Today we tell you the story behind the four-leaf clover of the Alfa Romeo Quadrifoglio Verde

Every brand has a great history behind it, and some have left certain mysteries unresolved for years. But today we reveal the reason behind a very distinctive symbol that appears on all the sports cars of Alfa Romeo. It is the famous four-leaf clover that adorns the side of every Quadrifoglio Verde from the Italian marque.

Alfa Romeo is one of the brands with the most history and renown in the world of motoring , and its most sporting models have a very special past. Many brands use different symbols to represent their most radical models, but the Italian firm has a very distinctive one. It is a four-leaf clover that appears on the sides of its most powerful vehicles.

Quadrifoglio Verde – which means four-leaf clover in Italian – is the name given to the sports cars of Alfa Romeo, which have been around since 1923. The name is characteristic of the cars with the highest performance, and in the twenties it began to be used on racing vehicles.

The history of the Alfa Romeo symbol begins at the Targa Florio, one of Italy’s most important races. At that time, the Italian firm’s team consisted of Antonio Ascari, the very Enzo Ferrari, Giulio Masseti and Ugo Sivocci. The latter had a close relationship with Enzo, and both showed great talent behind the wheel of the Alfa Romeo.

For that occasion, Giuseppe Merosi – an engineer at Alfa Romeo – designed four very special vehicles for the race. This was the Alfa Romeo RL Targa Florio, a sports car with the latest technology of the era that produced 95 CV, an extraordinary output for the time.

Ugo Sivocci tended to finish second behind his teammates in races. Tired of this bad luck, he had a four-leaf clover painted on the grille of his Targa Florio. This gave Sivocci great confidence and he managed to qualify in first position, demonstrating great ability behind the wheel.

The great feats of the Italian driver placed him among the best, and his reputation grew considerably. During tests for the European Grand Prix, Sivocci suffered an accident that ended his life. The Alfa Romeo P1 he was driving did not have the four-leaf clover painted on it, and from then on, all the brand’s sports cars have carried it on their sides.