Alfa Romeo P2
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| Constructor: | Vittorio Jano | ||||||||
| Predecessor: | Alfa Romeo P1 | ||||||||
| Successor: | Alfa Romeo Tipo A | ||||||||
| Technical specifications | |||||||||
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| Chassis: | conventional lead frame | ||||||||
| Engine: | 8-cylinder in-line engine with 1987 cm³ Roots compressor |
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| Length: | 3970 mm | ||||||||
| Width: | 1560 mm | ||||||||
| Height: | 1080 mm | ||||||||
| Wheelbase: | 2623 mm | ||||||||
| Weight: | 750 kg | ||||||||
| Tires: | Pirelli | ||||||||
| Petrol: | petrol | ||||||||
| statistics | |||||||||
| Driver: |
 Antonio Ascari Giuseppe Campari Gastone Brilli-Peri Achille Varzi Tazio Nuvolari
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| World Cup points: | - | ||||||||
| Podiums: | - | ||||||||
| Leadership laps: | - | ||||||||
The Alfa Romeo P2 was a racing car that Vittorio Jano developed for Alfa Romeo in 1924 as the successor to the P1 . The car was Jano's first pure racing creation for Alfa Romeo after Nicola Romeo stopped racing the P1 due to its poor performance at the 1923 Monza Grand Prix against Fiat. The P2 was powered by Alfa’s first 8-cylinder supercharged engine with 2 carburettors behind the compressor. 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.
background
In 1923, after Ugo Sivocci's accident and the associated withdrawal for the rest of the season, the head of the design department, Giuseppe Merosi , was dismissed and replaced by Vittorio Jano, whom the then factory driver Enzo Ferrari had poached from Fiat . Jano immediately started designing the P2.
technology
Chassis: The frame with its C-shaped longitudinal bars and cross members pressed from steel tapered towards the rear in order to enable the aerodynamically favorable, pointed shape of the body. The front and rear suspension was designed as a rigid axle with friction shock absorbers and leaf springs. The car had drum brakes on all four wheels, which were operated mechanically with pedals and hand controls. The engine power of the P2 was transmitted to the rear wheels via a single-disc dry clutch and a four-speed gearbox.
Body: According to the 1924 regulations , the “Torpedo” body had two seats that were staggered, the right one for the driver and the left one for the mechanic. The radiator grille was rounded off and the car had a smooth underbody to further optimize the aerodynamics. Originally, two types of rear end were tested, first the aerodynamically more favorable "pointed" rear end, which was taken from the later 8C 2300 Monza , and second the “top box” to accommodate the spare wheel, similar to the shape of the previous RL TF .
Engine: The car had a compressor-loaded eight-cylinder engine with 1987 cc displacement with a bore of 61 mm and a stroke of 85 mm, which developed up to 103 kW (140 hp ). The top speed was given as 225 km / h (139 mph). The two valves per cylinder were controlled by two overhead camshafts ( DOHC ). The Roots compressor was installed in the front part of the engine compartment and was driven by the crankshaft. From there, the compressed air was passed through a duct with cooling fins (a kind of precursor of the intercooler ) to the carburetors on the right side of the engine.
The original concept was for a single carburetor, but the engine was soon equipped with two Memini carburetors, so that in 1924 the first version had 140 hp. In 1925, the power increased to 155 hp and in 1930 175 hp were measured (albeit with an extended stroke of 61.5 mm), always at a speed of 5500 rpm, which was one of the highest at that time.
Racing history
The first P2 was prepared by Alfa Romeo in 1924 for the "200 Miglia" on June 9, 1924 on the Circuito di Cremona in northern Italy. Antonio Ascari won the race with an average speed of over 158 km / h. Then he set a new world record on the 10-kilometer start-finish straight with an impressive speed of 195 km / h.
On August 3rd, Alfa Romeo started at the Grand Prix de l'Automobile Club de France in Lyon in front of 400,000 spectators with three P2s for Antonio Ascari, Giuseppe Campari and Louis Wagner. Campari won this prestigious race. The P2, now with 2 carburettors and 5 hp more power, scored another victory at the Italian Grand Prix on October 19th with Antonio Ascari, followed by Wagner and Campari (also on Alfa).
The P2 won the first automobile world championship for Alfa Romeo in 1925 and won two of the four championship rounds when Antonio Ascari drove it to victory at the European Grand Prix at Spa and Gastone Brilli-Peri (after the death of Ascari at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza) won.
Although the 1925 season brought drastic changes in the regulations, the P2 won 14 Grand Prix and other major events from 1924 to 1930, including the Targa Florio . Together with the Bugatti Type 35 , it was one of the legendary Grand Prix cars of the 1920s and made it possible for Alfa Romeo as world champion to include the laurel wreath in their logo.
