Alfa Romeo Tipo 316

**Alfa Romeo Tipo 316**
Constructor:	Alfa Romeo
Designer:	Gioacchino Colombo
Predecessor:	Alfa Romeo 12C (technical)
Successor:	Alfa Romeo Tipo 158/159 (chronological)
Technical specifications
Chassis:	Aluminum body, tubular steel frame
Engine:	Alfa Romeo 2958 cc V16 with supercharger, 350 PS (261 kW), 7500 rpm
Wheelbase:	2635 mm
statistics
Driver:	Nino Farina Clemente Biondetti;
World Cup points:	-
Podiums:	-
Leadership laps:	-

The Alfa Romeo Tipo 316 was a racing car made by Alfa Romeo in 1938. The model is also known as the 316 and 16C-316 . It was used in the 1938 and 1939 seasons ; four of these cars were probably built. The drivers were Nino Farina and Clemente Biondetti .

The Tipo 316 was one of three Alfa Romeo concepts that the Milan-based automaker had developed in order to be competitive within the new regulations for the 1938 season. The three cars differed mainly in their motorization. The other two models were the Tipo 308 and the Tipo 312, which were equipped with an in-line eight-cylinder and a V12 engine, respectively.

The third car, the 316, like the Tipo 312, was a further development of the 12C-37 , but had a 16-cylinder engine , which consisted of two 8-cylinder blocks that were put together at an angle of 60 ° and each with its own crankshaft and had their own compressor. Since there was no space in front of the engine for the compressors, they had to be placed between the cylinder heads. This “package” developed an output of around 350 hp (260 kW) at 7500 rpm. The engine was more powerful than the engines of the Tipo 308 and 312, but still not really competitive against the German teams of that era.

This engine was installed in a specially prepared 8C / 35/308 chassis for the 1938 Tripoli Grand Prix , where it showed promise in practice but failed to meet expectations during the race. Development of the car was halted when the team focused on the 1.5-liter Alfetta and the 316 wasn't used until the Italian Grand Prix , where it finished second. At the Belgian Grand Prix of 1939 , the car driven by Farina had a new distinctive nose in the "dolphin head" style. In the first round Farina fought for the lead, but lost position after position due to the disadvantage compared to the German Silver Arrows . Although he remained the best-placed participant on a non-German make, he had already been lapped twice in the second half of the race by the time he was eliminated (because the compressor failed).

Web links

Racing-Database.com (English)
Alfa Romeo Tipo 312 / Tipo 316 (English)
auto-motor-und-sport.de
Drawingdatabase.com three-sided view of the 312