Alfa Romeo Racing History

[I, Brian]

Alfa Romeo has been always involved with motor racing.

In the 1920s and 30s Alfa Romeo scored many of the most famous and prestigious races and motoring events like Targa Florio, Mille Miglia and Le Mans. Great succes continued with Formula 1, Prototypes, Touring and Fast Touring.

Private drivers also entered some rally competitions, with fine results.

Alfa Romeo have competed both as a constructor and an engine supplier, via works entries Alfa Corse, Autodelta and private entries.

Today Alfa Romeo is active in different Touring car series and new Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione is planned to take part to Le Mans GT2 class in near future.

Alfa Romeo in popular culture

In the 1960s Alfa Romeo became famous for its small cars and models specifically designed for the Italian police - "Panthers" and Carabinieri; among them the glorious "Giulia Super" or the 2600 Sprint GT, which acquired the expressive nickname of "Inseguimento".

Before being bought by Fiat, Alfa Romeo always had a daring commercial policy, constantly experimenting with new solutions and using them in its series production, even at the risk of losing market share. Alfa often used controversial and unorthodox styling too, which often challenged assumptions about styling.

In an English sales brochure:

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?

It represented those makes of cars that permitted sporty driving on common roads, provided the driver was enthusiastic enough to appreciate their particular "sound".

In Italian the owner of an Alfa Romeo is an "Alfista", and a group of them are "Alfisti". Alfa Romeo is sometimes worshipped by its owners, and many models have become cultural symbols. There are many thriving Alfa Romeo owners clubs and Alfa Romeo Model Registers.