Alfa Romeo Quadrifoglio

Alfa Romeo Quadrifoglio
Parent	Alfa Romeo
Website	www.alfaromeo.com/quadrifoglio

The Quadrifoglio (Italian for 'four-leaf clover'; pronounced [kwadriˈfɔʎʎo]) is the brand used by the Italian auto manufacturer Alfa Romeo to indicate a high performance model, similar to that of BMW M, Mercedes-AMG, Fiat Abarth, Lexus F, Hyundai N and Audi S/RS. The Quadrifoglio is usually placed on the side panels of the car, above or behind the front wheels—on the front wings in the case of modern vehicles. The logo consists of a green four-leaf clover contained in a triangle.

History

The four-leaf clover symbol appeared for the first time on one of the four

charm was effective. Towards the end of the race the chances of victory were limited to the leading trio, composed of Ascari and Sivocci, followed by Minoia on a Steyr VI Klausen Sport. Just two hundred meters from the finish, the Alfa RL of Ascari went out. Ascari's lead allowed his mechanics to arrive in time to restart his engine, but in their euphoria they all got on board to cross the finish line with Ascari, causing a disqualification. So Ascari returned to the point where he had stopped his car to retrace that part of the track. He finished second behind Sivocci who, meanwhile, had crossed the finish line as a winner, assuring Alfa Romeo their first international victory.^[2]^[3]^[4]

As if to confirm the importance of the quadrifoglio, a few months later on September 8, 1923, a tragic accident occurred in which Sivocci lost his life at the

Monza raceway.^[5] During practice for the 1st Grand Prix of Europe, Sivocci crashed in his Alfa Romeo P1 No. 17. His P1 did not have the quadrifoglio due to complications that had prevented the painting of the bodywork. The fact that he crashed in a vehicle that lacked the quadrifoglio made a lasting impression among the pilots, mechanics and technicians of the world of competitions. For the same superstitious reasons the number 17 was no longer assigned to Italian racing cars after this crash.^[5] Even in the absence of official regulations, from the 1924 season the bodywork of racing Alfa Romeo autos were decorated with the green four-leaf clover. In memory of Sivocci, the white square was replaced by a triangle to signify his absence, and the symbol remains that way to this day. After World War II the quadrifoglio was used to distinguish particularly sporty versions of production Alfa Romeos, appearing for the first time on the side of the Giulia TI Super of 1963, also called Giulia Quadrifoglio. This was a variant of the Giulia sedan

devised for competition but regularly put on sale; it had green four-leaf clovers on its front wings, without the triangle.

Nomenclature

In the 1970s Quadrifoglio Verde ('green four-leaf clover') became the trim level for each model's sportiest variant, equipped with the most powerful engine. It is often abbreviated QV. The Alfasud, Sprint, 33, 75, Spider, 164 and 145 all had Quadrifoglio Verde versions. Also in the 1970s and through the 1980s golden four-leaf clover badges were used to denote the most luxurious and well-equipped variants of Alfa Romeo cars, named Quadrifoglio Oro ('gold four-leaf clover'). The Alfasud, Alfetta, Alfa 6, 90 and 33 had Quadrifoglio Oro versions. The Q4 name was also used originally introduced in 1992 on the Alfa Romeo 155 Q4 (turbocharged 4 wheel drive, top of line version), and on the badge the Q was stylized as a cloverleaf, so it meant Quadrifoglio 4. Since the introduction of 155 Q4, the Q4 badge is used to mark Alfa Romeo all wheel drive vehicles. The same Q4 marking is also used on some new Maserati all wheel drive variants. In 2016 Volkswagen's Audi made trademark swap with FCA, so that Q4 badge can now be used in Audi cars.^[6]