1923 ALFA ROMEO RM Sport 1.9

Vehicle Overview

Alfa Romeo tried to make its name known via sporty vehicles, such as the RM Sport, which it introduced at the 1923 Paris Motor Show.

The Italian carmaker was still struggling to develop new vehicles, while it was difficult for it to face Fiat’s competition on its home market. But there was a different way of building vehicles, and Alfa Romeo thought it could do better in the motorsport arena. The carmaker already had an ace in its sleeve: the chief-engineer Giuseppe Merosi. He designed the Alfa Romeo RL, and based on a modified chassis; he made the RM and the RM Sport. The latter entered in made its motorsport debut at the third Coupe des Alpes in 1923, and, after six stages and 3000 km (1864 miles), it finished in fourth place in the two-liter class.

Unlike its brothers, the RM Normal and the RM Unificado, the Sport version featured a shorter wheelbase and a higher compression engine. Its exterior design, with a two-door torpedo look, offered electric headlights and a vertical, pined-out radiator. The designer made an abrupt slope toward the trunk behind the short cabin, which was accessible from the outside.

The interior was fitted with leather seats and wood-trims on the door panels. A metallic, flat dashboard was installed and featured an instrument panel in the middle of it, while the driving post was on the right side of the vehicle.

Under the hood, Alfa Romeo chose to install a special engine. It was an inline-four with a higher compression ratio. Despite having a smaller displacement than its siblings, the RM Sport engine provided a higher power.