A Light Reconnaissance Vehicle (LRV) is an all-weather, all-terrain vehicle that can perform a range of missions thanks to its speed, mobility, and armament. The LRV aids reconnaissance in all-weather, long-duration, counter-reconnaissance, and security missions. It is also known as a scout vehicle.

LRVs date back to the Second World war. Machine gun-armed Humber Light Reconnaissance Cars and Daimler Dingos to the 6-pounder (57 mm) gun-equipped AEC Armoured Cars were common in British reconnaissance fleets. The British Army employed the Ferret Scout Car after World War II.

The Italian Ministry of Defense launched a tender in 1949/50 for the delivery of an AR/51 light all-terrain vehicle (AR - Autovettura da Ricognizione / Reconnaissance vehicle, 51 years old). Fiat and Alfa Romeo introduced their vehicles, Fiat AR.51 Alpina and Alfa Romeo AR.51, also known as Matta.

Alfa Romeo created six prototypes, including a Matta Giardinetta version, a tank version, a diesel version, and even a snowplow variant with a turbine engine. Alfa Romeo initiated the fabrication of a small series. They created 2,059 copies between 1951 and 1955, under the order of the Italian State for special needs.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Alfa Romeo Matta

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Fiat Campagnola: Alfa Romeo Matta’s Rival

Green 1964 Fiat Campagnola
RL GNZLZ Via: Flickr

As stated earlier, the Italian Ministry Of Defense wanted a light reconnaissance vehicle. Alfa Romeo created an LRV, the Matta, but so did Fiat. Fiat, designed by Dante Giacosa, created the Fiat AR51 or also known as Fiat Campagnola.

From the design of the prototype, Fiat's goal was to build a vehicle that could handle the bumpy and mostly unpaved roads of the Italian peninsula. It also had to meet the needs of the army chiefs and the agricultural world, which had been around in Italy for a long time and was becoming more critical to the country's economy after the war.

As a result, the name of the new four-wheel-drive car changed from "Alpina" to "Campagnola."

To make the Fiat Campagnola AR51 more robust and reliable, Giacosa's engineers depowered the 1900 cc petrol engine used in the sedans 1400/1900 by 53 HP. As for the chassis, it had the usual longitudinal and traverse members, as well as leaf springs at the rear and an independent suspension up front, as was more common those days.

The complex and effective powertrain included a 4-speed transmission with a reducer. It was ordinarily rear-wheel drive, with the option of transmitting some torque to the front wheels when the low-range gears were employed.

The differentials on the two axles could be locked to improve traction in the most challenging situations. The Campagnola offers a variety of wheelbase and passenger compartment configurations, making the comprehensive offering even more adaptable to diverse needs.

The Build That Enabled The Alfa Romeo Matta To Combat Any Terrain

1952 Alfa Romeo 1900 M AR 51 Matta
Via: Gooding

In 1950, Alfa Romeo purchased one of the late-1940s British Land Rovers to incorporate it in the Matta prototype. Head of design at Alfa Romeo, Giuseppe Bussobegan, began work on a prototype that combined Land Rover and Alfa Romeo components, including the twin-cam Alfa Romeo 1900cc inline four-cylinder engine.

The concept proved to be a little primitive, though. The Alfa Romeo design team created a new chassis with independent front suspension with torsion bars and two unequal length wishbones, as well as a rear live axle on leaf springs.

This live axle had a limited-slip differential, but there was also a lever next to the driver that the driver could use to lock the axle manually.

The Jeep (Land Rover Series 1) influenced the Matta's utilitarian steel body, but the Italians refined the looks and added a small Alfa Romeo shield in the grille between the headlights to distinguish the car and also to make it stronger.

A 1.9-liter four-cylinder engine delivers 65 horsepower to all four wheels via a four-speed manual transmission in each Matta. The lack of power, along with the cinderblock's aerodynamic design, results in a top speed of 65 mph.

The advanced twin-cam engine also made it sound more dynamic and refined than its contemporaries, and the handling was rather spectacular, with relatively light controls by today's standards.

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What Happened To The Alfa Romeo Matta During And After Its Short Production Run?

Yellow 1954 Alfa Romeo Matta
peterolthof Via: Flickr

Fiat received the Ministry's order in the end. This is probably due to a few factors. The Matta consumed more fuel than the Campagnola. It was also more complex to use than the Campagnola. To make matters worse, it was triple the price of the Campagnola.

But before manufacture halted, the majority of AR51s were sent to Italy's Carabinieri, army, and police forces. Alfa Romeo entered the vehicle in the 1952 Mille Miglia in the Military Vehicle category, and it won by 42 minutes against the comparable Fiat Campagnolas.

Later raids, such as the Monte Grosso, Artico Lualdi, Fratellanza, Peace, and Vaticano–Peking raids, as well as the Bonzi Expedition to Indonesia, featured the off-roader.