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99-563: Italian motor manufacturer Alfa Romeo has participated multiple times in Formula One . The brand has competed in motor racing as both a constructor and engine supplier sporadically between 1950 and 1987 , and later as a commercial partner between 2015 and 2023 . The company's works drivers won the first two World Drivers' Championships in the pre-war Alfetta : Nino Farina in 1950 and Juan Manuel Fangio in 1951 . Following these successes, Alfa Romeo withdrew from Formula One. During

198-569: A bid to acquire the entirety of Alfa Romeo and offer job guarantees to Italian workers, an offer that Ford was unwilling to match. It also did not hurt any of the parties involved that an acquisition by Fiat would keep Alfa Romeo in Italian hands. In 1986, the deal was concluded with Alfa Romeo merged with traditional rival Lancia into Fiat's Alfa Lancia Industriale S.p.A. Already in 1981, Alfa Romeo's then-President Ettore Massacesi had stated that Alfa would never use Fiat engines—the engines being, to

297-594: A company called Fabral ( Fábrica Brasileira de Automóveis Alfa , "the Brazilian Alfa automobile factory") to build the Alfa Romeo 2000 there. After having received government approval, Matarazzo pulled out under pressure from Brazil's President Juscelino Kubitschek with the state-owned FNM company instead commenced building the car as the "FNM 2000" there in 1960. During the 1960s, Alfa Romeo concentrated on motorsports using production-based cars, including

396-576: A decree by the FIA that all Grand Prix races counting towards the World Championship of Drivers in 1952 and 1953 would be for cars complying with Formula Two rather than Formula One. The car's last Grand Prix win came in 1953 at Merano Grand Prix, Italy. ( key ) (results in bold indicate pole position, results in italics indicate fastest lap) * The Constructors' Championship was not awarded until 1958. The 158/159 Alfetta remains one of

495-546: A large extent, Alfa Romeo's identity—but would be happy to cooperate fully with everything else. Models produced from the 1990 onwards combined Alfa's traditional virtues of avant-garde styling and sporting panache with the economic benefits of product rationalisation, and include a "GTA" version of the 147 hatchback, the Giugiaro -designed Brera , and a high-performance exotic called the 8C Competizione (named after one of Alfa's most successful prewar sports and racing cars,

594-489: A multi-year agreement with yearly assessments. In the 2021 season , the team finished in 9th place with 13 points. At the end of the season, Räikkönen retired from Formula One, while Giovinazzi departed the team to compete in Formula E . For the 2022 season, the team signed former Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas and Formula 2 graduate Zhou Guanyu , securing their best Constructors’ Championship finish in 6th place since

693-479: A plastic radiator header tank. It had also the lowest drag coefficient (Cd) in its class The same trend continued with the Alfetta 2000 and GTV, which had quirks such as 50:50 weight distribution , standard fit alloy wheels and transaxle . Newer innovations include complete CAD design process used in designing the Alfa Romeo 164 and an automated/paddle-shift transmission called Selespeed used in

792-401: A pre-war voiturette, and Giuseppe Farina won the first Formula One World Championship in 1950 in the 158. Juan Manuel Fangio secured Alfa's second consecutive championship in 1951. In 1952, Alfa Romeo experimented with its first front-wheel-drive compact car, "Project 13–61". It had the same transverse-mounted, forward-motor layout as the modern front-wheel-drive automobile. Alfa Romeo made

891-700: A press conference was held at the Alfa Romeo Museum in Arese, Milan , illustrating the terms of the agreement between the FCA Group and the Swiss team followed by a presentation ceremony for the livery and the driver line-up consisting of Charles Leclerc and Marcus Ericsson . A January 2018 interview with Frederic Vasseur revealed that Alfa Romeo intended to take over the Sauber team. On 1 February 2019, it

990-399: A public holding company controlling Alfa Romeo, decided to withdraw the team from Formula One after the Italian government's refusal to fund the expensive design of a new car to replace the 13-year-old model. In 1976, Alfa Romeo started supplying engines to Brabham , winning two Grands Prix during the 1978 Formula One season . However, in 1977, Italian engine designer Carlo Chiti persuaded

1089-531: A revised Kick livery, coined the "disruptive livery," at the 2023 Belgian Grand Prix . Alfa Romeo pulled out of Formula One at the end of 2023 and ended their partnership with Sauber, who are set to launch a works partnership with Audi in 2026. During the 1960s, several minor F1 teams used Alfa Romeo straight-4 engines in cars such as the LDS Mk1 and Mk2 (1962–1963 and 1965), the Cooper T53 (1962), and

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1188-598: A scarcity of victories, as their cars appeared underdeveloped compared to the technically advanced Mercedes. After Alfa Corse retrieved its control of the brand from Ferrari, they made the Alfa Romeo 158 for the 1938 season. The 158, after subsequent updates, went on to become a dominant force in Gran Prix racing in the aftermath of the war. Alfa continued to use this car at Grands Prix from 1946 to 1948, withdrawing from racing in 1949 due to death of Jean-Pierre Wimille , Achille Varzi , and Carlo Felice Trossi , dominating

