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The
Early Numbering System (ENS)…
The ENS a frustrating,
hard-to-understand numbering system and there is no particular advantage
to knowing the details of how it works…there, I’ve said it!
In his book, Millenove,
H.-J. Doehren cites Peter Marshall’s explanation that “after the
first six berlinas were constructed, it was the intention that for the
fourth figure in a five figure number to be a constant ‘3’ for the
berlina, a ‘5’ for the Sprint and a ‘7’ for the cabriolet by
Stabilimenti Farina.” Following that, “the second figure indicates
the 1000s, the first the 10s and the fifth the units.”
Yeah, right. It must have quickly become apparent to Alfa Romeo that
this was a wickedly confusing numbering system, as it was soon discarded in
favor of the 5-digit progression seen on all subsequent 1900s save for
the Matta, which was a slight variation of this second, normalized
system.
In the Early Numbering System section that begins this
PhotoBase, I have highlighted that fourth digit in order to reinforce
its presence and meaning, and I have ignored the other digits for the
sake of my sanity. You may want to do the same!
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