Alfa Romeo 158/159 Alfetta

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Alfa Romeo 159 Formula-1 car
Alfa Romeo 158, 159, 159A, 159B, 159M
Alfa Romeo.png
Category Voiturette (1938-1947)
Formula One (1948-1951)
Constructor Alfa Romeo
Designer Gioacchino Colombo
Chassis Single-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.

Engine Alfa Romeo 158/159 1,497 cc straight-8, Roots-type supercharger**, front mounted.
** 158: single stage - 190bhp @ 6500rpm (voit), 350bhp @ 8500rpm (F1); 159: two stage - 425bhp @ 9300rpm
Transmission Alfa 4-speed manual.
Fuel Shell (98.5 % methanol, 1 % Castor oil, 0.5 % water)
Tyres Pirelli
Notable entrants Alfa Romeo SpA
Notable drivers (GP)
Emilio Villoresi
Achille Varzi
Giuseppe Farina
Carlo Felice Trossi
Jean-Pierre Wimille
Consalvo Sanesi
Alberto Ascari
(F1)
1. Giuseppe Farina
2. Juan Manuel Fangio
3. Luigi Fagioli (1950)
3. Felice Bonetto (1951)
Reg Parnell, Consalvo Sanesi, Piero Taruffi (1950)
Emmanuel de Graffenried, Luigi Fagioli, Paul Pietsch, Consalvo Sanesi (1951)
Debut 1938 Coppa Ciano Junior (158)
1951 BRDC International Trophy (159)
Races competed 41 (GP)
13 (F1)
Race victories 37 (GP)
10 (F1)
Constructors' Championships Not applicable before 1958
Drivers' Championships 2
Pole positions 10
Fastest laps 13


The Alfa Romeo 158/159, also known as the Alfetta, 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 Formula One World Championship.





Overview

The first version of this successful racing car, the 158, was made during 1937 and 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 cc engine produced around 200 bhp 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 in 1946.

In 1947, the Alfetta became eligible for the newly-created Formula One. 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 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).

The car won every race in which it competed during 1950; it was incredible that a car which had originated in 1938 was so victorious. 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. This version had reworked rear suspension, the old swing axle was replaced with a De-Dion axle and the engine produced around 420 bhp at 9600 rpm. For their last World Championship race (until 1979), the 1951 Spanish Grand Prix, Alfa Romeo introduced a new evolution version known as the 159M, the "M" standing for Maggiorata ("improved").

The 1952 World Drivers' Championship was run to Formula Two regulations, so the 159 became obsolete.

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


Alfa Romeo 159 Alfetta at 1951 Grand Prix
The 1.5L supercharged straight-8 159 engine.
Drivers cockpit



