Alfa Romeo Built a Military Jeep in the 1950s — Meet the Matta

Alfa Romeo’s Oddball

We all know that Alfa Romeo cars have a sporty zing to them. Whether it’s with a small hatchback or a 505 hp hot sedan, you can always count on the Italian automaker to spice up your daily drive. Alfa’s long history is awash in fun and zesty daily runabouts like the Alfasud, Spider, and Giulia, and occasionally dip into exotica with models such as the 8C Competizione and 33 Stradale.

But Alfa also made a few utility vehicles back in the day, believe it or not. You’ll have to look pretty far down in its history to find them, but it one built vans and military vehicles. Yes, you read that right.

Meet the Matta

A military vehicle is probably one of the last thing you’ll think of when it comes to Alfa Romeo, and unless you’re an Italian baby boomer, you might not have heard of the 1900 M. It was better known as its nickname, the Matta, and it was produced from 1951 to 1954 mainly for the Italian Ministry of Defense.

The Matta was built at the request of the military, and Alfa Romeo had been tasked to do so. Like most off-road vehicles at the time, it was inspired by the Willys Jeep as there was pretty much nothing else to draw inspiration from in the ’50s. But while it looks like a Willys with an Alfa shield, this was a home-grown product by the company. Remember, Alfa Romeo had yet to be absorbed by Fiat when it built the Matta.

The Specs

The numbers that the Matta pulls are grossly conservative by today’s standards, but it did the job. Its engine was a 1.9-liter unit that mustered 64 hp and 90 lb-ft of torque, so it actually had more powered than the Willys MB despite the smaller displacement. The four-wheel drive system was of the part-time variety, and its rock crawling abilities were helped by a dual-range gearbox.

Interestingly, the car had some characteristics one would find in more sporting Alfas. For starters, it had double wishbones for its front suspension, which is something you’d expect in a roadster and not a military vehicle. It even had a dry sump engine straight from motorsports.

Production

Less than 2,200 Mattas were built over three years, most of which went to the government of which 2,007 were made. There was a civilian version too, but those are rare as hen’s teeth with just 154 built. The military versions were internally known as AR 51, while the civilian was called the AR 52.

After 1954, the Italian Government went over to Fiat for its new fleet of off-road vehicles. Why, you ask? It’s all about simplicity. The Alfa had pretty neat mechanicals built into it, but that worked against it in military applications. The Fiat Campagnola had a front live axle, a simpler engine, and even a diesel option. Alfa Romeo had no answer for it.

Alfa Romeo wouldn’t put four-wheel drive in a car again until the ’80s with the 33 4×4. That’s not a misnomer, mind you, as it had a selectable four-wheel drive system. After that, the company shifted simpler all-wheel drive systems. The 155 and 164 was that start of that, and continued by the 156, 159, and Brera. That brings us to the Q4 models of the Guilia, Stelvio, Tonale, and Junior of today. While those cars are far related to the Matta, Alfa Romeo’s four-wheel drive and all-wheel drive journey is an interesting story nonetheless.