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. One of them, Cavaliere Ugo Stella, an aristocrat from Milan, became chairman of the SAID in 1909 [1]. The firm's initial location was in Naples, but even before the construction of the planned factory had started, Darracq decided late 1906 that Milan would be a more suitable location and accordingly a trait of land was acquired in the Milan suburb of Portello, where a new factory of 6700m2 was erected. Late 1909, the Italian Darracq cars were selling slowly and Stella, with the other Italian co-investors, founded a new company named A.L.F.A. (Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili), initially still in partnership with Darracq.

The first non-Darracq car produced by company was the 1910 24 HP, designed by Giuseppe Merosi, hired in 1909 for designing new cars more suitable to the Italian market. Merosi would go on to design a series of new ALFA cars with more powerful engines (40-60 HP). ALFA also ventured into motor racing, drivers Franchini and Ronzoni competing in the 1911 Targa Florio with two 24 HP models. In 1914, an advanced Grand Prix car was designed and built, the GP1914 which featured a four cylinder, double overhead camshafts, four valves per cylinder and twin ignition[2]. However, the onset of World War I halted automobile production at ALFA for three years.

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, which won Alfa Romeo the inaugural world championship for Grand Prix cars in 1925. For Alfa road cars Jano developed a series of small-to-medium-displacement 4, 6, and 8 cylinder inline power plants based on the P2 unit that established the classic architecture of Alfa engines, with light alloy construction, hemispherical combustion chambers, centrally-located plugs, two rows of overhead valves per cylinder bank and dual overhead cams. Jano's designs proved to be both reliable and powerful.

Enzo Ferrari proved to be a better team manager than driver, and when the factory team was privatised, it then became Scuderia Ferrari. When Ferrari left Alfa Romeo, he went on to build his own cars.

Alfa Romeo dominated in the middle 30’s and the first two World Champion seasons. In the beginning the cars were raced by the scudera Ferrari and in the 60’s by Autodelta. Alfa Romeo engines were used in McLaren, March and Brabham cars.
In 1979 Alfa came back into F1 racing build by Autodelta and run by Euroracing.
End 1985 Alfa disappeared in F1 under the control of Fiat, who preferred Ferrari to be the F1 representative for the group.

GP’s contested: 112 from 1950 till 1985
Pole positions: 12
Victories: 10
Fastest lap: 14

World Championship Constructors points

Alfa Romeo 185T - 1985
Chassis: a redesign by John Gentry, which failed
184T’s were used during this last season of Alfa.
Engine: Alfa V8 Turbo
Drivers: Eddie Cheever, Riccardo Patrese

Photos: Alfa Romeo Storica, Roy Hulsbergen