The history of Alfa Romeo, an Italian car manufacturer known for producing sports cars,. began on June 24, 1910, with the founding of ALFA (an acronym for "Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili") in Milan.. In 1918 the company changed its name to "Alfa Romeo" following the acquisition of control of the company by Nicola Romeo..
In 1933 ownership of Alfa Romeo passed, through IRI, to the Italian state because of the heavy debt the company had incurred with banks since the previous decade.. Alfa Romeo continued to produce cars in a semi-craftsmanship manner until the early 1950s, when it transformed into a full-fledged automobile manufacturer with the introduction of the assembly line. in the production departments. From this decade on, Alfa Romeo experienced a phase of growing success that reached its peak in the 1960s.. In the 1970s, however, there was a turnaround that caused a deep crisis.. The failing finances then led the Italian state, in 1986, to sell the automaker to the Fiat group.. The revival of Alfa Romeo took place in the second part of the 1990s.. In 2014, it became part of the brands controlled by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and from 2021 by Stellantis.
ALFA Alfa Romeo's origins have French and Neapolitan roots. The genesis of the brand is linked to the founding of the Società Italiana Automobili Darracq, which was opened in Naples on April 6, 1906... However, the entrepreneurial venture immediately proved to be fraught with difficulties, especially because of the high distance between Naples and France.. For this reason, as early as the end of 1906, the company was relocated to Milan with the construction of a factory in the Portello area. The first industrial settlement that was the origin of Alfa Romeo, and which remained active until 1986, was built on a vast square bordering the areas that had hosted the Milan International.. However, difficulties continued and sales proved insufficient to ensure the survival of the manufacturing business. Because of these problems, as early as the end of 1909 the company was put into liquidation and was then taken over by some Lombard entrepreneurs, who purchased it in 1910 together with Ugo Stella, who participated in the transaction.
The change of ownership took place on June 24, 1910, at which time the company changed its name to ALFA (an acronym for "Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili"). The name chosen recalled the first letter of the Greek alphabet, intended to emphasize the beginning of a new industrial adventure.At this point, the new management recognized the need to completely revise its models by adapting them to the needs of the Italian market,. and therefore decided to hire Giuseppe Merosi, a designer from Piacenza with several years of experience in the fledgling Italian automobile industry to his credit. Merosi, who therefore became the first technical manager of the fledgling car company, was given the task of designing a totally new car model. The company's first logo was also designed on the occasion. Sketched by Merosi himself, the mark recalled ALFA's ties with its city of origin: on one side the Visconti serpent (the "biscione"), on the other the red cross on a white field, the medieval symbol of Milan. Surrounding the two emblems were the inscriptions "ALFA" and "MILANO" divided by two Savoy knots in honor of the Italian ruling house.
The new model was launched as early as the same year in which the change of ownership took place. Designed by Merosi, the ALFA 24 HP possessed an inline four-cylinder, side-valve engine with a displacement of that delivered of power (the 24 HP in the model name referred instead to fiscal power).... The 24 HP was designed considering the shortcomings of the Darracq models, and was therefore equipped with a very strong structure and a powerful engine that allowed the car to reach the remarkable speed (for the time) of 100 km/h. The model ensured reliability due to the preliminary tests that were carried out before the launch at the behest of Giuseppe Merosi, and thus sales of the ALFA gradually began to grow.. However, the 24 HP was marketed with a "bare" chassis, that is, without the body; at the time, it was common to sell the models produced without the body, so as to give buyers the opportunity to complete them according to their personal tastes by taking them to their trusted coachbuilder.
From the 24 HP was derived the first truck model built by Alfa Romeo. Made in 1914, it was produced through a substantial modification of the car's structure.. This truck inaugurated a tradition that marked the Biscione company for decades. Alfa Romeo produced commercial vehicles until 1988 and was, after FIAT, the Italian company that built this type of transport vehicle for the longest time.
