Alfa Romeo |
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Official Site: AlfaRomeo.com
Wikipedia: Alfa Romeo Page Sections History Motorsports Photographs Article Index |
History
The following section is an excerpt from Wikipedia's Alfa Romeo page on 28 March 2016, text available via the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italian car manufacturer. Founded as A.L.F.A. ("Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili", translating to Anonymous Lombard Automobile Factory in English) on June 24, 1910, in Milan, the company has been involved in car racing since 1911. It was owned by Italian state holding company Istituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale between 1932 and 1986, when it became a part of the Fiat group. In February 2007, the Alfa Romeo brand was transformed into the current Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A., a subsidiary of Fiat Group Automobiles, now Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Italy.
The company that became Alfa Romeo was founded as Società Anonima Italiana Darracq (SAID) in 1906 by the French automobile firm of Alexandre Darracq, with some Italian investors. In late 1909, the Italian Darracq cars were selling slowly and the Italian partners of the company hired Giuseppe Merosi to design new cars. On June 24, 1910, a new company was founded named A.L.F.A., initially still in partnership with Darracq. The first non-Darracq car produced by the company was the 1910 24 HP, designed by Merosi. A.L.F.A. ventured into motor racing, with drivers Franchini and Ronzoni competing in the 1911 Targa Florio with two 24-hp models. In August 1915, the company came under the direction of Neapolitan entrepreneur Nicola Romeo, who converted the factory to produce military hardware for the Italian and Allied war efforts. In 1920, the name of the company was changed to Alfa Romeo with the Torpedo 20-30 HP the first car to be so badged.
In 1921, the Banca Italiana di Sconto, which backed the Ing. Nicola Romeo & Co, went broke and the government needed to support the industrial companies involved, among which was Alfa Romeo, through the "Consorzio per Sovvenzioni sui Valori Industriali". In 1925, the railway activities were separated from the Romeo company, and in 1928, Nicola Romeo left. In 1933, the state ownership was reorganized under the banner of the Istituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale (IRI) by Benito Mussolini's government, which then had effective control. The company struggled to return to profitability after the Second World War, and turned to mass-producing small vehicles rather than hand-building luxury models. In 1954, it developed the Alfa Romeo Twin Cam engine, which would remain in production until 1994. During the 1960s and 1970s, Alfa Romeo produced a number of sporty cars, though the Italian government parent company, Finmeccanica, struggled to make a profit, so it sold the marque to the Fiat Group in 1986.
Alfa Romeo has competed successfully in many different categories of motorsport, including Grand Prix motor racing, Formula One, sportscar racing, touring car racing, and rallies. It has competed both as a constructor and an engine supplier, via works entries (usually under the name Alfa Corse or Autodelta), and private entries. The first racing car was made in 1913, three years after the foundation of the company, and Alfa Romeo won the inaugural world championship for Grand Prix cars in 1925. The company gained a good name in motorsport, which gave a sporty image to the whole marque. Enzo Ferrari founded the Scuderia Ferrari racing team in 1929 as an Alfa Romeo racing team, before becoming independent in 1939. It holds the world's title of the most wins of any marque in the world.
Championships Won in Alfa Romeos
| Year | Series | Driver | Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | FIA Formula 1 World Championship | Nino Farina | |
| 1951 | FIA Formula 1 World Championship | Juan Manuel Fangio |
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Subject: Alfa Romeo Race Car
Photographer: Bill Crittenden Event: January 2007 Meeting of C.A.R.S. in Miniature 
View photo of Alfa Romeo Race Car Model - 1,483KB |
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Subject: Alfa Romeo Race Car
Photographer: Bill Crittenden Event: January 2007 Meeting of C.A.R.S. in Miniature
View photo of Alfa Romeo Race Car Model - 1,321KB |
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Subject: Classic Alfa Romeo
Photographer: Dan Stepinski Location: Milan, Italy 
Publication Date: 1 February 2021 License: Unsplash View photo of Classic Alfa Romeo - 1.7MB |
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Subject: Classic Alfa Romeo
Photographer: Vitalijus Daukantas Publication Date: 3 July 2018 License: Unsplash View photo of Classic Alfa Romeo - 910KB |
| Date | Article | Details |
|---|---|---|
| 8 May 2008 | Facility's cars sit quietly Alfa Romeo's primary production facility, the Arese complex on the outskirts of Milan, Italy, now lies all but abandoned, weeds reclaiming the SOD-acre site, assembly lines relocated to Naples and elsewhere. | News Article (text) Author: Aidan Braden Publisher: SubmitYOURArticle.com Topic: Alfa Romeo |
| 18 January 2013 | Mazda to make an MX-5 for Alfa Romeo Mazda and Fiat have signed a Final Agreement to work together and the first fruits of that agreement will be a new Alfa sportscar, based on the next generation of the MX-5 platform, built by Mazda in Hiroshima. | News Article (text) Author: Publication: Topics: Mazda MX-5, Alfa Romeo |
| 11 June 2013 | Those we have loved (I want another Alfa) Just the other day I had an epiphany. A strange feeling came over me and I felt slightly weird and distinctly at odds with conventional wisdom. Don’t worry, I’m not mad and I’m not ill. I realised what it was. I badly want - I need - another Alfa Romeo. | Commentary (text) Author: Geoff Maxted Publisher: Drivewrite Automotive Topic: Alfa Romeo |
| 24 June 2013 | It's Alfa Romeo's 103rd birthday today On 24 June 1910 Alfa Romeo was founded. The company was initially called ALFA, which stands for Anonima Lombardo Fabbrica Automobili (Lombard automobile factory). | Commentary (text &  image)Author: Matt Hubbard Publisher: Speedmonkey Topic: Alfa Romeo |
| 12 October 2013 | What Is Alfa Romeo Planning For 2014? Already with us is the superb 4C and customers can expect the sports car to be a hot seller next year. In addition, there’s the already established Mito and family-sized Giulietta. The future though is in a state of flux. Obviously there will be new cars but what and, indeed, when? | Commentary (text & images) Author: Geoff Maxted Publisher: Drivewrite Automotive Topic: Alfa Romeo |
| 22 October 2013 | The Alfisti Turn Out To Be A Reasonable Bunch, Aside From A Couple Of Delusionals My Alfa Romeo Giulietta review published yesterday on Speedmonkey and Jalopnik (thanks for the share, Travis). What was interesting was that aside from a couple of people who sought to tear the review, and me, to shreds most Alfisti weren't surprised. I was told the Guilietta isn't a true Alfa but a Fiat in disguise. | Commentary (text) Author: Matt Hubbard Publisher: Speedmonkey Topic: Alfa Romeo, Alfa Romeo Guilietta |
