Alfa Romeo’s Quadrifoglio performance brand turns 100 this year—the exact date is June 25—and the automaker has a number of celebrations planned, especially as this year also marks the 60th anniversary of Alfa Romeo’s Autodelta racing department.
To kick things off, Alfa Romeo on Thursday revealed an updated design for its Quadrifoglio logo, which adopts a gold frame and also sports a more vibrant shade of green.
The famous logo first appeared in 1923 on the Targa Florio-running RL of Ugo Sivocci. Ever since then this symbol has been applied to all of the more sporting machines in the Alfa Romeo stable.
That original RL race car wore the emblem proudly, and other cars wearing the mark put Alfa Romeo on the podium of many races.
The Quadrifoglio was adorned on Alfa Romeo race cars that won the first two Formula 1 races in the sport’s inaugural 1950 season. It’s been applied to DTM winners, and it’s also been affixed to cars designed to bring sporty driving to the street, the latest iterations being the Giulia Quadrifoglio and Stelvio Quadrifoglio. Both cars pack a twin-turbo 2.9-liter V-6 good for 500 hp, and both carry on a proud tradition by bearing the Quadrifoglio.
There are plenty of cool symbols and badges that have been used throughout the years in the automotive industry. Only a few can claim to have achieved iconic status, however, and the Quadrifoglio is one of those few. It’s come a long way from its use on the hood of Ugo Sivocci’s RL, but it’s great to see it continually being applied and appreciated by Alfa Romeo and its fans.
As for Autodelta, it dates back to Mar. 5, 1963, when Carlo Chiti and the Chizzola brothers founded Auto-Delta with the aim of collaborating with Alfa Romeo in the construction of the Giulia TZ. Alfa Romeo eventually took over the company in 1965, establishing it as its official racing department and renaming it Autodelta in the process.