1287-564: A second attempt in the late 1950s based on Project 13–61. It was to be called Tipo 103 and resembled the smaller version of its popular Alfa Romeo Giulia. However, due to the financial difficulties in post-war Italy, the Tipo 103 never saw production. Had Alfa Romeo produced it, it would have preceded the Mini as the first "modern" front-wheel-drive compact car. In the mid-1950s, Alfa Romeo entered into an agreement with Brazil 's Matarazzo Group to create

1386-472: A sporty image to the marque. Enzo Ferrari founded the Scuderia Ferrari racing team in 1929 as an Alfa Romeo racing team, before forming his namesake luxury sports car maker in 1939. Ferrari has had the most wins of any marque in the world. The company's name is a combination of the original name, "A.L.F.A." ("Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili" - “Anonymous Lombardy Automobile Factory”), and

1485-443: A standard chassis and whether the resulting vehicles would be palatable to the public. Alfa 1900 Sprint were the basis of the B.A.T. 5, 7 and 9. The later B.A.T. 11 was based on the 8C Competizione. The Tipo 33 racing car, with its high-revving 2000 cc V8 engine became the basis for a number of different concept cars during the 1960s and 1970s, two of which ultimately resulted in production vehicles. Most made their appearances at

1584-488: A total of 150,722 vehicles at the company's three factories. On January 16, 2021, the operations of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Groupe PSA were merged to form Stellantis and the company was renamed Stellantis Italy. In spite of falling sales, Alfa Romeo CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato announced in 2021 that a new model would be launched every year between 2022 and 2026, starting with the much-delayed Tonale , with full electrification of new models from 2027. Alfa Romeo

1683-524: A total of about 112,000 units, which was significantly lower than Fiat CEO Marchionne's global sales target of 300,000. The company set about to achieve a sales target of 170,000 units in 2011, including 100,000 Giulietta and 60,000 MiTo models, but it actually sold 130,000 units that year. Its medium-term target was 500,000 units by 2014 including 85,000 from the North American market. In 2017 Alfa Romeo increased production by 62 percent, building

1782-504: Is an Italian luxury carmaker known for its sports-oriented vehicles, strong auto racing heritage, and iconic design. Headquartered in Turin, Italy , it is a subsidiary of Stellantis Europe and one of 14 brands of multinational automotive company Stellantis . Founded on 24 June 1910 in Milan , Italy as A.L.F.A. —an acronym for Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili —the company

1881-696: The 156 ; the 156 was also the world's first passenger car to use Common rail diesel engine. The Multiair -an electro-hydraulic variable valve actuation technology used in MiTo was introduced in 2009. In 2016, the Alfa Romeo Giulia came with electrical brakes. Many famous automotive design houses in Italy have accepted commissions to produce concepts and production vehicle shapes for Alfa Romeo. These include: Construction techniques used by Alfa Romeo has been imitated by other carmakers, and in this way,

1980-575: The 1947 and 1948 Grand Prix seasons . Alfa Romeo experienced astounding success in the first two seasons of the Formula One World Championship. In 1950 , Giuseppe Farina won the inaugural World Drivers' Championship in a 158 with a supercharger . The success was replicated the following year by Juan Manuel Fangio while driving an Alfetta 159 (an evolution of the 158 with a two-stage compressor). The Alfetta's engines were extremely powerful for their capacity: in 1951

2079-484: The 1963 South African Grand Prix and finishing 10th at the 1965 South African Grand Prix . It also entered five non-championship Grands Prix, scoring a podium finish at the 1963 Rand Grand Prix . At the end of the 1960s, Alfa Romeo was developing a new V8 engine for its racing cars, which was briefly tested on the Cooper T86C F1-3-68 by Lucien Bianchi . Alfa Romeo briefly returned to Formula One for

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2178-523: The 1970 and 1971 seasons with a V8 engine based on their sportscar unit used on the Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 . In 1970, the unit was mainly entrusted to Andrea de Adamich , a long time Alfa driver, in the McLaren M7D and M14D . The combination often failed to qualify and was uncompetitive when it did run in the races. In 1971, a similar arrangement saw de Adamich run most of the second half of

2277-479: The 2019 Singapore Grand Prix for four laps, the first Alfa Romeo driver to lead a lap since Andrea de Cesaris did so at the 1983 Belgian Grand Prix . The team's best result of the year came at the chaotic Brazilian Grand Prix , where Räikkönen and Giovinazzi were classified 4th and 5th respectively. Alfa Romeo finished the year in 8th place in the Constructors' Championship with 57 points. Alfa Romeo entered

2376-513: The 2020 season with an unchanged driver lineup. In January 2020, the team announced that they would enter a title sponsorship arrangement with Polish oil company PKN Orlen (renaming the team as Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen in 2020 and 2021 and as Alfa Romeo F1 Team Orlen in 2022 ) and that Robert Kubica would join as a reserve driver. Alfa Romeo finished the 2020 season in 8th place again, but this time scoring only 8 points. In July 2021, Alfa Romeo Racing extended their deal with Sauber with

