Start with what the A.L.F.A 24 HP is: a car with 4.1 , built from 1910 to 1914, as the assembly line was turning motoring into an industry. What it meant takes a little longer. The shape is credited to Giuseppe Merosi.
The story
The ALFA 24 HP is a 4.1-litre four-cylinder passenger car, the first model produced by Italian car manufacturer ALFA (Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili), which in 1919 would become Alfa Romeo. It was introduced in 1910, the year ALFA was founded, and produced until 1914 in ALFA's Portello factory near Milan. The model's name comes from its tax horsepower rating, then frequently used as vehicle designation.
The 24 HP was commercially successful and continued to be developed for a decade. In 1914 some updates transformed the 24 HP into the ALFA 20-30 HP, produced in 1914 and 1915—with some hundred cars assembled after the war in 1920. In turn the 20-30 HP evolved into the 1921–22 Alfa Romeo 20-30 ES Sport, the first car to be badged Alfa Romeo from its introduction. In total the 24 HP and 20-30 HP were produced in 680 examples.
What is underneath
The engine is 4.1 . On the scales it comes to 1000 kg. Drive goes through a 4-speed manual. The layout matters: a front engine drives the rear wheels, the classic proportion — long bonnet, cabin set back — that most people picture when they picture a sports saloon or a grand tourer. The wheelbase is 3200 mm. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Its place in the line
In the Alfa Romeo line-up the A.L.F.A 24 HP has a clear place: it replaced the Darracq 14/16 HP; it handed the line to the 20/30 HP; the factory was Portello, Milan, Italy. The cars a buyer would have weighed it against include the Ford Model T, the Vauxhall B-Type, the Oldsmobile Limited. Nearby in the Alfa Romeo catalogue sit the A.L.F.A 12 HP and the A.L.F.A 15 HP.
Owning one today
MotorJury scores cars on the United States complaint and recall record, and the A.L.F.A 24 HP has none: too old, too rare, or never sold there. Its value today is a collector's question, decided by provenance and condition rather than by a class average.