The company that eventually became Alfa Romeo started in 1906. The original owner was the French automobile company of Alexandre Darracq, along with a few Italian investors. Initially, the company was located in Naples. The first factory was built in Portello, Italy between 1906 and 1909. Until the first world war, Società Anonima Italiana Darracq (SAID) and ALFA (Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili) were involved in motor racing. They built the GP1914 with a 4-cylinder engine in 1914. After the start of WWI, the company stopped producing automobiles for three years.