Alfa Romeo has been a part of Fiat SpA since 1986. The company was originally known as ALFA, an acronym for Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili translated: Lombard Automobile Factory, Public Company .
The company was founded as "Darracq Italiana" in 1907 by Cavaliere Ugo Stella, an aristocrat from Milan, in partnership with a French automobile firm of Alexandre Darracq. The firm produced Darracq cars in Naples, but after the partnership collapsed Stella and the other Italian co investors moved production to an idle Darracq factory in a Milan suburb, Portello, and the company was named ALFA. The first non Darracq car produced by company was the 1910 24 HP, designed by Giuseppe Merosi. Merosi would go on to design a series of new ALFA cars with more powerful engines. ALFA also ventured into motor racing, drivers Franchini and Ronzoni competing in the 1911 Targa Florio with two 24 HP models. However, the onset of World War I halted automobile production at ALFA for three years.
1916 saw the company come under direction of Neopolitan entrepreneur Nicola Romeo, who converted the factory to produce military hardware for the Italian and Allied war efforts. Munitions, aircraft engines and other components, compressors and generators based on the company's existing car engines, and heavy locomotives were produced in the factory during the war. When the war was over, Romeo took complete control of ALFA and car production resumed in 1919
In 1923 Vittorio Jano was lured away from Fiat, partly thanks to the persuasion of a young Alfa racing driver named Enzo Ferrari, to replace Merosi as chief designer at Alfa Romeo. The first Alfa Romeo under Jano was the P2 Grand Prix car, winning Alfa Romeo the world championship in 1925.
The History of the Alfa badge
In 1910 it was a draughtsman
named Romano Cattaneo who was given the job of coming up with a badge for a new
Milan-based company A.L.F.A. This stood for, Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili.
The story goes he was waiting for a tram at the Piazza Castello terminus in Milan,
he gained inspiration from the great Visconti family's red cross and serpent coat
of arms emblazoned over the great door of Castello Sforzesco.
With the help of Giuseppe Merosi, a designer, his sketches incorporated both Milan's emblem and the Visconti family in a circular motif, bordered by a dark blue metallic ring containing the inscription "ALFA" and "MILANO" separated by two Savoy dynasty knots.
The Alfa 156 & the Alfa 147 & GTA were regarded by top gear, the famous BBC show all as a "Cool car", earning them places on the "cool wall"
An advert slogan for the company was The Alfa Romeo Giulia 1600 SS - For the man who has everything, here is the car to keep him company. ... The price is GBP 2394.1.3 including tax. Expensive? Naturally! What else would you expect a hand-built Alfa to be?
In 2006 Britain's biggest car dealer Pendragon has launched a £258m ($448m) hostile bid for the company it beat in the race to buy fellow dealer Reg Vardy. Pendragon is the UK's largest car dealer, with 230 outlets and franchises including Alfa Romeo and Maserati.
Fangio won titles with Alfa Romeo in 1951, Mercedes in 1954 and '55, Ferrari in 1956 and Maserati in 1957.
In 1995 Alfa Romeo ceased exporting cars to the U.S. They may return, however as the FAQ on Alfa's UK website says "The long-awaited return of Alfa Romeo to the United States market should take place by 2007,
The name Romeo derives ultimately from the classical Greek adjective rhomaios (modern Greek romeos), denoting someone from the eastern Roman Empire, i.e. Byzantium, later someone from Rome itself, in particular someone who had been on a pilgrimage there, and finally someone who had made any pilgrimage, i.e. a pilgrim; from this last sense arose the personal name.
In 2002 Long time leader Alfa Romeo won the Sydney - Hobart race on Saturday, crossing the finish line about 20 miles ahead of its nearest challenger.
In 2002 Bristol's Alfa Romeo Owners Club and the city council, organised the Italian Auto Moto Festival.
First Ever Formula 1
Race: The former World War II RAF base at Silverstone managed to host the first
Grand Prix, which saw the Alfa Romeo team win the first three places in 1950
Very similair terms
A rodeo is a US event where cowboys ride a bull or other animal.
Romero is another common surname in latin societies.
It is derived from a nickname from romero ‘pilgrim’, originally ‘pilgrim
to Rome’
Alpha is a very common term in science and radio. In the NATO alphabet, in common use by aviators, the police, airline booking clerks alpha is one of the terms used,. as seen on numerous TV shows.
Alfar in old Scandinavian folklore, is a term for a being that is half god, half dwarf.
Alalfa is a type of Forage grass Lucerne high in protein.
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