The 24 HP was successful and so, in the same year, a smaller car, the 12 HP, was launched, which was equipped with a and inline-four engine. Both the powerplant and chassis of the 12 HP were derived from those of the 24 HP. In 1911 the 12 HP was updated by installing an upgraded version of the engine, which now delivered ; for this reason, the model changed its name to 15 HP, as the fiscal horsepower also changed although the displacement remained the same. The 15 HP in 1914 underwent a similar update to that which had led to its birth. These changes mainly involved the engine: the displacement was kept the same in exchange for an increase in power output, which grew to .. From these changes came the 15-20 HP. In contrast, the previous year (1913) the successor model to the 24 HP, the 40-60 HP, had been launched. This new car was basically the fruit of the development of the previous model and marked a turning point for the carmaker's car design, owing to the high engineering level of its mechanics.. The new model had mounted a , six-cylinder engine that differed from previous powerplants by having overhead valves instead of valves on the side.. In 1911 ALFA debuted, with the 24 HP, in motor racing. In an attempt to win new buyers, ALFA's management was considering the launch of a new car that was to feature a more luxurious trim level and a higher price, at least by the standards of previous models. However, the idea was soon shelved because of the risks involved, which were related to a possible negative response from the market and the danger of losing the already acquired customers, who were accustomed to the peculiarities of ALFA's previous cars: therefore, their reaction to a completely new type of car could not be predicted. It was therefore decided to prepare a racing model, which with its eventual successes could attract new buyers. Merosi was therefore commissioned to transform two 24 HP examples into cars suitable for racing. The goal was achieved by lightening the two vehicles, which was achieved, for example, by eliminating the bodywork; in addition, the wheelbase was shortened and the axles were replaced. These examples were entered in the 1911 Targa Florio, but without success; the disappointing results were then repeated the following year. Nevertheless, success in racing came in 1913 with a racing version of the 40-60 HP. The model won the Parma-Poggio di Berceto finishing first in its class and second overall.
The victory of the 40-60 HP gave ALFA the impetus to continue its participation in competitions, and this resulted in the design of a racing model suitable for participation in Grand Prix motor racing,. which attracted more public interest than endurance races. In 1914 Giuseppe Merosi was therefore commissioned to design a useful model for the purpose, employing an existing car as the basis of the design again, since making a new model from scratch would have required too many financial resources. Thus in 1914 the ALFA Grand Prix was born, which was derived from the 40-60 HP and was the first car designed by the Biscione company to be intended exclusively for competition. The model featured innovations regarding engine technology:. it had a double overhead camshaft timing system and possessed dual ignition per cylinder. The power unit was the Biscione company's first engine to have these features and was therefore the forerunner of Alfa Romeo's Twin Cam engine and Twin Spark ignition system, which were produced a few decades later. Due to the outbreak of World War I, in which Italy did not initially take part, the organization of international competitions was suspended and thus the ALFA Grand Prix had a rather short racing activity.
The birth of the Alfa Romeo brand
Before Italy's entry into the war, ALFA's sales gradually increased from 80 cars in 1911 to 150 in 1912, 200 in 1913, 272 in 1914 and then dropped to 207 in 1915. With the outbreak of the conflict (1914), the Milanese automaker entered a crisis due to the stagnation of the domestic car market and the interruption of exports.. ALFA was in those years broadening its commercial horizons by also targeting foreign markets. The situation precipitated with Italy's entry into the war (1915). The national manufacturing apparatus converted its industrial activities to meet the demand for wartime supplies and this put ALFA in a difficult situation: the owners of the Milanese car manufacturer did not possess the financial resources to convert plants for this purpose. An attempt was made, however, by Merosi to modify the engine of the 15-20 HP into a generator suitable for the Royal Army, but without success. To avoid being in a situation where the factory would no longer produce profits, the ownership therefore decided to sell the ALFA to the Banca Italiana di Sconto.
The bank identified Nicola Romeo, a mechanical engineer from Sant'Antimo, as a potential buyer who could manage and later buy ALFA. Previously Romeo, after having had some experience abroad, had founded in 1911 in Milan the "Società in accomandita semplice Ing. Nicola Romeo e Co." for the production of machinery for mining. After the outbreak of war, the Neapolitan entrepreneur decided to enter the military contracting business, obtaining a significant order for the Royal Army in July 1915, which involved the production of ammunition.. Since his company did not possess the resources to fulfill this order, Nicola Romeo decided to take over ALFA by entering the company's capital by purchasing some shares. On August 4, 1915, Nicola Romeo was appointed director of the Portello plant, and within two years the industrial group led by the engineer from Sant'Antimo managed to gain control of the company; on this occasion, ALFA changed its name to "Società Anonima Italiana Ing. Nicola Romeo." It then concentrated on the manufacture of ammunition (75 mm shells loaded on 75 Krupp and Déport guns and 149 caliber shells loaded on 149/35 guns), flamethrowers, generating sets (using the engine of the 15-20 HP and mounted on special carriages supplied by Bollani coachworks), aircraft engines under license from Isotta-Fraschini, and mining equipment, which were essential in the trenches of the Italian front,. temporarily discontinuing the production of cars. The mining equipment was driven by air compressors, officially named Motocompressor Type C (Cadottato) but known as "Il Piccolo Italiano," which were designed by Merosi and were powered by the engines already mounted on the 15 HP and 24 HP. In this context, due to the conflicting relationship that existed between Merosi and Romeo the designer from Piacenza was sent to southern Italy to lead a factory owned by the engineer from Sant'Antimo..