Alfa Romeo was founded as Società Anonima Italiana Darracq (SAID) in 1906 by the French automobile firm of Alexandre Darracq. The firm's initial location was in Naples, but even before the construction of the planned factory had started, Darracq decided late in 1906 that Milan would be a more suitable location and accordingly a tract of land was acquired in the Milan suburb of Portello, where a new factory of 6,700 square metres was erected. Late 1909, the Italian Darracq cars were selling slowly and Stella, with the other Italian co-investors, founded a new company named A.L.F.A. (Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili), initially still in partnership with Darracq. The first non-Darracq car produced by company was the 1910 24 HP, designed by Giuseppe Merosi. Merosi would go on to design a series of new A.L.F.A. cars, with more powerful engines (40-60 HP). An advanced Grand Prix car was designed and built, the GP1914 which featured a four cylinder, double overhead camshafts, four valves per cylinder and twin ignition. However, World War I halted automobile production at A.L.F.A. for three years. In August 1915 the company came under the direction of Nicola Romeo, who converted the factory to produce military hardware for the Italian and Allied war efforts. Car production was resumed in 1919. In 1920, the name of the company was changed to Alfa Romeo with the Torpedo 20-30 HP as the first car to carry the Alfa Romeo badge. Giuseppe Merosi continued as head designer, and the company continued to produce road cars as well as successful race cars (including the 40-60 HP and the RL Targa Florio). In 1923 Vittorio Jano was lured away from Fiat, thanks to the persuasion of Alfa racing driver Enzo Ferrari, to replace Merosi as chief designer at Alfa Romeo. The first Alfa Romeo designed by Jano was the P2 Grand Prix car, which won Alfa Romeo the world championship for Grand Prix cars in 1925. For Alfa road cars Jano developed a series of small-to-medium-displacement 4, 6, and 8 cylinder inline power plants based on the P2 unit that established the classic architecture of Alfa engines, with light alloy construction, hemispherical combustion chambers, centrally-located plugs, two rows of overhead valves per cylinder bank and dual overhead cams.  In the end of 1932 Alfa Romeo was taken over by the government. Alfa became an instrument of Mussolini's Italy, a national emblem. During this period Alfa Romeo built vehicles for the wealthy, with the bodies normally built by Touring of Milan or Pinin Farina like the legendary Alfa Romeo 2900B Type 35 racers.