Alfa Romeo 158
.jpg) 1951 Alfa Romeo 159 |
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| Category |
Voiturette (1938–1947) Formula One (1946–1951) |
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| Constructor | Alfa Romeo | ||||||||
| Designer(s) | Gioacchino Colombo | ||||||||
| Successor | 177 | ||||||||
| Technical specifications | |||||||||
| Chassis | Single-seater, tubular frame | ||||||||
| Suspension (front) | Trailing arm, transverse leaf springs, hydraulic dampers | ||||||||
| Suspension (rear) |
Swing axle*, transverse leaf spring, hydraulic dampers |
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| Engine | Alfa 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 |
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| Transmission | Alfa 4-speed manual | ||||||||
| Fuel | Shell (98.5% methanol, 1% Castor oil, 0.5% water) | ||||||||
| Tyres | Pirelli | ||||||||
| Competition history | |||||||||
| Notable entrants | Alfa Romeo SpA | ||||||||
| Notable drivers |
Jean-Pierre Wimille Giuseppe Farina Juan Manuel Fangio Luigi Fagioli |
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| Debut | 1938 Coppa Ciano Junior (158) 1951 BRDC International Trophy (159) |
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| Constructors' Championships | Not applicable before 1958 | ||||||||
| Drivers' Championships | 2 (1950 – Giuseppe Farina 1951 – Juan Manuel Fangio) |
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Swing axle*, transverse leaf spring, hydraulic dampers
The Alfa Romeo 158/159, also known as the Alfetta (Little Alfa in Italian), 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. 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.
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.
The car's name refers to its 1.5-litre engine and eight cylinders. 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 GP2 series 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. 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. 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.
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