2475-561: The 40–60 HP . A.L.F.A. ventured into motor racing , with 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 , with a four-cylinder engine, double overhead camshafts, four valves per cylinder, and twin ignition. However, the onset of the First World War halted automobile production at A.L.F.A. for three years. In August 1915,

2574-789: The 8C of the 1930s). In 2005, Maserati was bought back from Ferrari and was now under Fiat's full control. The Fiat Group then created a sports and luxury division from Maserati and Alfa Romeo. There is a planned strategic relationship between these two; engines, platforms and possibly dealers are shared. In the beginning of 2007, Fiat Auto S.p.A. was reorganized and four new automobile companies were created; Fiat Automobiles S.p.A., Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A., Lancia Automobiles S.p.A. and Fiat Light Commercial Vehicles S.p.A. These companies were fully owned by Fiat Group Automobiles S.p.A. (from 2007 FCA Italy S.p.A.). On 24 June 2010, Alfa Romeo celebrated 100 years from its foundation. Alfa Romeo has been suffering from falling sales. In 2010, it sold

2673-424: The Alfa Romeo 182 . The team's best season was 1983 , when the team switched to the turbocharged 890T V8 engine and achieved the sixth place in the Constructors' Championship, largely thanks to two second-place finishes by Andrea de Cesaris with the Alfa Romeo 183T . While the turbocharged 890T had proved somewhat competitive in 1983, increasing competition from more powerful engines from BWM and TAG , plus

2772-494: The Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 with "Ala spessa" body in 1940 Mille Miglia . The engine had six electrically operated injectors, fed by a semi-high pressure circulating fuel pump system. 1969 models for the North American market had SPICA (Società Pompe Iniezione Cassani & Affini, a subsidiary of Alfa Romeo) mechanical fuel injection . According to Alfa Romeo, the engine's power output and performance were unchanged from

2871-686: The Alfa Romeo overhead Twin Cam four-cylinder engine, initially displacing 1300 cc. This engine would eventually be enlarged to 2000 cc and would remain in production until 1995. When I see an Alfa Romeo go by, I tip my hat. Once motorsports resumed after the Second World War, Alfa Romeo proved to be the car to beat in Grand Prix events. The introduction of the new formula ( Formula One ) for single seat racing cars provided an ideal setting for Alfa Romeo's Tipo 158 Alfetta , adapted from

2970-461: The C38 , continuing the naming convention from previous Sauber Formula One cars. The C38 included unique aerodynamic design elements in comparison to its rivals and predecessors, particularly at the front of the car as a result of regulation changes for the new season. 2007 world champion Kimi Räikkönen and former Sauber reserve driver Antonio Giovinazzi were hired as the team's drivers. Giovinazzi led

3069-620: The De Tomaso F1 (1961). None of these teams scored a single Championships point. In 1962, Peter de Klerk created a custom-made, single-seater racing special built for the South African Formula One Championship , powered by an Alfa Romeo Giulietta 1.5-litre straight-4 engine, which was christened as the Alfa Special . The Special participated in two World Championship Grands Prix, retiring at

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3168-610: The GTA (standing for Gran Turismo Allegerita), an aluminium-bodied version of the Bertone -designed coupe with a powerful twin-plug engine. Among other victories, the GTA won the inaugural Sports Car Club of America 's Trans-Am championship in 1966. In the 1970s, Alfa Romeo concentrated on prototype sports car racing with the Tipo 33 , with early victories in 1971. Eventually the Tipo 33TT12 gained

3267-580: The Giulietta series of family cars and developed the Alfa Romeo Twin Cam engine , which would remain in production until 1994. Alfa Romeo became known for producing mass-market vehicles that nonetheless blended the aesthetics and performance of sport and luxury marques. Despite its strong brand image and relatively sizeable share of the high-performance auto market in Europe, by the 1970s,

3366-522: The Italian Grand Prix at Monza , Alfa Romeo introduced a new evolution version known as the 159M, the "M" standing for Maggiorata ("enlarged"). After an unsuccessful bid by Alfa Romeo to obtain government assistance to meet development costs, the team announced their retirement from Grand Prix racing at the end of 1951 (leaving the development of the 2.5-litre Alfa Romeo 160 ). This, combined with problems for other Formula One teams lead to

3465-523: The King of Italy , the two words were separated by two figure-eight knots —named Savoy knots in Italian, and symbols of the then-reigning House of Savoy . Originally solid brass, the lettering was changed to white enamel in 1913. In 1918, after the company had been bought by Nicola Romeo , the wording "ALFA" was replaced with "ALFA-ROMEO". In 1925, to commemorate the victory of the Alfa Romeo P2 in

3564-526: The Scuderia Ferrari cars. Alfa Romeo became the title sponsor for the Ferrari-powered Sauber team from 2018 , and this commercial partnership was increased to a full renaming of the team beginning in 2019 . Alfa Romeo did not have any technical involvement with the team, and the company ended its sponsorship of Sauber after 2023 and left Formula One to allow the team to be taken over by Audi for 2026. Before World War II , Alfa Romeo

