Alfa Romeo P1 / P2 / P3

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Alfa Romeo P2 from 1924
Alfa Romeo P3

The Alfa Romeo P1 was the first car manufactured by the automobile manufacturer Alfa Romeo to be manufactured only for racing . The car, actually called GPR by Alfa Romeo, was developed by Giuseppe Merosi and had a six-cylinder engine with 1990  cc and double ignition . The first race that was to be contested with him was the Italian Grand Prix at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza on September 9, 1923. The racetrack had only opened last year only about 20 km away from the Alfa Romeo factory. The day before the race, Ugo Sivocci had an accident in training with one of the three P1 on the wet track and was killed. Alfa Romeo then canceled participation in the race. For Alfa Romeo it was the premature end of the season and ultimately also the end of the P1.

The Alfa Romeo P2 appeared in 1924 and was developed by Vittorio Jano , whom the then factory driver Enzo Ferrari had meanwhile poached from Fiat . The car had a compressor-loaded eight-cylinder engine with 1987 cc displacement, which developed up to 103  kW (140  hp ) and allowed a top speed of 225 km / h. Alfa Romeo won its first Grand Prix world title with the P2 in 1925 . Six of them had been built by 1930, achieving a total of 18 victories.

In 1932 the successor Alfa Romeo P3 , also called Type B, was built by Jano. The P3 cars were equipped with a 2.7-liter engine and developed 158 kW (215 PS). They dominated numerous Grand Prix races in the following years. The P3s have also been used successfully in many hill climbs. A total of 15 pieces were produced, which together achieved an impressive number of 29 victories. The winning drivers included Rudolf Caracciola , Tazio Nuvolari , Louis Chiron and Mario Tadini .

Web links

Commons : Alfa Romeo P1  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files
Commons : Alfa Romeo P2  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files
Commons : Alfa Romeo P3  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Alfa Romeo GPR Giorgio Sivocci, accessed October 1, 2009 .
  2. ↑ a b Ugo Sivocci. (PDF; 148 kB) Museo Nazionale dell'Automobile, accessed on October 1, 2009 (Italian).
  3. ↑ 1925. La P2 Campione del Mondo. Alfa Romeo, accessed September 27, 2009 (Italian).