A four-leaf clover first appeared on Alfa Romeo racing cars in 1923.
22-06-2023 12:29 - MOTORSPORT
The Formula 1 team of the traditional Italian brand also congratulates on the 100th birthday of the Quadrifoglio. At the Canadian Grand Prix next weekend (16th to 18th June 2023), the cars of Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu will show a special graphic: For this occasion, the engine covers of the F1 racers will bear the symbol designed by Centro Stile Alfa Romeo of the four-leaf clover. The Alfa Romeo designers' reinterpretation respects the charisma and elegance of the historic logo, a green four-leaf clover on a white triangle. However, the stylists implemented a modern color scheme and structure for the eighth race of the 2023 Formula 1 season.
The origin of the Quadrifoglio as a lucky charm for Alfa Romeo racing cars goes back to the Targa Florio, one of the most demanding road races in the world in the first half of the 20th century. In 1923, works driver Ugo Sivocci gave Alfa Romeo its first major international racing victory. The Quadrifoglio, painted for the first time on the bonnet, had fulfilled its role as a good luck charm. Alfa Romeo took this success as an opportunity to use the four-leaf clover as a talisman on all works racing cars. In the spirit of the Quadrifoglio, Alfa Romeo won, among other things, the inaugural World Automobile Championship in 1925. During this time, the four-leaf clover on the company cars also served as a distinguishing feature to the privately used racers of Scuderia Ferrari - these also had the rearing horse, which is also world-famous today, as their identifier.
Giuseppe “Nino” Farina won the first Formula 1 world championship title in the 1950 season at the wheel of the Alfa Romeo Tipo 158 “Alfetta” equipped with a quadrifoglio. Team-mate Juan Manuel Fangio became the second Formula 1 champion in history the following year. And the Quadrifoglio was also on board when Alfa Romeo celebrated world endurance titles in 1975 and 1977. German fans still have fond memories of the legendary symbol from the heyday of the German Touring Car Championship (DTM). In 1993, Alfa Romeo works driver Nicola Larini beat the local competition and became DTM champion. In 1963, the four-leaf clover adorned a production vehicle for the first time - the Alfa Romeo Giulia TI Super, which was only built in small numbers and was designed for use in motorsport. The brand thus started a tradition of ennobling the respective top models of selected series with the Quadrifoglio. The 1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia 1600 Sprint GT Veloce featured the Quadrifoglio for the first time in the form of a distinctive enamel plaque on the C-pillar. Over time, the letter Q – short for Quadrifoglio – became part of Alfa Romeo's nomenclature. It still marks special technologies today. Q4 stands for four-wheel drive, Q2 for limited-slip differential. In the past, Alfa Romeo also used the designations Q-Tronic and Q-System for certain variants of automatic transmissions. In the current model range, the four-leaf clover is represented by the top versions of the Giulia and Stelvio series. Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio and Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio are powered by a 2.9 liter twin-turbo engine that delivers 375 kW (510 hp).