3663-515: The Second World War . In 1928, Nicola Romeo left, and in 1933 Alfa Romeo was rescued by the government, which then had effective control. Alfa Romeo became an instrument of Mussolini's Italy, a national emblem. During this period, it built bespoke vehicles for the wealthy, with bodies normally by Carrozzeria Touring or Pininfarina . This era peaked with the Alfa Romeo 2900B Type 35 racers. The Alfa factory (converted during wartime to

3762-570: The World Championship for Makes for Alfa Romeo in 1975 and the Tipo 33SC12 won the World Championship for Sports Cars in 1977. As Alfa Romeo was a state-controlled company, they were often subject to political pressure. To help industrialize Italy's underdeveloped south , Alfa Romeo's new compact car was to be built at a new factory at Pomigliano d'Arco in Campania . Even the car's name, Alfa Sud (Alfa South), reflected where it

3861-485: The 159 engine was producing around 420 bhp (310 kW) but this was at the price of fuel consumption of 125 to 175 litres per 100 km (1.5 mpg–U.S. / 3 mpg–imp). Surprisingly, the team won the two World Drivers' Championships on a very limited budget, using only nine engine blocks that were built before the war. In 1952, facing increased competition from Ferrari , the Istituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale ,

3960-422: The 1948 Swiss Grand Prix where Achille Varzi lost control of his car and was killed. Another loss for the team came in practice for the 1949 Buenos Aires Grand Prix , where Jean-Pierre Wimille was killed in an accident (driving with Simca-Gordini ). In 1950, the 158 was eligible for the new World Championship of Drivers. The car won every race in which it competed during that first season of Formula One; it

4059-512: The 1960s, although the company had no official presence in the top tier of motorsport, several Formula One teams used independently developed Alfa Romeo engines to power their cars. In the early 1970s, Alfa provided Formula One support for their works driver Andrea de Adamich , supplying adapted versions of their 3-litre V8 engine from the Alfa Romeo Tipo 33/3 sports car to power Adamich's McLaren ( 1970 ) and March ( 1971 ) entries. None of these engine combinations scored championship points. In

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4158-465: The 1984 Osella FA1F , which was based on the 1983 works Alfa Romeo 183T , and continuing with the FA1G , FA1H , and FA1I , achieving two fifth places as the best results ( 1984 Dallas and Italian Grand Prix ). By 1988, the last turbo season, Alfa was fed up with the negative publicity generated by Osella's cars, so the Milan -based manufacturer prohibited the further use of its name in connection with

4257-608: The 40–60 HP and the RL Targa Florio ). In 1923, Vittorio Jano was lured from Fiat , partly due 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 road cars, Jano developed a series of small-to-medium-displacement 4-, 6-, and 8-cylinder inline engines based on

4356-452: The 4C, Giulia and Stelvio. Alfa Romeo has introduced many technological innovations over the years, and the company has often been among the first users of new technologies. Its trademark double overhead cam engine was used for the first time in the 1914 Grand Prix car, the first road car with such an engine, the 6C 1500 Sport , appeared in 1928. Alfa Romeo tested one of the first electronic fuel injection systems ( Caproni -Fuscaldo) in

4455-458: The Alfa Romeo 415T four-cylinder turbo engine was tested in a Ligier JS29 by René Arnoux . When Fiat (the same company that owned F1 giant Ferrari) took control of Alfa Romeo, the deal was cancelled (ostensibly due to negative remarks by Arnoux about the engine) and Ligier had to use Megatron (ex BMW) engines for the entirety of the 1987 season. Alfa also supplied expertise and engines to

4554-424: The Alfa Romeo body designs have often been very influential. The following is a list of innovations, and where appropriate, examples of imitation by other car manufacturers: Several concept cars have been made by Alfa Romeo: The Berlina Aerodinamica Tecnica prototype cars were designed by Bertone as an exercise in determining whether streamlining and wind-tunnel driven designs would result in high performance on

4653-531: The Auto Salon Genève. Here is a brief list: In general, concept cars for Alfa Romeo have generally become production vehicles, after some modification to make them suitable for manufacture, and to provide driver and passenger safety. The Zagato SZ, GTV, and Spider, Brera, and 159 are all good examples of Alfa Romeo's stylistic commitment in this direction. Alfa Romeo's logo incorporates two heraldic devices traditionally associated with its birthplace,

4752-617: The Fiat Group) bought Motor Racing Developments Ltd. (otherwise known as the Brabham F1 team) to build a chassis for a new ProCar series. The developed car featured a V10 engine and adopted the body of an Alfa Romeo 164, designated as the Brabham BT57. Its intended purpose was to participate in a distinct racing series, serving as a support event during Formula One Grands Prix, but this event was scrapped. The Alfa Romeo branding

4851-592: The P2 unit that established the architecture of the company's 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 both reliable and powerful. Enzo Ferrari proved a better team manager than a driver, and when the factory team was privatised, it became Scuderia Ferrari . When Ferrari left Alfa Romeo, he went on to build his own cars. Tazio Nuvolari often drove for Alfa, winning many races before

