Alfa Romeo 158/159 Alfetta

The Alfa Romeo 158/159, also known as the Alfetta (Little Alfa in Italian[1]), is a Grand Prix racing car produced by Italian manufacturer Alfa Romeo. It is one of the most successful racing cars ever produced- the 158 and its derivative, the 159, took 47 wins from 54 Grands Prix entered.[2] It was originally developed for the pre-World War II voiturette formula (1937) and has a 1.5-litre straight-8 supercharged engine. Following World War II, the car was eligible for the new Formula One introduced in 1947. In the hands of drivers such as Nino Farina, Juan Manuel Fangio and Luigi Fagioli, it dominated the first two seasons of the World Championship of Drivers.

Alfa Romeo 158, 159, 159A, 159B, 159M

1951 Alfa Romeo 159
CategoryVoiturette (1938–1947)
Formula One (1946–1951)
ConstructorAlfa Romeo
Designer(s)Gioacchino Colombo
Successor177
Technical specifications
ChassisSingle-seater, tubular frame
Suspension (front)Trailing arm, transverse leaf springs, hydraulic dampers
Suspension (rear)Swing axle*, transverse leaf spring, hydraulic dampers
*De-Dion-axle was one of the last modifications 1951.
EngineAlfa Romeo 158/159 1,479 cc (90.3 cu in), straight-8, Roots-type supercharger**, front mounted.
** 158: single stage – 190 bhp (142 kW) @ 6500 rpm (voit), 350 bhp (261 kW) @ 8500 rpm (F1); 159: two stage – 425 bhp (317 kW) @ 9300 rpm
TransmissionAlfa 4-speed manual
FuelShell (98.5% methanol, 1% Castor oil, 0.5% water)
TyresPirelli
Competition history
Notable entrantsAlfa Romeo SpA
Notable driversJean-Pierre Wimille
Giuseppe Farina
Juan Manuel Fangio
Luigi Fagioli
Debut1938 Coppa Ciano Junior (158)
1951 BRDC International Trophy (159)
RacesWinsPolesF.Laps
41 (GP)
13 (F1)
37 (GP)
10 (F1)
10 (F1)13 (F1)
Constructors' ChampionshipsNot applicable before 1958
Drivers' Championships2 (1950Giuseppe Farina
1951Juan Manuel Fangio)
The 1.5L supercharged straight-8 159 engine.
Cockpit.
Alfa Romeo 159 at Nürburgring.

Overview

The first version of this successful racing car, the 158, was made during 1937/1938. The main responsibility for engineering was given to Gioacchino Colombo.[3]

The car's name refers to its 1.5-litre engine and eight cylinders.[4] The voiturette class was for racing cars with 1.5-litre engines, standing in the same relation to the top 'Grand Prix' formula (usually for 3-litre engines) as the Formula Two does to Formula One today. Alfa's 3-litre racing cars in 1938 and 1939 were the Tipo 308, 312 and 316.

The 158 debuted with the works Alfa Corse team at the Coppa Ciano Junior in August 1938 at Livorno, Italy, where Emilio Villoresi took the car's first victory. At that time the 1479.56  cc (58.0 x 70.0 mm) engine produced around 200 bhp (150 kW) at 7000 rpm.[5] with the help of a single-stage Roots blower. More success came at the Coppa Acerbo, Coppa Ciano and Tripoli Grand Prix in May 1940.[6] Soon World War II stopped development of the car for six years. After the war the engine was developed further to push out 254 bhp (189 kW) in 1946.

In 1947, the Alfetta was put back into service. The new rules allowed 1500 cc supercharged and 4500 cc naturally aspirated engines. The 158 was modified again, this time to produce over 300 bhp (220 kW) and was denoted as Tipo 158/47. The car made a tragic debut in the 1948 Swiss Grand Prix where Achille Varzi lost control of his car and was killed. Another loss for the team came in practice for the 1949 Buenos Aires Grand Prix, where Jean-Pierre Wimille was killed in an accident (driving with Simca-Gordini).[7]

In 1950, the 158 was eligible for the new World Championship of Drivers. The car won every race in which it competed during that first season of Formula One; it was incredible that a car which had originated in 1938 was so victorious, most likely because all the other constructors (as few as there were) had less money to build and develop their cars and the Alfa had so much development time. The Alfa Romeo team included talented drivers such as Giuseppe Farina and Juan Manuel Fangio, the latter of whom later won the World Drivers' Championship five times.

