Alfa Romeo P3

Alfa Romeo P3
Category Grand Prix 750 kg
Constructor Alfa Romeo
Team/s 1932 - Alfa Corse
1933/1935 - Scuderia Ferrari
Designer Vittorio Jano
Drivers 1932 + Tazio Nuvolari, Rudolf Caracciola, Giuseppe Campari, Baconin Borzacchini
1933 + Louis Chiron, Luigi Fagioli, Giuseppe Campari
1934 + Achille Varzi, Louis Chiron, Guy Moll, Brian E. Lewis, Carlo Felice Trossi, Gianfranco Comotti
1935 + Tazio Nuvolari, Raymond Sommer, Louis Chiron, Comte George de Montbressieux, Richard Shuttleworth, René Dreyfus, Vittorio Belmondo, Mario Tadini, Antonio Brivio, Guido Barbieri, Pietro Ghersi, Renato Balestrero,
1936 + Raymond Sommer, "Charlie" Martin, Comte José María de Villapadierna, Giovanni Battaglia, Clemente Biondetti, Austin Dobson
Chassis channel section side members
Suspension (front) Semi elliptic leaf springs, friction dampers
1935 independent Dubonnet system with trailing links
Suspension (rear) Semi elliptic leaf springs, friction dampers
1935 reversed quarter elliptic leaf springs
Engine Front mounted, Alfa Romeo,
Straight-8 (two straight 4 blocks),
Twin Roots Superchargers

1932 - 2654 cc,
1934 - 2905 cc,
1935 - 3165 cc, bored out for German Grand Prix

Gearbox Alfa Romeo 4-speed manual
c.1934 Alfa Romeo 3-speed manual
Wheelbase 104 in (2,642 mm)
Track Front 55 in (1,397 mm), Rear 53 in (1,346 mm)
Dry Weight 1,545 lb (700 kg)
Fuel
Tyres 1932 - Dunlop
1933/35 - Englebert
Debut 1932 Italian Grand Prix, Tazio Nuvolari, 1st
Races competed
Constructors' Championships Not applicable before 1958
Drivers' Championships Not applicable before 1950
Race victories 46
1932 Italian Grand Prix, Tazio Nuvolari
1932 French Grand Prix, Tazio Nuvolari
1932 German Grand Prix, Rudolf Caracciola
1932 Coppa Ciano, Tazio Nuvolari
1932 Coppa Acerbo, Tazio Nuvolari
1932 Monza Grand Prix, Rudolf Caracciola
1933 Coppa Acerbo Luigi Fagioli,
1933 Grand Prix du Comminges Luigi Fagioli
1933 Marseille Grand Prix Louis Chiron,
1933 Italian Grand Prix Luigi Fagioli
1933 Masaryk Circuit Louis Chiron
1933 Spanish Grand Prix Louis Chiron
1934 Monaco Grand Prix, Guy Moll,
1934 Alessandria Grand Prix Achille Varzi,
1934 Tripoli Grand Prix Achille Varzi,
1934 Casablanca Grand Prix, Louis Chiron,
1934 Targa Florio, Achille Varzi,
1934 Internationale Avus Rennen, Guy Moll,
1934 Mannin Moar, Hon. Brian Lewis
1934 Montreux Grand Prix, Comte Trossi
1934 Penya Rhin GP, Achille Varzi,
1934 Grand Prix de France, Louis Chiron,
1934 Grand Prix de la Marne, Louis Chiron
1934 GP de Vichy, Comte Carlo Trossi,
1934 German Grand Prix Tazio Nuvolari
1934 Coppa Ciano, Achille Varzi,
1934 Grand Prix de Nice, Achille Varzi,
1934 GP du Comminges, Gianfranco Comotti,
1934 Circuito di Biella, Comte Trossi,
1935 Grand Prix du Pau, Tazio Nuvolari
1935 Bergamo Circuit, Tazio Nuvolari
1935 GP de France, Raymond Sommer
1935 Biella Circuit, Tazio Nuvolari
1935 Lorraine GP, Louis Chiron
1935 Marne GP, René Dreyfus
1935 Dieppe GP, René Dreyfus
1935 Varese Circuit, Vittorio Belmondo
1935 German GP, Tazio Nuvolari
1935 GP du Comminges, Raymond Sommer
1935 Coppa Ciano, Tazio Nuvolari
1935 Nice GP, Tazio Nuvolari
1935 Coppa Edda Ciano, Mario Tadini
1935 Donington GP, Richard Shuttleworth
1935 Coppa della Sila, Antonio Brivio
1935 Brooklands Mountain Circuit Championship, Richard Shuttleworth
Last season 1935

