Alfa Romeo. A racing legend
Alfa Romeo is a legendary brand of sports cars and an Italian company, producing racing luxury car models. Alfa Romeo is now a part of the FIAT GroupNow it’s Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. or abbreviated as FCA - Italian-American automobile concern, included in the first ten world leaders by the quantity of produced cars. Alfa Romeo is a legend even beyond the race! The company has introduced more innovations than one can count! Also, Alfa Romeo has few competitors in appearance. Its cars have won multiple contests and awards. Henry Ford himself took his hat off when he saw Alfa Romeo…
Italy, Milano… bright sun, blue sky, lush trees. Roads heading beyond the horizon. Speed and wind. All this is in this car brand, its beauty conquered the whole world. This all is called Alfa Romeo! Henry Ford himself took his hat off when he saw Alfa Romeo… Alfa Romeo is a family car that wins the race. The Alfa is the champion that you drive. Mediation is sin and beauty - it’s not enough, - according to Alfa Romeo. We are driven by passion! - and this is about Alfa Romeo, too. But, in our opinion, the words that fully reflect the appearance and behavior of this proud and passionate Italian beauty, and are essentially the philosophy of the car company Alfa Romeo, sound like this: “Without the heart, we would simply be machines!”
Alfa Romeo: ‘Without the heart, we would simply be machines!’ Henry Ford himself took his hat off when he saw Alfa Romeo…
The mechanics of feelings and emotions is not only located in the appearance of these cars, it’s also deep inside, in the heart - in its motor. Therefore, Alfa Romeo is not just an Italian brand of sports models of premium cars, it’s a lifestyle full of love and passion! What is love? Ask many people, and they all will give different answers. But the most precise formula is likely to be found by the meticulous Englishman James May, one of the legendary leaders of no less legendary Top Gear. He thinks it’s the most extraordinary, the best, something that can tickle your penis. :) At least, that’s similar to what he has said. And it was not about a woman, but about a car. And that’s the feeling that Alfa Romeo gives you!
I don’t want to talk boring things about this car. I don’t want to enumerate countless models and concept cars. This information is in any source. Let’s just enjoy the beauty of these unique cars and learn some interesting facts about them.
Interesting facts
Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. or simply Alfa is an Italian automobile corporation headquartered in Milan, specializing in the production of sports models of premium cars, as well as other vehicles. A.L.F.A. is the first letter Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili, the name the company had when it was established in 1910.
Alfa Romeo is a legend in the racing world, just like the Ferrari. Which one is cooler is a good question. Since its inception, Alfa Romeo has been actively involved most racing activities: in a series of Grand Prix, in Formula One, in sports racing series Indicare, circuit car racing of Touring, and rally racing. It was Alfa Romeo who won the very first world championship Grand Prix in 1925. Also, Alfa Romeo has raced under other brands, supplied engines for different racing teams took part in design cups in different racing series under its command names Alfa Corse or Autodelta.
The legendary Enzo Ferrari himself founded his Scuderia Ferrari racing team originally the official Alfa Romeo team. It was with Ferrari Alfa Romeo won the races in Le Mans from 1931 to 1934, in Targa Florio from 1931 to 1935, the race Mille Milla from 1931 to 1934. And once Enzo himself was driving one of the first racing models Alfa Romeo - Torpedo 20/30 HP, which took 2nd place in the Targa Florio in the distant 1920, exactly 100 years ago. And then the first really strong Alfa Romeo model - P2 - won the very first world championship Grand Prix in 1925.
Alfa Romeo P2 has won the first grand-prix of the world in 1925. The famous racer Nino Farina won the first Formula One World Championship in 1950 at the wheel of the 158th Alfa Romeo.
The famous racer Nino Farina won the first Formula One World Championship in 1950 at the wheel of the 158th Alfa Romeo. And then Juan Manuel Fangio brought a second victory for Alfa Romeo in Formula One. And there were also many victories in the World Championship of sports cars. The racing victories of Alfa Romeo are simply uncountable! Alfa Romeo has released a vast number of sports cars and luxury cars to order with bodywork from Touring of Milan or Pininfarina. Alfa Romeo became a symbol, a national emblem of pre-war Italy.
What do the logo and the Quadrifoglio clover symbolize?
The Alpha Romeo’s logo uses two symbols of the city of Milano - a snake that swallows a man, and a red cross on a white background. All this embodies enterprise and power, contributing to the global success. The green snake is the coat of arms of the noble Visconti family that ruled Milano in the XIV century, and the red cross on a white background is the emblem of the city of Milano.
Then what is the meaning of clover, not put on all Alfa Romeo models? Quadrifoglio is a special logo, which stands for high-tech in terms of comfort and engine modifications of Alfa Romeo cars. Some modern Alfa Romeo models have the emblem of clover in the form of a four-leaf clover on a white background, such as Quadrifoglio Verde. Alfetta models in the early '80s were sold in special versions called Silver Leaf and Gold Leaf. Clover in gold or silver symbolized the luxury level of the version.
The second to none
From the first steps under the brand Alfa, and later under the brand Alfa Romeo, cars with high performance are produced. Alfa Romeo throughout its history has presented so many technological innovations, that one simply can’t count! The engine with a cylinder head with two camshafts was first used back in 1914, the very first electric injector system was introduced in 1940. A mechanical phase variator, and later an electronic phase variator, was introduced in 1980.
The Alpha Romeo cars had the lowest aerodynamic drag coefficient. The Alpha was the first to use a 50:50 ratios on its axles. She was the first to apply a total CAD system to her cars in the design of Alfa Romeo. Alpha engines with Twin Spark technology - 2 spark plugs in one cylinder - allowed to achieve maximum afterburning, thus significantly increasing the power of the car.
Alfa Romeo was the first to use a battery-operated fuel system in diesel engines. The Multiair system, an electro-hydraulic ignition phase system, is a completely new technology that Alfa introduced in 2009.
Sports coupe Alfa Romeo Brera is considered ‘the most beautiful car in the world’! Such world-famous Formula One racers as Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen chose Alfa Romeo for daily driving.
Many automotive technologies used in Alfa Romeo have been copied by other car manufacturers. For example, Honda began to use Alfa Romeo’s design solution on Civic cars in the hatchback body, taking the idea from a pseudo coupe 156 and 147 Alfa models, which were actually 4 door cars with visible handles on the front doors and hidden rear door handles. In bodywork design, Alfa Romeo always remained a trendsetter.
In beauty few cars seem to compare to Alfa Romeo. Its cars have become winners of various automobile contests many times, received the most prestigious awards. Let’s remember only the last of them. In 1998, Alfa Romeo 156 became Car of the Year. Brera sports car is recognized as the most beautiful car in the world! In 2001, Alfa Romeo 147 received 2 most prestigious awards at once - the title of Car of the Year and the Golden rudder from the German edition Bild am Sonntag. Version Spider received the title of Convertible of the Year 2006.
Although Alfa Romeo was nicknamed Ferrari for the poor in Italy, the world-famous Formula One racers - Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen – chose this brand for daily driving. By the way, Italian police and road police also use Alfa Romeo cars. And the Italian prime Ministers used Alfa Romeo as a limo.
Alfa Romeo is a modern and dynamic automobile corporation. And today, its models are distinguished by speed, elegance, and nobility. In 2020, Alfa Romeo is celebrating its centenary. But its old legends are still alive and the new ones are coming.
