Text h Automobile Design

In 1910 the company known as Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica di Automobili (ALFA) was founded in thePortello district of Milan, having emerged from the defunct Societa Italiana Automobili Darracq, which had been established in 1906 to produce low-cost cars. The new company decided to espouse a distinctly Milanese image and adopted a red cross and the Visconti dragon for its trademark. Its first venture was a production run of 300 24 HP Torpedo cars (1910) designed by Ciuseppe Merosi. Three years later, the company produced its first sports car, the 40/60 HP Corso (1913), which had a top speed of 147 km per hour. Around this period, Nicola Romeo, a Neapolitan entrepreneur, took over the company and added his surname to its title. He also ensured that cars began rolling off the lines in Portello magnificent numbers. During this era, the company produced several remarkably progressive cars, including the teardrop shaped 40/60 HP Aerodynamica (1914), which could reach an impressive top speed for its day. The company went into full-scale Industrial production with Giuseppe Merosi's RL (1922-1923). Described by Alfa Romeo as its first masterpiece, the RL was also produced in sports and touring versions. The fast and reliable racing version of the RL, known as the Targa Florio, with its characteristic "prow-shaped" nose, placed second, third and fifth in the famous Sicilian 1,000 mile road race - the Mifle Miglia - and brought the world's attention to the fledging Milanese car industry. At this stage, the Carrozzeria Castagna also designed several car body variations including a cabriolet version of the four-cylinder RM and an elegant open touring version of the RM. In 1923, the designer Vittorio Jario joined the firm and his P2 won Alfa Romeo's first world title. His 8C-2300, which won Le Mans in 1931 and 1934, ensured that the marque became synonymous with racing during the early 1930$. Although this was the golden age of Alfa Romeo, the company was nationalized in 1933. Sadly, the Italian Government did not provide the company with sufficient funding and so it moved away from customized prize-winning racing cars in order to concentrate on general use vehicles, although it did continue producing its sleek, high-quality sports cars. After the Second World War, Alfa Romeo mass-produced elegant road cars such as the 6C 2500 Super Sport (1947) with super lightweight coachwork. Incorporating the latest aerodynamic research, the Super Sport and the similar Freccia d'Oro possessed a streamlined beauty and a sense of poise. While the market in the 1950S was demanding more functional and less luxurious models, Alfa Romeo was disinclined to completely sacrifice its sporting heritage and decided instead to produce affordable performance cars. By the mid-1950s and early 1960s, the company had increasingly industrialized its production methods and was manufacturing classic models such as the Ciulietta Spider (1955) styled by Pininfarina and the Ciulietta Sprint (1954) styled by Bertone. Under the directorship of Orazio Satta, the company had come up with the Ciulietta project so as to meet the growing demand for smaller and cheaper private vehicles. The Ciulietta managed to compress Alfa Romeo's high performance technology into an engine of only 1300 cubic centimeters. In 1962, the slightly larger Ciulia was launched and the company began targeting the European market with classics such as the Ciulia Sprint styled by Bertone. Later, Pininfarina styled the streamlined Duetto (1966), which with a few minor changes remains in production today. In 1971, Giorgetto Ciugiaro styled the groundbreaking Alfasud that helped to considerably increase the company's market share. From the post-war period until 1986, Alfa Romeo was under the control of the Italian Government, which-oversaw its operations through the Istituto per la Ricostruzione (IRI). Even today, Alfa Romeo designs such as the Alfa 156 (1997) and Alfa 166 (1998) acknowledge their legendary sporting ancestry and project a strong and purposeful aesthetic.