At the end of the 1950 season, a further updated version known as the 159 was produced, which was used for the 1951 season. This version had reworked rear suspension, the old swing axle was replaced with a De-Dion axle and the engine produced around 420 bhp (313 kW) at 9600 rpm. The 159 had top speed of 305 kilometres per hour (190 mph) and it weighed 710 kilograms (1,570 lb).[8] In order to achieve this power however, the simplistically designed engine was fitted with larger superchargers over time. This fact, combined with the rich mixture required to burn methanol in the engine resulted in extremely poor fuel economy - the 159 achieved 1.5 miles per imperial gallon (190 litres per 100 kilometres; 1.2 miles per US gallon),[9] compared to the Talbot-Lagos of the time, which delivered 9 miles per imperial gallon (31 litres per 100 kilometres; 7.5 miles per US gallon).[10] The British Grand Prix at Silverstone was the first Formula One Grand Prix not won by an Alfa primarily because Fangio and Farina both had to stop twice simply to re-fuel their cars – and the Ferrari of José Froilán González did better on fuel and would go on to win the race, with Fangio second. Still, the Alfa had the edge on performance and with wins in Switzerland, France and Spain, Fangio won his first of five championships that year. For their second-to-last World Championship race (until 1979), the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, Alfa Romeo introduced a new evolution version known as the 159M, the "M" standing for Maggiorata ("enlarged").[11]

After an unsuccessful bid by Alfa Romeo to obtain government assistance to meet development costs, the team announced their retirement from Grand Prix racing at the end of 1951 (leaving the development of the 2.5-litre Alfa Romeo 160).[12] This, combined with problems for other Formula One teams lead to a decree by the FIA that all Grand Prix races counting towards the World Championship of Drivers in 1952 and 1953 would be for cars complying with Formula Two rather than Formula One.[12]

The car's last Grand Prix win came in 1953 at Merano Grand Prix, Italy.[4]

Race victories

Date Type Race Location Class Driver
August 7, 1938158Coppa CianoLivornoVoituretteEmilio Villoresi
September 11, 1938158Milan Grand PrixMonzaVoituretteEmilio Villoresi
July 30, 1939158Coppa CianoLivornoVoituretteGiuseppe Farina
August 13, 1939158Coppa AcerboPescaraVoituretteClemente Biondetti
August 20, 1939158Swiss Grand PrixBremgartenVoituretteGiuseppe Farina
May 12, 1940158Tripoli Grand PrixLibyaVoituretteGiuseppe Farina
July 21, 1946158Grand Prix of NationsGeneva-Giuseppe Farina
September 1, 1946158Valentino Grand PrixTurin, Valentino Parknon-Champ. F1Achille Varzi
September 30, 1946158Milan Grand PrixMilan, Sempione Park-Carlo Felice Trossi
June 8, 1947158Swiss Grand PrixBremgarten-Jean-Pierre Wimille
June 29, 1947158European Grand PrixSpa-Jean-Pierre Wimille
July 13, 1947158Bari Grand PrixBari-Achille Varzi
September 7, 1947158Italian Grand PrixMilan, Sempione Park-Carlo Felice Trossi
July 4, 1948158Swiss Grand PrixBremgarten-Carlo Felice Trossi
July 18, 1948158French Grand PrixReims-Jean-Pierre Wimille
September 5, 1948158Italian Grand PrixTurin, Valentino Park-Jean-Pierre Wimille
October 17, 1948158Autodrome Grand PrixMonza-Jean-Pierre Wimille
April 16, 1950158San Remo Grand PrixOspedaletti-Juan Manuel Fangio
May 13, 1950158European Grand PrixSilverstoneFormula OneGiuseppe Farina
May 21, 1950158Monaco Grand PrixMonacoFormula OneJuan Manuel Fangio
June 4, 1950158Swiss Grand PrixBremgartenFormula OneGiuseppe Farina
June 18, 1950158Belgian Grand PrixSpaFormula OneJuan Manuel Fangio
July 2, 1950158French Grand PrixReimsFormula OneJuan Manuel Fangio
July 9, 1950158Bari Grand PrixBari-Giuseppe Farina
July 30, 1950158Grand Prix of NationsGeneva-Juan Manuel Fangio
August 15, 1950158Coppa AcerboPescara-Juan Manuel Fangio
August 26, 1950158International TrophySilverstonenon-Champ. F1Giuseppe Farina
September 3, 1950158Italian Grand PrixMonzaFormula OneGiuseppe Farina
May 27, 1951159Swiss Grand PrixBremgartenFormula OneJuan Manuel Fangio
June 2, 1951159Ulster TrophyDundrod-Giuseppe Farina
June 17, 1951159Belgian Grand PrixSpaFormula OneGiuseppe Farina
July 1, 1951159French Grand PrixReimsFormula OneLuigi Fagioli/Juan Manuel Fangio
October 28, 1951159Spanish Grand PrixPedralbesFormula OneJuan Manuel Fangio
September 2, 1951159Bari Grand PrixBari-Juan Manuel Fangio
1953159Merano Grand PrixItaly-Juan Manuel Fangio