4950-720: The Pomigliano factory ran at 16.5 percent through the 1970s, reaching as high as 28 percent. By the 1970s, Alfa Romeo was again in financial trouble, with the company running at about sixty percent of capacity in 1980. Since Alfa Romeo was controlled by the Italian government owned Istituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale (IRI), a deal was made where about a quarter of worker's salaries were paid through state unemployment agencies to allow Alfa's plants to idle for two weeks every two months. An aging product lineup and very low productivity combined with near-permanent industrial unrest and Italy's high inflation rates kept Alfa Romeo firmly in

5049-567: The US Market as announced by Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne after a series of rumours. North American sales resumed in October 2008, with the launch of the limited production 8C Competizione coupe with Alfa Romeo models being imported by Fiat's US subsidiary Chrysler. Also in 2008, Alfa Romeo and Chrysler were reported to be in discussions over the possibility of producing Alfa Romeo cars in some Chrysler manufacturing plants that had shut down due to

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5148-448: The available power. Riccardo Patrese 's third-place finish at the 1984 Italian Grand Prix being the last podium finish for the team, with both Patrese and Eddie Cheever often failing to finish races throughout 1984 and 1985 due to running out of fuel. The team's 1985 car, the Alfa Romeo 185T , proved to be so uncompetitive that the 1984 car, the 184T , was re-called into service mid-season. After being updated to 1985 specifications

5247-625: The beginning of their partnership with Sauber. In January 2023, Alfa Romeo announced a multi-year title sponsorship agreement with online casino Stake , renaming the team as Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake and having their logo displayed prominently on the C43 . The team also signed a partnership agreement with live streaming platform Kick , which is invested by Stake co-founder and owner Eddie Craven. Kick's name and logo will replace Stake's in countries where gambling and sports betting advertisements are not allowed as Alfa Romeo F1 Team Kick . Alfa Romeo raced

5346-405: The car for six years. After the war the engine was developed further to push out 254 bhp (189 kW) in 1946. In 1947, the Alfetta was put back into service. The new rules allowed 1500 cc supercharged and 4500 cc naturally aspirated engines. The 158 was modified again, this time to produce over 300 bhp (220 kW) and was denoted as Tipo 158/47. The car made a tragic debut in

5445-421: The car, now dubbed the 184TB , was an improvement over the 1985 car, but results were still not forthcoming. In an interview he gave years later, Riccardo Patrese described the 185T as the worst car he had ever driven. Alfa Romeo pulled out of Formula One as a constructor at the end of the 1985 season. On 1 February 2019, following the multi-year sponsorship agreement established in 2018, Sauber announced that

5544-501: The carburetted version. The SPICA system continued until the 1982 model year with the introduction of 2.0 liter Bosch electronic fuel injection . Mechanical variable valve timing was introduced in the Alfa Romeo Spider , sold in the U.S. in 1980. All Alfa Romeo Spider models from 1983 onward used electronic VVT. The 105 series Giulia was quite an advanced car, using technologies such as all-wheel disc brakes , and

5643-567: The city of Milan : A red cross, from the emblem of Milan , and the biscione , a big grass snake and a child emerging from its mouth—emblem of the House of Visconti , rulers of the city in the 14th century. The logo was originally designed in 1910 by a young Italian draughtsman from the A.L.F.A. technical office, Romano Cattaneo. In June 1910, the Società Anonima Darracq became Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili, and

5742-772: The company came under the direction of Neapolitan 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 were produced in a vastly enlarged factory during the war. After the war, Romeo invested his war profits in acquiring locomotive and railway carriage plants in Saronno ( Costruzioni Meccaniche di Saronno ), Rome (Officine Meccaniche di Roma), and Naples (Officine Ferroviarie Meridionali), which were added to his A.L.F.A. ownership. Car production had not been considered at first, but resumed in 1919 since parts for

5841-546: The company group's restructure and cost cutting. Instead, as reported by The Wall Street Journal in November 2009, Chrysler discontinued several Dodge and Jeep models while phasing in Alfa Romeo ones and the new Fiat 500. The next significant milestones in Alfa Romeo's North American return occurred in 2014, with the launch of the more affordable two-seater 4C coupe . That year, Fiat Group Automobiles S.p.A. confirmed that its original agreement with Mazda Motor Corporation, for

5940-429: The company soon faced financial troubles, leading to Romeo's contentious departure in 1928 and Italian government ownership in 1933. Under the control of the industrial organization Institute per la Ricostruzione Industriale (IRI), Alfa Romeo initially continued making its signature custom luxury vehicles, but following the financial hardship of World War II, shifted to mass-producing small vehicles. In 1954, it launched

6039-715: The company was operating at a loss, prompting IRI to sell it to Fiat Group in 1986. Alfa Romeo has since maintained its distinct identity and brand through several ownership changes, including Fiat's merger with the American Chrysler Group in 2014, forming Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), and FCA's subsequent merger in 2021 with the French PSA Group to form Stellantis. Alfa Romeo is heavily involved in various motorsports —including Grand Prix motor racing , Formula One , sportscar racing , touring car racing , and rallies —with achievements giving

