Alfa Romeo MOT

Founded in 1906 and originally known as Società Anonima Italiana Darracq, the Italian car manufacturer started in Naples but in no time at all had made Milan its home. By 1909, in reaction to poorly-selling cars, a splinter company had formed at the behest of one of the original investors, Cavaliere Ugo Stella, and this company was named Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobil, or ALFA. The company only added the second part of its name in 1920.

Early on in the company's history, Alfa Romeo found success in manufacturing and driving racing cars. But this streak of success was to be short-lived as World War I threw the world into confusion. In reaction to this, Alfa Romeo started to produce military hardware. By the end of the war, the company was producing railway carriages from plants situated all around Italy. Car manufacturing began once more in 1919, and by 1920, Alfa Romeo had seen success on the racing circuit again. Solid road and race cars followed, earning Alfa Romeo a reputation for class and performance.

From the 1960s, Alfa Romeo cars were used extensively by the Italian police and government, cementing their Italian identity. However, the company's flair for design and technological innovation was also a huge factor in its image, and this is something that the Alfa Romeo badge continues to represent, although the sometimes controversial nature of these advancements has lessened somewhat since 1986, when the Alfa Romeo was bought out by Fiat Group.

Today's Alfa Romeo provides a broad selection of vehicles, from family cars to the eye-catching convertible Spider. All of the models share one thing in common though - the style and menacing presence that only Italian manufacturers manage to capture so effectively.