Re: Alfa engine design

[Scott Fisher <sefisher@domain.elided>]

Geoff (gran-turismo@domain.elided) inquires about the date at which Alfa
first began using variable valve timing.

The answer, according to Scott Johnson's Spider FAQ, is 1980, and not on
the TS engine but on the classic single-spark engine which in turn dates
back to the Giulietta of 1954:

"Alfa kept refining and tuning the engine as much as possible to get
power, economy, and emissions control. To this end, in 1980 Alfa
incorporated variable valve timing (or VVT). The system is essentially
an electromechanical piston on the intake camshaft. Developed in the
1970s by Ing Giampaolo Garcea for Alfa, it was termed "variatore de
fase" by the Italian engineers. This was promptly renamed "the phaser"
by the Americans involved with the team, and the name stuck.

At first only used as an emissions control device, later versions
allowed improved cam timing, giving better performance at high RPM but
allowing controlled emissions at idle. I believe it was the only
production car available in the US (perhaps anywhere) with such an
advanced system until well into the '90s. FIAT has rediscovered this
device and now fits it to several of its own engine designs. (special
thanks to BD for information on the VVT system)"

The Spider FAQ is located here, and contains a wealth of information
about Alfa as well as Spider-specific lore:

http://www.delanet.com/~sents/cgi-bin/ecsw.cgi?form_action=view_all_records

- --Scott Fisher

------------------------------