Autodelta

Equipped with an Alfa Romeo engine developed by Autodelta: the Brabham BT46B

Developed at Autodelta: the 1977 Alfa Romeo 177, the prototype for Alfa Romeo's return to Formula 1

The Italian company Autodelta was founded on March 5, 1963 by Carlo Chiti together with his then partner Lodovico Chizzola in Feletto Umberto, a district of Tavagnacco ( Friuli-Venezia Giulia region ). The company's purpose was the development, construction and tuning of vehicles for motorsport. The spelling “Auto-Delta” and “Auto Delta” can also be seen as company names.

history

Chiti had already worked for Alfa Romeo in the 1950s, then went to Ferrari , but left in 1961 due to disagreements with Enzo Ferrari . His partner Chizzola was an Alfa dealer in Udine . From the beginning there was a very close cooperation with Alfa Romeo .

Initially, the company dealt with the Alfa Romeo TZ 1 and developed the much more successful TZ 2 as its successor. The Alfa Romeo Giulia TI Super was also involved in rallying . In 1964, at the urging of Alfa Romeo, the company's headquarters were relocated from Udine to Settimo Milanese , near Milan . The recently opened Alfa Romeo test site in Balocco in the province of Vercelli was also nearby. Autodelta co-founder Chizzola decided against moving to Milan and stayed in Udine. From 1966 Alfa Romeo took over the small and innovative company, whereby Autodelta remained a legally independent subsidiary under the leadership of Chiti. The vehicles appeared under the manufacturer's name and with the Autodelta logo. The fact that Alfa Romeo was a state-owned company at the time and that an indirect form of involvement in motorsport was preferred also played a role here.

Autodelta's heyday now began. After the TZ 2, extremely successful cars were developed for motorsport in the second half of the 1960s and 1970s. The Giulia GTA and the Tipo 33/3 were the basis for numerous variants . Motor sports enthusiasts or those who would like to appear like that, could have their Alfa upgraded individually at Autodelta. Autodelta's racing cars and their drivers dominated the racetracks in Europe for around two decades.

Autodelta also accompanied Alfa Romeo in Formula 1 . Since the mid-1970s, Autodelta has been producing Formula 1 engines that were supplied exclusively to the British racing team Brabham . The Brabham BT 46, with which Niki Lauda won two GPs in 1978 , was powered by a twelve-cylinder boxer engine from Autodelta. In 1979 Alfa Romeo entered Formula 1 with its own car and sometimes competed for one season. The Alfa Romeo Formula 1 commitment was managed by Autodelta until 1982. This is where the vehicles and engines were developed and Autodelta organized the races. Between 1980 and 1982 some minor successes could be achieved, but a big victory was failed. Susceptibility to defects and heavy and thirsty engines prevented Alfa Romeo from making a better performance in F1. At the end of the 1982 Formula 1 season , Alfa Romeo ended its factory involvement in Formula 1. Autodelta was withdrawn from racing. The Formula 1 equipment was sold to the independent Italian team Euroracing , which took part in Formula 1 between 1983 and 1985 under its own responsibility, using the name Alfa Romeo. Organizationally, however, neither Autodelta nor Alfa Romeo had anything to do with this project.

A few years later, Alfa Romeo set up a new racing department in Settimo Milanese - Alfa Corse. However, Autodelta itself was dead. All subsequent activities under the name Autodelta had nothing in common with the original company except the name.

At the beginning of 2000, the traditional department was reactivated by Alfa Romeo. The first major successes of the present were achieved with the Alfa 156 GTA when Gabriele Tarquini won the European Touring Car Championship in 2002 and 2003 .

Results

Victories in the sports car world championship

year	run	vehicle	Driver 1	Driver 2
1971	Brands Hatch 1000km race	Alfa Romeo T33 / 3	France Henri Pescarolo	Italy Andrea de Adamich
	Targa Florio	Alfa Romeo T33 / 3	Italy Nino Vaccarella	Netherlands Toine Hezemans
	Watkins Glen 6 hour race	Alfa Romeo T33 / 3	Sweden Ronnie Peterson	Italy Andrea de Adamich
1974	1000 km race from Monza	Alfa Romeo 33TT12	Italy Arturo Merzario	United States Mario Andretti
1977	500 km race from Dijon	Alfa Romeo 33SC12	Italy Arturo Merzario	France Jean-Pierre Jarier
	500 km race from Monza	Alfa Romeo 33SC12	Italy Vittorio Brambilla	France Jean-Pierre Jarier
	400 km race from Vallelunga	Alfa Romeo 33SC12	Italy Vittorio Brambilla	Italy Spartaco Dini
	Coppa Florio	Alfa Romeo 33SC12	Italy Arturo Merzario
	Estoril 2.5 hour race	Alfa Romeo 33SC12	Italy Arturo Merzario
	500 km race from Le Castellet	Alfa Romeo 33SC12	Italy Arturo Merzario	France Jean-Pierre Jarier
	Imola 250 km race	Alfa Romeo 33SC12	Italy Vittorio Brambilla
	300 km race on the Salzburgring	Alfa Romeo 33SC12	Italy Vittorio Brambilla