How the Italian aristocrat made red the color of speed

Rosso corsa (racing red) is the international shade of red used in racing cars. Since the 20s of the last century, it has been a symbol of the Italian automakers Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Lancia and of course Ferrari.

Story started in 1907 with the Beijing-Paris transcontinental rally. The challenge was serious, because the riders had to overcome more than 15,000 kilometers along the Russian and Chinese roads. Moreover, the cars of those years were quite young and do not had high reliability and increased cross-country ability. That is, arriving to the finish line was already considered as a miracle. The race started on June 10, 1907 from the French Embassy in Beijing. Only five participants took part in it. One of them is the hero of our history — the Italian aristocrat Luigi Marcantonio Francesco Rodolfo Scipione Borghese, commonly known as Scipione Borghese, in his 1907 poppy-red Itala.

Race without rules. The rally was very harsh. At that time, the racing rules on the road was not developed yet, so riders can liquidate opponent in the unsporting way. In addition, the route was near the telegraph line, so is it was off road without clear roadmaps. Cars fell from bridges, stuck in mud and sand, constantly repaired, but they continued the race. 

In order to monitor the progress of the race, the organizers put an independent reporter in each of the cars. The first was Itala. In Irkutsk, car looked far less presentable than at the start. Upon reaching Moscow, the color of Itala faded and became earthy, but the engine continued to work. Borghese so trust in his own car that he deviated hundreds of kilometers from the route, visited St. Petersburg, and then returned to the route and still drove to Paris first.

Sparkling taste of victory. Prince Scipione Borghese received only a 1.5-liter bottle of Mumm champagne as a reward, but the main prize for him was the glory of the winner. The poppy-red color of his car, the 1907 Itala, became for Italy a symbol of speed and victory. Already in 1908, Rosso corsa became the color of the Italian national racing team. After the 1920s, Italian carmakers Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Maserati and Ferrari made this color as brand hue.

This red color became racing color of Italy, along with French blue (Bleu de France), British green (British racing green) etc.