The motoring of the 1920s is extremely specific and very different from the one we know today, and even from the one that existed after the end of World War II. Here are 5 of the most interesting sports cars of the 1920s.
The origins of auto racing are mainly associated with brands still known today. In Grand Prix competitions in the 1920s, Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Bugatti, Mercedes-Benz exhibited their cars. During the decade also appeared designs by Peugeot, Aston Martin and Maserati. At that time debuted the legendary Monegasque Louis Chiron, associated with Mercedes Rudolf Caracciola and a man without whom the Italian motoring would look completely different, namely Enzo Ferrari. Not to forget the father of 2-time Formula World Champion Alberto Ascari, Antonio Ascari.
The uniqueness of the period of the 1920s in racing is that all manufacturers at that time were crawling with the issue of building sports cars and were just getting their act together after the Great War, which later turned out to be only the First World War. Designs were being improved all the time, engines were developing extremely rapidly and, interestingly, capacity regulations were already emerging. The 1920s in motorsport was one of the most interesting, but also most chaotic periods. It did, however, allow the production of these five cars
The Alfa Romeo RL Targa Fiorio was a model built in 1922 that did not last very long. This was due to the fact that under the hood of this race car was an inline six with a capacity of 3 liters, and this was limited to two liters in Grand Prix competition. However, this is a historic car. It generated “only” 89 horsepower, which, however, was a good result at the time
Powerful for its time, this roadster was built in 1928 and is one of the masterpieces of Ferdinand Porsche, father of the later founder of the luxury sports brand Porsche. Porsche designed many great cars for Mercedes before becoming Adolf Hitler’s chief designer. One of these was the SSK model with a powerful 7.1 R6 engine producing as much as 250 turbocharged horsepower. Many call this car the McLaren F1 of its time.
A car that won 14 times in the 1920s with Antonio Ascari, Giuseppe Campari, Achille Varzi and Gastonne Brilli-Peri. Identifiable by the distinctive clover on white background on the bonnet. In it sat an inline 8 with up to 155 horsepower, allowing it to develop up to 200 kilometers per hour
One of the reasons Bugatti won the race car constructors championship. This model was powered by a small 1.5-liter engine that produced 90 horsepower. It won the title for the French company in 1926.
Another French dominator, but this one came from 1927. In the race car constructors’ championship, only the Indianapolis 500 race did not fall prey to the French design. Powered by a 170-horsepower 1.5 R8 engine sped up to 210 kilometers per hour.
Main Photo: picryl.com
