Between 1909 and 1940 A.L.F.A., come Alfa Romeo sold 9456 cars. That’s about equal to the number of Giulietta’s produced and sold in 1956. Yet during that roughly 30 year period from the company’s inception to the eve of the Second world war Alfa established a reputation for racing and road cars that was second to none. The secret behind this success on track and with adventurous private owners was the unequaled quality of the forging, casting, machining and fabrication of the metals involved. When Nicola Romeo bought the small Milanese automotive division after the First World War he brought it within what was one of the first vertically integrated manufacturing corporations in Italy. From structural steel, to rail rolling stock and engines, and eventually aircraft engines, the car division benefited from a depth of metal craft that few, if any, automobile companies of the period shared. The point of this introduction is that we are about to discuss Colin Howard’s The Design Cast Ltd. Operation in Auckland New Zealand. Now, what might a metal craft company in the south seas have to do with Alfa of the 1930s? Well, everything it seems. In a light industrial facility about the size of a sculptor’s studio Colin and his assistant Gavin Tindell are fabricating components, most all components, of the 1930s era Alfas to a standard that is acknowledged as equal to the original Portello works. Which as the introduction makes clear, is no empty boast. Before we go into a visual examination of the individual components fabrication, let’s bring visual example to this discussion in the form of the first complete 8C 2300 completed by Colin and his cohorts.
The Design Cast Ltd.: An Examination
To understand Colin’s operation we have to present some of the project specific components that make up TDC’s limited production in their fabrication stage.
