2000

Onca

2150

2300

Brazil and Argentina have a long history of localised variations of European and American cars, some staying in production for years. The most notable of these were Ford products, the Argentine Falcon and Fairlane being based off the first gen (1960-65) Falcon and the '68 Torino respectively and staying in production to the 1980s (or 1991 for the Falcon). The Landau on the other hand was essentially a '65 Ford Galaxie with increasingly plush trim and "Lincolnised" styling.

Likewise, cars from Fiat, Peugeot and Renault stayed in production in Argentina for some time after the European originals ceased production- the Peugeot 504 was still made in Argentina through to 1999.

Which brings us to an interesting diversion in the long history of Alfa Romeo. Through the 50s its mainstay products were the smaller Giulietta and bigger 1900 sedans. The 1900 was replaced by the 2000 with a more squared-up body, and the 2600 in turn was much the same but with a six-cylinder engine.

A Brazilian company, FNM (also a truck builder), began building the Alfa Romeo 2000 sedan under licence for the local market. Hence it was known as the "Alfa Romeo FNM 2000" and stayed in production through the 1960s. By the late 1960s, Alfa Romeo had taken over control of FNM and in 1969 the 2000 was replaced by the FNM 2150 with a bigger engine and slightly revised styling.

The Onca coupe of 1966 was a two-door 2000 with a more powerful 2.0-litre engine and interesting styling- the rear end is unique, but the front resembled contemporary Alfa coupes.

Things get more interesting here. By 1974, the 2150 was replaced by a new car, the 2300. The 2300 featured Alfetta styling with an enlarged engine and the same basic chassis as the 2000. The Alfa Romeo 2300 remained in Brazilian production through to 1988. There were several variants, with the Ti4 having the most power from that old engine.

Jokejoe

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