The Alfa Romeo RL was produced between 1922–1927. It was Alfa's first sport model after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The car was designed in 1921 by Giuseppe Merosi. It had a straight-6 engine with overhead valves. Three different versions were made: Normale, Turismo and Sport. RL total production was 2640.

Models

The RLTF (

Targa Florio The Targa Florio was a public road endurance automobile race held in the mountains of Sicily near the island's capital of Palermo. Founded in 1906, it was the oldest sports car racing event, part of the World Sportscar Championship between 1955 ...

) was the race version of RL. It weighed half of normal versions, even if the engine had seven main bearings instead of four and double carburetors. It was used among the 1923 Alfa race team, which had drivers like

Ugo Sivocci Ugo Sivocci (August 29, 1885 - September 8, 1923) was an Italian race car driver. Born in Salerno, Sivocci started his racing career as one of the pioneers of Italian bicycle racing, obtaining a second place in the 600 km long classic Cors ...

Antonio Ascari Antonio Ascari (15 September 1888 – 26 July 1925) was an Italian Grand Prix motor racing champion. He won four Grands Prix before his premature death at the 1925 French Grand Prix. He was the father of two-time World Champion Alberto Ascari. Ea ...

, Giulio Masetti and

Enzo Ferrari Enzo Anselmo Giuseppe Maria Ferrari (; 20 February 1898 – 14 August 1988) was an Italian motor racing driver and entrepreneur, the founder of the Scuderia Ferrari Grand Prix motor racing team, and subsequently of the Ferrari automobil ...

. Sivocci's car had green cloverleaf symbol on white background and when he won

1923, that symbol was to become the Alfa team's good luck token. Five :fr:Mille Miglia 1927 different RLSS were entered in the first

Mille Miglia The Mille Miglia (, ''Thousand Miles'') was an open-road, motorsport endurance race established in 1927 by the young Counts Francesco Mazzotti and Aymo Maggi, which took place in Italy twenty-four times from 1927 to 1957 (thirteen before World ...

in 1927, but only two completed the race. A 1925 RLSS version with rare, original bodywork by Thornton Engineering Company in Bradford, UK, is on permanent display in the Targa Florio exhibit at the

Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum The Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum is an automotive museum located at 6825 Norwitch Drive in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The museum's collection consists of approximately 75 racing sports cars and has been assembled over more than 50 years by ...

in Philadelphia, PA, USA. It is one of only 9 RLSS still in existence. File:Alfa Romeo RL Targa Florio.jpg, Alfa Romeo RL Targa Florio 1923 File:Alfa Romeo RL Targa Florio fl.jpg, Alfa Romeo RL Targa Florio 1924 File:Alfa Romeo RL TF 1924 at Gaisbergrennen 2010.ogv, Short video clip of 1924 RL Targa Florio File:Alfa-Romeo-RL.jpg, Alfa Romeo RL Super Sport with Castagna brushed aluminium body, ex Sir Sultan Mohammed Shah Aga Khan 3 car. File:Paris - Bonhams 2015 - Alfa Romeo RL Limousine de Ville - 1924 - 001.jpg, Alfa Romeo RL Normale Limousine de Ville s/n 7946

Production numbers

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * {{Alfa Romeo Pre War Timeline RL Sports cars Cars introduced in 1922 Articles containing video clips