bonnet design rationale options

[JHertzman@xxxxxxx]

In AD7-075 Jack Hagerty suggests a technical/economic rationale for the
stepnose detail on the Sprint GT

" The "inset hood" (or bonnet for our Imperial cousins) is quite expensive to
manufacture. It requires you to completely surround the, uh, engine hatch with
a frame of unbroken sheetmetal. In this case, the only seams showing are the
two at the windshield end that allow the cowl (scuttle) to be removed. At the
nose end, there is a fiendish amount of leading  and finishing required to
blend the crosspiece into the fenders (wings),  especially with all of the
compound curves that GG had shaped into the  design. Since this was supposed
to be an inexpesive car, I beleive that  Alfa decided that it wasn't cost
effective to invest the manpower necessary 
to properly finish it off, and the stepnose was the result."

The supposed-to-be "inexpensive" cars- bottom-of-the-line production cars,
anyhow- with "inset hoods" completely surrounded by sheet-metal which Alfa
built included the 1900 Berlina, Giulietta Berlina, 1750 and 2000 Berlinas,
and first series Alfetta Berlinas. At a more 'luxe" level the ironblock 2000
Berlina and 2600 Berlina did the same. The very cheapest of these, (in intent,
at least) the Fiat-fighting Giulietta Berlina, had leaded joints, which I
believe are not that fiendish and expensive in production. In addition, the
leaded joint is not a required solution for an inset hood; the 1750 and 2000
Berlinas and first series Alfetta Berlinas, like the Alfetta coupes and GTV-6,
have simple spot-welded drop flanges with no lead. A possible good reason for
the 1750/2000 GT Veloce not using this solution is that the joint isn't where
Jack seems to think it is. The leaded joint does not "blend the crosspiece
into the fenders" but instead blends the entire one-piece front panel- upper,
lower, and both sides for a couple of inches back from the headlights- into
the rest of the fenders.

One might add that if Alfa had been looking for a "Eureka!" solution to the
costly inset hood, the solution used on the 164, Milano, 33, Giulietta Nuova,
Alfasud, Arna, second series Alfetta sedans and innumerable cars of other
makes- a rear-hinged hood extending unbroken to the upper front edge- had been
used, apparently without insurmountable problems (except for my latch-gouged
bleeding scalp) on the Giulia T.I. which was already in production before the
Sprint GT design was finalized.

I am also mildly curious about Jack's statement that "this was supposed to be
an inexpesive car". Source? Fusi gives prices of L.1,570,000 for the T.I., and
L.2,195,000 for the Sprint GT, 40% more for a car which, apart from the
intangibles of style and panache, added little beyond upgraded carburation. 

I had, perhaps unkindly, suggested that Giugiaro might have regarded the
stepnose as "a dead-end detail, interesting, well done, but not a fruitful
beginning susceptible to further development." When I was considering various
salvage possibilities on my damaged GTV-6 (which required replacement of the
panel in front of the hood, among other things) I noted that the spot-welded
drop-flange joint approximated the sidelines of the stepnose front panel. I
considered dropping the rear edge of the front panel half an inch or so to
make a double-take inducing stepnose GTV-6, but it would have been a one-time
joke. Giuguaro could have done it on the Alfetta had he wished, but he didn't.
The 1969 photos of the Alfetta GT styling buck (identified as the "116 Coupe
Giugiaro") show the hood extending to the front lip over the grill.

Chris Brown's suggestion, also in AD7-005, that "The stepped bonnet was a
styling form, meant as a false air scoop. - - - Air ducts in the bonnet and
there pseudo counterparts were all the rage during this period, eg Austin
Healy, Aston Martin, Ferrari, even the early (groan) Ford Cortina..." sounds
plausible to me. His list could have included the Giulia Spider, the ironblock
2000 Spider, the 2600 Spider, and the 2600 Sprint coupe which added a
simulated scoop (as the only noticeable styling detail change) to the
scoopless and otherwise impeccable Giugiaro-designed 2000 Sprint. As far as I
can recall the Montreal was the last gasp, among Alfas, of this particular
styling feature.

John

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