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6138-471: The company's portfolio to include heavy machinery and aircraft engines. In 1920, the company's name was changed to Alfa Romeo , with the Torpedo 20–30 HP being the first vehicle to bear the new brand. Through the 1920s, Alfa Romeo produced several successful road and race cars, and was well represented in prominent European motorsport events, notably winning the inaugural Grand Prix in 1925. Nevertheless,

6237-549: The completion of 105 cars had remained at the A.L.F.A. factory since 1915. In 1920, the name of the company was changed to Alfa Romeo with the Torpedo 20–30 HP the first car to be so badged. Their first success came in 1920 when Giuseppe Campari won at Mugello and continued with second place in the Targa Florio driven by Enzo Ferrari . Giuseppe Merosi continued as head designer, and the company continued to produce solid road cars as well as successful race cars (including

6336-441: The end of the 1950 season , a further updated version known as the 159 was produced, which was used for the 1951 season . This version had reworked rear suspension, the old swing axle was replaced with a De-Dion axle and the engine produced around 420 bhp (313 kW) at 9600 rpm. The 159 had top speed of 305 kilometres per hour (190 mph) and it weighed 710 kilograms (1,570 lb). In order to achieve this power however,

6435-551: The engine. As a result, the 1988 Alfa engines mounted on the FA1L were simply dubbed "Osella V8". At the end of that season, the relationship finished, signifying the end of Alfa Romeo's involvement in Formula One for about three decades. In 1985, Alfa Romeo started a V10 Formula One engine project, in anticipation of the upcoming rules forbidding turbo engines. The engine was targeted to be used with Ligier Formula One cars . This

6534-533: The fact that FIA imposed 220-litre fuel limit with no re-fuelling allowed during pit stops during 1984 saw the decline of the Euroracing Alfa Romeo team as a competitive force in Grand Prix racing. The 890T (the only turbo V8 engine used in GP racing at this time) was very thirsty, and to temporarily rectify this problem, the drivers could interact with a knob regulating the turbo pressure, thus reducing

6633-453: The inaugural World Manufacturers' Championship of 1925 , a silver metal laurel wreath was added around the badge, used (in varying form) until 1982. The addition of the wreath had enlarged the badge to 75 mm (3.0 in) diameter; in 1930 it was reduced back to 60 mm (2.4 in). Alfa Romeo 158 The first version of this successful racing car, the 158, was made during 1937/1938. The main responsibility for engineering

6732-535: The last name of entrepreneur Nicola Romeo, who took control of the company in 1915. The first factory building of A.L.F.A. was in the first-place property of Società Anonima Italiana Darracq (SAID), founded 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. The firm's initial location

6831-407: The mechanical holdings arm of IRI and its predecessors owned Alfa Romeo since 1932. Prodi first approached fellow Italian manufacturer Fiat, which offered to start a joint venture with Alfa. Fiat withdrew its plan for a joint venture with Alfa Romeo when Ford put in an offer to acquire part of Alfa Romeo and restructure the company, while increasing its stake over time. However, Fiat chose to put in

6930-776: The mid-1970s, Alfa engineer Carlo Chiti designed a flat-12 engine to replace the T33 V8, which achieved some success in taking the 1975 World Sportscar Championship . Bernie Ecclestone , then owner of the Brabham Formula One team, persuaded Alfa Romeo to supply this engine free for the 1976 Formula One season . Although the Brabham-Alfa Romeo's first season was relatively modest, during the 1977 and 1978 World Championships their cars took 14 podium finishes, including two race victories for Niki Lauda . The company's sporting department, Autodelta , returned as

7029-434: The other Italian co-investors, founded a new company named A.L.F.A. (Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili), buying the assets of Italian Darracq that was up to dissolution. The first car produced by the company was the 1910 24 HP , designed by Giuseppe Merosi , hired in 1909 for designing new cars more suited to the Italian market. Merosi would go on to design a series of new A.L.F.A. cars, with more powerful engines such as

7128-526: The production of Macchi C.202 Folgore engines: the Daimler-Benz 600 series built under license) was bombed during the Second World War and struggled to return to profitability after the war. The luxury vehicles were out. Smaller, mass-produced vehicles began to be produced beginning with the 1954 model year, with the introduction of the Giulietta series of berline (saloons/sedans), coupes and open two-seaters. All three varieties shared what would become

7227-407: The red. Other creative measures were attempted to shore up Alfa, including an ultimately unsuccessful joint venture with Nissan endorsed by Alfa's then-president, Ettore Massacesi, and Prime Minister Francesco Cossiga . By 1986, IRI was suffering heavy losses—with Alfa Romeo having not been profitable for the last 13 years —and IRI president Romano Prodi put Alfa Romeo up for sale. Finmeccanica,

7326-415: The season in a March 711 , with a similar lack of success. In 1976, Bernie Ecclestone did a deal for the Brabham Formula One team to use Alfa Romeo engines based on their new flat-12 sports car unit designed by Carlo Chiti . The engines were free and produced a claimed 510 bhp (380 kW) against the 465 bhp (347 kW) of the ubiquitous Cosworth DFV; however, the 12-cylinder Alfa engine

