- via Autobild.es - https://www.autobild.es/noticias/video-cita-ciegas-alfa-stelvio-alfa-giulia-hielo-181346

The Tragic Story Behind The Alfa Romeo Quadrifoglio Badge

One of motorsports most iconic symbols has to be the Quadrifoglio badge of Alfa Romeo, and how it got its current form is a story well worth knowing.

3y ago
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Long before the introduction of halo's on F1 cars or forcing rally teams to have heavy roll cages, motor racing was a very dangerous and at times deadly pastime for automotive freaks without fear. Racing cars in the first decades of the last century featured little to no protection for the drivers, who were quite likely to be seriously wounded or even killed should they crash at high speeds. It's no wonder then, that racing drivers were rather superstitious men. Some attributed their survival and racing success to their lucky gloves, others did a little ritual before the got in the car, and then there were those who painted their lucky symbol on their cars.

1923 Targa Florio

In 1920's Italy, Alfa Romeo was the name everybody thought of when they heard 'great Italian performance cars'. To promote their brand, Alfa Romeo took part in many races around Italy. It was also around this time that two handsome young Italian men landed a job as racing drivers at Alfa. One of them was Ugo Sivocci, a talented driver who joined Antonio Ascari and Giuseppe Campari in the Alfa Romeo factory works team, and along with Sivocci came his close friend, a young driver named Enzo Ferrari, who completed the four-man team.

Ugo Sivocci, via Pinterest - https://pinterest.com/pin/185562447130045683/?lp=true

Ugo Sivocci, via Pinterest - https://pinterest.com/pin/185562447130045683/?lp=true

Sivocci was a very capable driver, who drove very consistently and always finished near the top of the chart. However, the problem was that Sivocci consistently finished second, and only rarely won a race. This understandably bothered Sivocci, who decided he wasn't going to finish second in the Targa Florio race on Sicily in 1923. To this end, he adopted a green four-leaf clover on a white square a his personal good luck symbol and painted it on his Alfa Romeo RL. And sure enough, Sivocci crossed the line first, which many, including himself, credited in part to the badge that he had adorned his car with. And with that, the Quadrifoglio badge was born.

via - http://hdw.eweb4.com/wallpapers/12344/

via - http://hdw.eweb4.com/wallpapers/12344/

Legacy

On September 8, 1923, a few months after his victory on Sicily, Sivocci was test driving the brand new Alfa Romeo P1 in Monza, just in time for the Italian Grand Prix. He hadn't had the time to paint his lucky Quadrifoglio badge on his car yet, and after a few laps he went off the track in a sharp turn. He lost his life at just 38 years old. His death shook the racing world, and to commemorate him, Alfa Romeo have since featured a variation of his personal lucky charm on every performance and racing car the company has made. Where Sivocci's badge had a four-point square, one point for each of the drivers, the badge Alfa Romeo went on to use features a white triangle instead of the square - one point had been removed in honour of Ugo Sivocci. And to this day, his memory is visible on only the best cars Alfa Romeo produce.

via Autoweek.com - http://autoweek.com/article/car-news/heres-how-much-alfa-romeo-giulia-will-cost

via Autoweek.com - http://autoweek.com/article/car-news/heres-how-much-alfa-romeo-giulia-will-cost

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Comments (19)

  • That's an awesome story thanks for sharing!

      3 years ago
  • Excellent post! I didn't know this story. Thank you!

      3 years ago
  • Very interesting read

      3 years ago
  • Hi congratulations - your post has been selected by DriveTribe Lifestyle Ambassador for promotion on the DriveTribe homepage.

      3 years ago
  • Hi congratulations - your post has been selected by DriveTribe Motorsport Ambassador for promotion on the DriveTribe homepage.

      3 years ago
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