For the 1926 season , the displacement was reduced to 1.5 liters, which made the P2 obsolete. The cars were sold to private drivers and only used in formula-free races across Italy in the following seasons . The most successful was the car that was sold to Campari: in 1927 and 1928 it won the Coppa Acerbo on the Pescara circuit. After this car was sold to Achille Varzi in 1929, it won the Italian championship with victories in Alessandria, Rome, Livorno and Monza.
In the same year Brilli-Peri won another P2 in Tunis and Cremona. On this occasion, the performance increase that the P2 had experienced since its debut was clearly evident: on the 10 km / h start-finish straight of the Circuito di Cremona, it achieved a speed of over 28 km / h at 223.400 km / h Ascari six years earlier with the same car.
P2 designer Vittorio Jano (left) and Antonio Ascari (center) at the GP in Italy on October 19, 1924.
The Alfa Romeo P2 at the 1924 Italian Grand Prix with the entire Alfa Romeo racing team.
Peter de Paolo (in the car) and Giulio Ramponis at the Italian GP in Monza on September 6, 1925; in the background the P2 # 14 from Brilli-Peri.
Gastone Brilli-Peri on the way to victory at the 1929 Tunis Grand Prix.
The P2-30
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Alfa Romeo's still numerous successes and major problems in designing a competitive car from scratch in a short time (Jano was busy developing the 6C series and the future 8C model series as well as the Tipo B "P3" ), persuaded the new director of the plant, Prospero Gianferrari, to buy back three of the P2 sold and to use them again as a works racing car.
The chassis of these "old P2" were modified to accommodate front and rear axles with a wider track, which, like the steering and brakes, came from the new 6C series. Modifications were also made to the suspension (leaf springs and friction dampers).
The engine's stroke (piston travel) was increased slightly to 61.5 mm, which increased the displacement to 2006 cm³ and the power to 175 hp at 5500 rpm. In addition, the charging system has been changed by placing the carburetor behind the compressor, as in the Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 GS , instead of in front of the compressor as before. But they very quickly reverted to the original arrangement, which offered a better yield with this engine. The body has also been redesigned; the radiator became flatter and more inclined, similar to that of the 6C 1750 GS, and the bonnet was adapted to it with straight and non-curved sides. The oil tank was mounted under the mechanic's seat, and at the rear, an unusual recess in the body and fuel tank accommodated the spare wheel lengthways, as in the 1914 Peugeot Grand Prix.
These vehicles, optimized with parts of the 6C 1750 and other modifications, were named P2-30 after the year of their reconstruction . They were entrusted to Scuderia Ferrari , newly founded by the previous works driver Enzo Ferrari , who used them in some GPs, the Targa Florio and in some formula-free races, despite the “grumpy” driving behavior that the champion Giuseppe Campari denounced.
At the 1930 Targa Florio, Achille Varzi and his mechanic Tabacchi achieved overall victory against the favorite Bugatti and Maserati. After that, the Scuderia handed a P2-30 to Tazio Nuvolari to some hill climbs participate. However, the days of this car were over: the Bugatti and Maserati had become too strong and the last official appearance of the P2 came on the occasion of the first Czechoslovak Grand Prix in Brno on the Masaryk Ring . The race ended with 3rd place for Nuvolari and Borzacchini , who shared the cockpit. The successors were first the 8C 2300 Monza, then the Tipo A and especially the Tipo B. The latter was so successful that it was nicknamed "P3" by fans of the brand and by specialist magazines.
Victories
Others
Only two of the six original models have survived and can be seen in the Museo storico Alfa Romeo in Arese or in the Museo Nazionale dell'Automobile in Turin . The P2 had two body styles with either a cut-off or a long tail.
One of the P2 was featured on the spectacular annual event sculpture at the 2010 Goodwood Festival of Speed .
Web links
- Ultimatecarpage.com information, pictures and technical data about the P2. Retrieved June 19, 2020 (en).
- Alfa Romeo GP Tipo P2 - 1925 On Youtube. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
- Alfa Romeo P2 on Youtube. Retrieved June 19, 2020 (it).
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b 1924 - 1925 Alfa Romeo P2 - Images, Specifications and Information. Retrieved June 19, 2020 .
- ↑ a b Luigi Fusi, Tutti i modelli dal 1910, Milano, Emmeti Grafica Editrice, 1978.
- ↑ 1925. La P2 Campione del Mondo. Alfa Romeo, accessed September 27, 2009 (Italian).
- ↑ 1924 - 1925 Alfa Romeo P2 - Images, Specifications and Information. Retrieved June 19, 2020 .
- ↑ 1924 - 1925 Alfa Romeo P2 - Images, Specifications and Information. Retrieved June 19, 2020 .
- ↑ 2010 Goodwood Festival of Speed. In: AUSmotive.com. Retrieved June 19, 2020 (English).
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