7425-561: The simplistically designed engine was fitted with larger superchargers over time. This fact, combined with the rich mixture required to burn methanol in the engine resulted in extremely poor fuel economy - the 159 achieved 1.5 miles per imperial gallon (190 litres per 100 kilometres; 1.2 miles per US gallon), compared to the Talbot-Lagos of the time, which delivered 9 miles per imperial gallon (31 litres per 100 kilometres; 7.5 miles per US gallon). The 1951 British Grand Prix at Silverstone

7524-466: The small and unsuccessful Italian Osella team from 1983 to 1987. For the second half of the 1983 season, the Alfa Romeo 182 's normally aspirated engine (along with other rear-end components) used during the previous season were deployed on the Osella FA1E, which achieved a 10th place as the best result . From 1984 to 1987, Alfa Romeo V8 turbo engines were used on Osella's cars, starting with

7623-766: The speculated manufacturing of a new Alfa Romeo Spider based on the Mazda MX-5 had been terminated mutually in December 2014. The proposed model for this joint venture became the Fiat 124 Spider convertible launched in 2015. In 2015, Alfa Romeo's return to this market was further bolstered by the automaker's display of the new Giulia at the Los Angeles Auto Show. In February 2017, Chrysler featured its Alfa Romeo brand exclusively in three ads during Super Bowl LI . Alfa Romeo's US importer, FCA US LLC , imports

7722-443: The team to develop their own Formula One car. The development, led by Alfa Romeo's competition department Autodelta , started in 1977. The result was the Alfa Romeo 177 , which made its debut at the 1979 Belgian Grand Prix . The partnership with Brabham finished before the end of the 1979 season , with Brabham switching back to Cosworth DFV engines. This second spell in Formula One was never truly successful and their performance

7821-399: The team would rename to Alfa Romeo Racing , while the ownership, Swiss racing licence , and management structure would remain unchanged. Alfa Romeo itself had no technical involvement with the team – which continued using customer Ferrari power units – with Sauber describing its relationship with the automaker as a "commercial partnership". Alfa Romeo's challenger for the 2019 season was

7920-601: The upgraded BT45B ( 1977 ) represented an proviment. Gordon Murray 's increasingly adventurous designs, like the BT46 which won two races in 1978 (the Swedish and the Italian Grand Prixs ) and finished third in the Constructors standings, were partly a response to the challenge of producing a suitably light and aerodynamic chassis around the bulky unit. When aerodynamic ground effect became critical in 1978, it

8019-684: The works Alfa Corse team at the Coppa Ciano Junior in August 1938 at Livorno , Italy, where Emilio Villoresi took the car's first victory. At that time the 1479.56  cc (58.0 x 70.0 mm) engine produced around 200 bhp (150 kW) at 7000 rpm. with the help of a single-stage Roots blower . More success came at the Coppa Acerbo , Coppa Ciano and Tripoli Grand Prix in May 1940. Soon World War II stopped development of

8118-589: The works team in 1979 . This second period as a constructor was less successful than the first. Between the company's return and its withdrawal as a constructor at the end of 1985 , Alfa works drivers did not win a race and the team never finished higher than sixth in the World Constructors' Championship. The team's engines were also supplied to Osella from 1983 to 1987, but they scored only two World Championship points during this period. The Alfa Romeo logo returned to Formula One in 2015, appearing on

8217-460: Was Giacomelli's third-place finish at the 1981 Caesars Palace Grand Prix with an Alfa Romeo 179 C. After a restructuring of Autodelta, the team operations and design of the car were outsourced to Euroracing in 1982 , with the engines still being supplied by Autodelta. This year, the team achieved a pole position at the 1982 United States Grand Prix West and a third-place finish at the 1982 Monaco Grand Prix , both with Andrea De Cesaris driving

8316-598: Was a dominant presence in Grand Prix motor racing . The P2 and the P3 consistently achieved victories until 1934, when the German Mercedes and Auto Union cars emerged and posed serious competition. By this time, Alfa Romeo had withdrawn temporarily as a manufacturer and was run by Enzo Ferrari and his Scuderia Ferrari team from 1929 to 1938. From 1934 to the start of World War II in 1939, Alfa often experienced

8415-630: Was announced that the team would enter the 2019 season as Alfa Romeo Racing with the ownership and management structure remaining unchanged. On 26 August 2022, It was announced that Alfa Romeo would be ending its ties to the Sauber Formula One team by the end of 2023, not long after Audi announced it would take over Sauber in 2026. ( Bold indicates championships won) [REDACTED] Media related to Alfa Romeo in Formula One at Wikimedia Commons Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. ( Italian: [ˈalfa roˈmɛːo] )

8514-527: Was built. 18 January 1968, saw a new company named "Industria Napoletana Costruzioni Autoveicoli Alfa Romeo-Alfasud S.p.A." being formed, 90% of which belonged to Alfa Romeo and 10% to Government controlled holding company Finmeccanica . This plant was built in the wake of France's 1968 protests and Italy's Hot Autumn and was never "properly started." The employees had mainly construction backgrounds and were not trained for factory work, while industrial relations were troublesome throughout. Absenteeism rates in

