The Alfa Romeo RL was produced between 1922 and 1927. It was Alfa's first sport model after World War I, designed in 1921 by Giuseppe Merosi. It had a straight-6 engine with overhead valves, and came in three different versions: Normale, Turismo and Sport. A total of 2,640 RLs were made.
Models
The RLTF (Targa Florio) was the race version of the RL. It weighed half as much as the standard production models, despite the engine having seven main bearings instead of four and double carburetors. It was used among the 1923 Alfa race team, which had drivers like Ugo Sivocci, Antonio Ascari, Giulio Masetti and Enzo Ferrari. Sivocci's car had a green cloverleaf symbol on a white background; when he won the 1923 Targa Florio, that symbol was to become the Alfa team's good luck token. Five[3] different RLSS were entered in the first Mille Miglia 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 in Philadelphia, PA, USA. It is one of only 9 RLSS still in existence.[4]