More of the same-old same-old

["John Hertzman" <johnhertzman@domain.elided>]

Before going on into wide-ranging discussions of gross, net, SAE, DIN, Kw, etc
Scott remarks "I have not yet been able to locate a published horsepower claim
for the U.S.-market Spica/105.20 cars (prior to 1977), which is itself
interesting; unattributed oral tradition claims that the stated horsepower for
1972-74 2L Alfa engines in U.S. trim was "about 125."

Backing up one notch to the 1750 cars with 105.02 cams, the 1750 brochure I
picked up in 1969 has two distinct parts. The main part, printed in Italy but
in English English (a saloon with a boot, tyres, etc) lists "BHP at 5,500 rpm,
SAE 132". Stapled into the back there is a "U.S.A. Version" supplement which
lists "BHP @ 5500 rpm  132 SAE". The corresponding all-USA 2000 brochure of
1972 lists "Brake horsepower @ 5800 rpm 129 SAE net". Back in the middle of
both brochures are charts of horsepower and torque curves for the two engines,
the 1750 brochure chart labeled in Italian - 'potenza CV SAE" and "coppia Kgm
SAE", and the 2000 brochure chart labeled in English "HP SAE net" and "LB Ft
SAE net". The two charts bear direct comparison with the 105 1750 and 2000
horsepower chart on p.660 in Fusi, in which the 1750 curve peak is labeled
"118 (SAE 135)" and the 2000 curve peak is labeled "132 (SAE 150)", and with
the 1.8 (1779 cc) Alfetta chart on p.734 and the Alfetta 2000 chart on p.786,
both labeled in CV SAE and Kgm SAE units.

In the immediately following years the little USA sales literature I have
omits all explicit references to power; "New for 1974" talks about alloy
wheels, the Berlina's bumpers, the factory-installed air conditioning, the
athermic glass, the anti-intrusion door reinforcements, the limited-slip
differential, but no power. A slightly later Spider brochure, apparently 1977,
makes no reference to power in the two page listing of specifications and
features, but in earlier text mentions that "Its output is .93 brake
horsepower per cubic inch of displacement - testimony to its astonishing
efficiency", which works out to 111 horsepower. The first-series 49-state
Alfetta brochures also make no reference to power in listings of
specifications, but include in the illustrations the power and torque charts
with the power line, labeled "HP SAE net" just breaking 110.

None of the European Spider or Alfetta brochures I have from the seventies
include the nice power-and-torque-curve charts, and none specify "net" or
gross" beyond whatever degree may be implicit in the named rating systems. The
systems used (and capitalizations and hyphenizations) differ by countries, and
some list two systems: Spider 2000, Italian, 1972, CV-SAE 147 (Kw 108,1);
Spider 2000, French, 1974, CV DIN 128; Alfetta 1.8, German, 1975, PS SAE 140
(121 DIN-PS); Alfetta GTV 2000, Italian, 1976, CV SAE 140 (kw 103); Alfetta
2.0, French, 1981, DIN 130, kW 95,6; Alfetta 2.0, Dutch, 1982, PK 130, kW
95,6.

Don't know whether any of this is really useful. Scott mentions figures he has
taken from the Brooklands Spider Gold Portfolio compilation of various road
tests. There are seven different Brooklands compilations which could be drawn
upon, since the engines were used in all body-styles; both 'Gold' and un-gold
Portfolios for the Spiders, coupes, and Alfettas, plus an un-gold for the
Berlinas. They are a tad limited in covering only English-language tests, and
I find it very frustrating to try to draw clear conclusions from them. The
road tests tend to be clustered around the time of introduction, leaving the
out-years barren, and the data-gathering can be very unreliable, mixing
factory figures, observations, and imagination. Interesting more often than
useful. Make of it all what you will. I have a strong impression that the
first Spica cars were a good match for their Webered siblings, the first 2000s
not a straight match but a good trade-off, and the later Spica cars falling
well behind.

The Motronic cars are a different story. The only apparently solid comparative
data I have for Motronic vs. carbs is in the press-kit for the introduction of
the 90, which had both a plain-vanilla 2.0, 9-1 cr engine with a pair of
twin-choke carbs and a Motronic 2.0 with VVT and 10-1 cr. They had (at least
on paper) identical power and top speed, with a slight edge on torque and
acceleration favoring the carbed version, and a healthy edge on fuel economy
(and presumably on pollution) favoring the Motronic. Tweakability, for those
who enjoy it, practicality of owner maintenance, and long-term maintenance
costs would probably be debated by partisans on the two sides.

Enough. Enjoy,

John H.

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