8613-411: Was clear that the low, wide engines would interfere with the large venturi tunnels under the car which were needed to create the ground effect. At Murray's instigation, Alfa produced a narrower V12 design in only three months for the 1979 season, but it proved to be unreliable and fuel-inefficient. For the 1987 season, Alfa Romeo made a deal to supply engines to Ligier . Designed by Gianni Tonti,

8712-543: Was consistently hampered by reliability issues. In 1980 , their driver Patrick Depailler died in a crash while testing for the 1980 German Grand Prix at the Hockenheimring . At the 1980 United States Grand Prix , Bruno Giacomelli obtained pole position with the Alfa Romeo 179 , and led the race for 32 laps before the Alfa coasted to a halt with electrical trouble. In 1981 , the team's best achievement that year

8811-423: Was entrusted with doing the final design. The original badge was round, of enamelled brass , measuring 65 mm (2.6 in) in diameter, and carried already all the present day accoutrements: the red cross on a white field of Milan on the left, a green biscione on a light blue field on the right, all surrounded by a blue ring inscribed with the words "ALFA" at the top and "MILANO" at the bottom. In honour of

8910-442: Was established by Cavaliere Ugo Stella to acquire the assets of the ailing Italian subsidiary of French carmaker Darracq , of which he had been an investor and manager. Its first car was the 24 HP , designed by Giuseppe Merosi , which became commercially successful and participated in the 1911 Targa Florio endurance race. In August 1915, ALFA was acquired by Neapolitan entrepreneur and engineer Nicola Romeo , who vastly expanded

9009-667: Was featured on the Scuderia Ferrari Formula One cars from the 2015 to the 2018 season. This began with the Ferrari SF15-T and continued with subsequent models SF16-H , SF70H , and SF71H . On 29 November 2017, it was announced that Alfa Romeo would be the title sponsor of the Sauber Formula One team starting from the 2018 season in a multi-year technical and commercial partnership agreement as Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team. On 2 December 2017,

9108-474: Was given to Gioacchino Colombo . The car's name refers to its 1.5-litre engine and eight cylinders. The voiturette class was for racing cars with 1.5-litre engines, standing in the same relation to the top 'Grand Prix' formula (usually for 3-litre engines) as the Formula Two does to Formula One today. Alfa's 3-litre racing cars in 1938 and 1939 were the Tipo 308 , 312 and 316 . The 158 debuted with

9207-490: Was heavier and used more oil and water than the 8-cylinder DFV, because of more mechanical processes going on in it. Packaging the engines was difficult – they had to be removed to change the spark plugs – and the high fuel consumption engine required no fewer than four separate fuel tanks to contain 47 imperial gallons (214 L; 56 US gal) of fuel. While the Brabham BT45 ( 1976 ) proved quite unsuccessful,

9306-575: Was imported to the United States by Max Hoffman from the mid-1950s. The Giulietta Spider was developed on the request of Max Hoffman, who proposed an open top version of the Giulietta. In 1961 Alfa Romeo started exporting cars to the United States through its own dealer network. In 1995, Alfa Romeo ceased exporting cars to the United States, the last model sold in that market being the 164 sedan. On 5 May 2006, Alfa Romeo made its return to

9405-588: Was in Naples , but even before the construction of the planned factory had started, Darracq decided late in 1906 that Milan would be more suitable and accordingly a tract of land was acquired in the Milan suburb of Portello , where a new factory of 6,700 square metres (8,000 sq yd) was constructed. In late 1909, the Italian Darracq cars were selling slowly and the company was wound up. Ugo Stella, with

9504-479: Was incredible that a car which had originated in 1938 was so victorious, most likely because all the other constructors (as few as there were) had less money to build and develop their cars and the Alfa had so much development time. The Alfa Romeo team included talented drivers such as Giuseppe "Nino" Farina and Juan Manuel Fangio , the latter of whom later won the World Drivers' Championship five times. At

9603-461: Was readying its first model, the 24 HP . The board asked chief engineer Giuseppe Merosi to devise a badge for the radiator shell of the new car; Merosi turned to his collaborators. One of them, Cattaneo, was inspired by the coat of arms he had seen on the gates of Castello Sforzesco to include the biscione in the logo. Merosi liked the idea, and together with Cattaneo came up with a sketch, then approved by managing director Ugo Stella; Cattaneo

9702-584: Was the first Formula One Grand Prix not won by an Alfa primarily because Fangio and Farina both had to stop twice simply to re-fuel their cars – and the Ferrari of José Froilán González did better on fuel and would go on to win the race, with Fangio second. Still, the Alfa had the edge on performance and with wins in Switzerland, France and Spain, Fangio won his first of five championships that year. For their second-to-last World Championship race (until 1979),

9801-501: Was the first modern V10 Formula One engine, followed soon by Honda and Renault engines. The Alfa Romeo V1035 F1 engine was designed by Pino D'Agostino during the 1986 season . At 12,500rpm, the peak power reached slightly over 600bhp, and the maximum torque was 373Nm. After the co-operation with Ligier was cancelled in 1986, the engine was made available for the 164 Pro Car project and ultimately never raced in F1. In 1988, Alfa Romeo (part of

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