The Alfa Romeo P3, P3 monoposto or Tipo B was a classic Grand Prix car designed by Vittorio Jano, one of the Alfa Romeo 8C models. The P3 was first genuine single-seat Grand Prix racing car[1] and Alfa Romeo's second monoposto after Tipo A monoposto (1931).[2] It was based on the earlier successful Alfa Romeo P2. Taking lessons learned from that car, Jano went back to the drawing board to design a car that could last longer race distances. The P3 was the first genuine single seater racing car, and was powered by a supercharged eight-cylinder engine. The car was very light for the period, weighing just over 1,500 lb (680 kg) despite using a cast iron engine block.

The P3 was introduced in June, halfway through the 1932 Grand Prix season in Europe, winning its first race at the hands of Tazio Nuvolari, and going on to win 6 races that year driven by both Nuvolari and Rudolf Caracciola, including all 3 major Grands Prix in Italy, France and Germany.

The 1933 Grand Prix season brought financial difficulties to Alfa Corse so the cars were simply locked away and Alfa attempted to rest on their laurels. Enzo Ferrari had to run his breakaway 'works' Alfa team as Scuderia Ferrari, using the older, less effective Alfa Monzas. Alfa procrastinated until August and missed the first 25 events, and only after much wrangling was the P3 finally handed over to Scuderia Ferrari. P3s then won six of the final 11 events of the season including the final 2 major Grands Prix in Italy and Spain.

The regulations for the 1934 Grand Prix season brought larger bodywork requirements, so to counteract this the engine was bored out to 2.9 litres. Louis Chiron won the French Grand Prix at Montlhery, whilst the German Silver Arrows dominated the other four rounds of the European Championship. However the P3s won 18 of all the 35 Grands Prix held throughout Europe.

By the 1935 Grand Prix season the P3 was hopelessly uncompetitive against the superior German cars in 6 rounds of the European Championship, but that didn't stop one final, legendary works victory. The P3 was bored out to 3.2 litres for Nuvolari for the 1935 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, in the heartland of the Mercedes and Auto-Union empire. In the race, Nuvolari punctured a tyre early on while leading, but after the pitstop he carved through the field until the last lap when Manfred von Brauchitsch, driving the far superior Mercedes Benz W25 suffered a puncture, leaving Nuvolari to win the race in front of 300,000 stunned Germans.

The P3's agility and versatility enabled it to win 16 of the 39 Grands Prix in 1935. The P3 had earned its place as a truly great racing car.


Drivers

Notes

  1. ↑ "Alfa Romeo P3". ddavid.com. Archived from the original on 13 September 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-04.
  2. ↑ "Alfa Romeo Tipo A Monoposto". ultimatecarpage.com. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-04.

References

Alfa Romeo car timeline, 1910s–1940s — next »
Type 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s
0123456789 0123456789 0123456789 0123456789
4-cyl. 12 HP/15 HP 15-20 HP WWI [α] WWII
24 HP RM
20-30 HP [α] 20-30 ES
40-60 HP
6-cyl. G1
RL
6C 1500/1750/1900 6C 2300 6C 2500
8-cyl. 8C 2300 8C 2900
Grand Prix car GP P1 P2 Tipo A Tipo B (P3) 8C 35 158 158
308
Bi
motore		 12C 312 512
316 162
[α] 105 A.L.F.A 15-20 HP and 20-30 HP started in 1915 were completed in 1920, after the war, as Alfa Romeo models.
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