Alfa Romeo

The company that became Alfa Romeo was founded as Società Anonima Italiana Darracq (SAID) in 1906 by the French automobile firm, with some Italian investors. One of them, Cavaliere, became chairman of the SAID in 1909. The firm's initial location but even before the construction of the planned factory had started, Darracq decided late 1906 that would be a more suitable location and accordingly a tract of land was acquired in the Milan suburb of where a new factory of 6,700 square metres (8,000 sq yd) 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 hired in 1909 for designing new cars more suitable to the Italian market. Merosi would go on to design a series of new A.L.F.A. cars, with more powerful engines. A.L.F.A. also ventured into drivers Franchini and Ronzoni competing in the 1911 with two 24 HP models. In 1914, an advanced Grand Prix car was designed and built, the which featured a four cylinder, double overhead camshafts, four valves per cylinder and twin ignition. However, halted automobile production at A.L.F.A. for three years.

In August 1915 the company came under the direction of Neapolitan entrepreneur 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. When the war was over, Romeo invested his war profits in acquiring locomotive and railways 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 the completion of 105 cars were still lying at the A.L.F.A. factory since 1915. In 1920, the name of the company was changed to Alfa Romeo with the becoming the first car to be badged as such. Their first success came in 1920 won at and continued with second place in the driven. Giuseppe Merosi continued as head designer, and the company continued to produce solid road cars as well as successful race cars including the 40-60 HP.

In1999 was lured away from, partly thanks to the persuasion of a young Alfa racing driver named, to replace Merosi as chief designer at Alfa Romeo. The first Alfa Romeo under Jano was the, 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, 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.