING ENGLAND
A black and white photo of Big Ben - the perfect shade for the London atmosphere - opens the second 1969 issue of Il Quadrifoglio.
The occasion? The previous year's increase in Alfa Romeo sales in the UK of over 42%, with forecasts of further growth as Alfa Romeo South models enter the market.
Style and tradition, above all a lot of tradition: this is the recipe to enter the hearts of the British, defined as "diffident" in the face of what is foreign and different. However,judging by the service and the photographs - as well as the sales figures - we can say that we have made the eyes of Trafalgar Square shine with our Made in Italy design!
THE SANGREGORIO TROPHY
From the Candoglia quarries the champions' trophy: it is signed by Giancarlo Sangregorio the trophy given to the drivers who have distinguished themselves for the activity carried out in the sporting season 1968-1969.
Sangregorio, an artist from Milan, had begun his artistic career with the direct cutting of stone in the quarries of Ossola: his was an artisan sensibility for raw materials with an adhesion of a contemplative and religious nature especially for stone and wood.
Obviously, this trophy is also kept today in our Cozzi.Lab archive!
"A lightning swallow materializing in the white image born from the deep vein of Candoglia marble.".
PHILATELY MON AMOUR
Philatelists, raise your hands!
On Il Quadrifoglio are collected the most beautiful and particular stamps dedicated to the world of Alfa Romeo . It is not a mystery, in fact, that many stamp collectors choose to give their collection a thematic cue: nature, flowers, astronautics... and why then don't they choose as subject the world of transport?
We admit it: looking at these small works of art we feel a bit of nostalgia for those times when letters were still written and received on paper. With all the bitter sweet taste of waiting.