Race victories

Date Type Race Location Class Driver
August 7, 1938 158 Coppa Ciano Livorno Voiturette Emilio Villoresi
September 11, 1938 158 Milan Grand Prix Monza Voiturette Emilio Villoresi
July 30, 1939 158 Coppa Ciano Livorno Voiturette Giuseppe Farina
August 13, 1939 158 Coppa Acerbo Pescara Voiturette Clemente Biondetti
August 20, 1939 158 Swiss Grand Prix Bremgarten Voiturette Giuseppe Farina
May 12, 1940 158 Tripoli Grand Prix Libya Voiturette Giuseppe Farina
July 21, 1946 158 Grand Prix of Nations Geneva - Giuseppe Farina
September 1, 1946 158 Valentino Grand Prix Turin non-Champ. F1 Achille Varzi
September 30, 1946 158 Milan Grand Prix Milan, Sempione Park - Carlo Felice Trossi
June 8, 1947 158 Swiss Grand Prix Bremgarten - Jean-Pierre Wimille
June 29, 1947 158 European Grand Prix Spa - Jean-Pierre Wimille
July 13, 1947 158 Bari Grand Prix Bari - Achille Varzi
September 7, 1947 158 Italian Grand Prix Milan, Sempione Park - Carlo Felice Trossi
July 4, 1948 158 Swiss Grand Prix Bremgarter - Carlo Felice Trossi
July 18, 1948 158 French Grand Prix Reims - Jean-Pierre Wimille
September 5, 1948 158 Italian Grand Prix Turin, Valentino Park - Jean-Pierre Wimille
October 17, 1948 158 Monza Grand Prix Monza - Jean-Pierre Wimille
April 16, 1950 158 San Remo Grand Prix Ospedaletti - Juan Manuel Fangio
May 13, 1950 158 European Grand Prix Silverstone Formula One Giuseppe Farina
May 21, 1950 158 Monaco Grand Prix Monaco Formula One Juan Manuel Fangio
June 4, 1950 158 Swiss Grand Prix Bremgarter Formula One Giuseppe Farina
June 18, 1950 158 Belgian Grand Prix Spa Formula One Juan Manuel Fangio
July 2, 1950 158 French Grand Prix Reims Formula One Juan Manuel Fangio
July 9, 1950 158 Bari Grand Prix Bari - Giuseppe Farina
July 30, 1950 158 Grand Prix of Nations Geneva - Juan Manuel Fangio
August 15, 1950 158 Coppa Acerbo Pescara - Juan Manuel Fangio
August 26, 1950 158 International Trophy Silverstone non-Champ. F1 Giuseppe Farina
September 3, 1950 158 Italian Grand Prix Monza Formula One Giuseppe Farina
May 27, 1951 159 Swiss Grand Prix Bremgarter Formula One Juan Manuel Fangio
June 2, 1951 159 Tourist Trophy Dundrod - Giuseppe Farina
June 17, 1951 159 Belgian Grand Prix Spa Formula One Giuseppe Farina
July 1, 1951 159 French Grand Prix Reims Formula One Luigi Fagioli/Juan Manuel Fangio
October 28, 1951 159 Spanish Grand Prix Pedralbes Formula One Juan Manuel Fangio
September 2, 1951 159 Bari Grand Prix Bari - Juan Manuel Fangio
1953 159 Merano Grand Prix Italy - 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 f
Gianbattista Guidotti DNS
Luigi Fagioli 1
Felice Bonetto 4 Ret 3 5
Paul Pietsch Ret


Alfa Romeo Formula One
Alfa Romeo SpA (1950-1951): 158, 159, 159A, 159B | Giuseppe Farina, Juan Manuel Fangio

Autodelta (1979): 177 | 179, 179B, 179C, 179D | Bruno Giacomelli, Vittorio Brambilla

Marlboro Team Alfa Romeo (1980-1983): 179, 179B, 179C, 179D | 182, 182B | 183T, 183TB | Andrea de Cesaris, Mario Andretti, Bruno Giacomelli, Mauro Baldi

Benetton Team Alfa Romeo (1984-1985): 184T, 184TB | 185T, 185TB | Riccardo Patrese, Eddie Cheever

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Alfa Romeo engine: Brabham BT45/BT45B/BT45C | Brabham BT46/BT46B | Brabham BT48 | McLaren M7D | McLaren M14D | Cooper T53
| De Tomaso F1 | LDS Mk1/Mk2 | March 711 | Osella FA1E | Osella FA1F | Osella FA1G | Osella FA1H | Osella FA1I

Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A., a subsidiary of the Fiat S.p.A. since 1986, car timeline, 1910-1949 Next ->
Type 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
4-cyl. 12 HP / 15 HP / 24 HP / 15-20 HP / 20-30 HP 20/30 HP RM
4-cyl. 40/60 HP
4-cyl. ES Sport
6-cyl. G1 / G2 RL
6-cyl. 6C - 1500 / 1750 / 1900 / 2300 / 2500
8-cyl. 8C - 2300 / 2600 / 2900
Racing
car
GP P1 / P2 Tipo A Tipo B (P3) Tipo C (8C-35) Tipo 308 158 / 159 Alfetta
Bi-motore 12C Tipo 512