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key) (results in bold indicate pole position, results in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Chassis Engine Tyres Drivers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Points WCC
1950 158 Alfa Romeo 158 1.5 L8 P GBR MON 500 SUI BEL FRA ITA 88 -*
Giuseppe Farina 1 Ret 1 4 7 1
Juan Manuel Fangio Ret 1 Ret 1 1 Ret
Luigi Fagioli 2 Ret 2 2 2 3
Reg Parnell 3
Gianbattista Guidotti DNS
Consalvo Sanesi Ret
Piero Taruffi Ret
1951 159 Alfa Romeo 158 1.5 L8 P SUI 500 BEL FRA GBR GER ITA ESP 75 -*
Giuseppe Farina 3 1 5 Ret Ret 3 3
Juan Manuel Fangio 1 9 1 2 2 Ret 1
Toulo de Graffenried 5 Ret 6
Consalvo Sanesi 4 Ret 10 6
Gianbattista Guidotti DNS
Luigi Fagioli 1
Felice Bonetto 4 Ret 3 5
Paul Pietsch Ret

* The Constructors' Championship was not awarded until 1958.

Legacy

The 158/159 Alfetta remains one of the most successful cars in the history of Formula One, having won every race it entered in 1950, and winning 4 out of 7 races (with a podium in all of the other 3) in 1951.

Notes

  1. "THE ORIGINS OF THE ALFA ROMEO 158/159". enzociliberto.it. Archived from the original (DOC) on 2006-01-18. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
  2. Sparrow, David; John Tipler. Alfa Romeo Legends. ISBN 1-85532-646-9.
  3. "The Golden Era Of Grand Prix Racing". kolumbus.fi/leif.snellman. Archived from the original on 19 April 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-26.
  4. Borgeson, Griffith. The Alfa Romeo Tradition. ISBN 0-85429-875-4.
  5. "Grand Prix Cars – Alfa Romeo 158". ddavid.com/formula1. Archived from the original on 7 April 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-26.
  6. "1938 Alfa Romeo 158 Alfetta". supercars.net. Retrieved 2007-04-26.
  7. "Jean-Pierre Wimille: The man who would have been champion..." grandprix.com. Archived from the original on 2013-05-18. Retrieved 2007-04-26.
  8. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles EMEA Press: Alfa Romeo GP Tipo 159 Alfetta at F1 British GP - Press Releases - Fiat Chrysler Automobiles EMEA Press, accessdate: 11. July 2019
  9. "Alfa Romeo 158 Alfetta". www.petergiddings.com.
  10. McKelvie, Steve (November 11, 2011). "Talbot Lago T26-C Grand Prix Car".
  11. "The Alfetta's last call". forix.com. Retrieved 2007-04-26.
  12. Mike Lang, Grand Prix, Volume 1, 1950 to 1965, Haynes Publishing Group, 1981, page 39
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