Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo was founded in 1907 by Milanese aristocrat Cavaliere Ugo Stella, in partnership with the French automobile firm of Alexandre Darracq. After that collaboration ended, Stella set up a new company, Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili, in the Portello suburb of his home town. The first Alfa appeared in 1910, a 24-hp model designed by Giuseppe Merosi. Within a year the company also turned its thoughts to motor sport, Franchini and Ronzoni competing in the 1911 Targa Florio in an Alfa.
"Alfa takes on Romeo's name"
Nicola Romeo bought the company in 1915, and after helping to support the war effort, Alfa reverted to car production. In 1920 the name of the company was changed to Alfa Romeo, the Torpedo being the first car to bear the famous badge. In 1923 Alfa driver Enzo Ferrari was instrumental in luring renowned designer Vittorio Jano from Fiat. The first Jano-designed car was the P2, in which Giuseppe Campari and Antonio Ascari enjoyed enormous success. In 1925 Alfa Romeo won the inaugural manufacturers' world championship with the same model.
"First monoposto racing car"
In 1932 Jano unveiled the Tipo B P3, the first monoposto racing car. It made a victorious debut at that year's Monaco GP, with Tazio Nuvolari at the wheel, and went on to dominate the Grand Prix arena for the next two years. In 1933 Alfa was nationalised by a Mussolini government keen to showcase the best in Italian design and technology, and the company withdrew from racing. For the next five years Alfa Romeos did compete, Enzo Ferrari running a semi-works team. Auto Union and Mercedes were dominant in this period, though Alfa did enjoy some stunning successes, notably at the Nurburgring in 1935. Nuvolari beat the German powerhouses in their own back yard with the nowoutdated P3. So confident had the organisers been of a home victory that the German national anthem was cued up ready to acclaim the victor. Nuvolari promptly produced his personal copy of the Italian anthem for the post-race honours.
"The rise of the Alfetta"
Jano was sacked in 1937, and after Alfa regained control of its racing affairs the following year, the marque turned its attention to the voiturette class. Giocchino Colombo designed the famous 158 'Alfetta'. This was a 1.5-litre model, and in 1939 the Italians decided to hold all their races to a 15oocc formula to stave off the German onslaught. Mercedes did-produce a one-off car to win that season's Tripoli GP, but in the postwar period the Alfetta was the car to beat. Not that that happened too often, the Alfa enjoying a 26-race winning streak in the late 1940s.
Alfa withdrew from racing in 1949, following the double blow of losing ace driver Jean-Pierre Wimille —killed during practice for the Buenos Aires GP in January that year — and team-mate Count Trossi, who lost his fight against cancer. The marque was back for the inaugural world championship the following year, with the famous '3 Fs' dominating the championship series. Nino Farina pipped Fangio for the title, with Luigi Fagioli third. A year later Fangio lifted the first of his five world crowns in an Alfa 159, essentially the same car but with a two-stage compressor.
"Lack of funds causes Alfa to quit"
Although Alfa had squeezed home in the 1951 title race, the team bosses knew that without a major injection of funds, it would lose out to Ferrari the following season. No money was forthcoming, so Alfa announced its immediate withdrawal from the sport.
Alfa Romeo did return to Grand Prix racing in 1976, supplying engines to Bernie Ecclestone's Brabham team. In 1978 Niki Lauda scored two wins, one of which was in the famous fan' car in its only outing before it was banned. Alfa ran under its own name once again for the next seven years, but failed to recapture the heady successes of the early 195os. The best return came in 1983, when Andrea de Cesaris scored 15 points to finish eighth in the championship.
