 | |
| Category | Grand Prix 750 kg |
|---|---|
| Constructor | Alfa Romeo |
| Team/s | 1932–Alfa Corse 1933/1935 -Scuderia Ferrari |
| Designer | Vittorio Jano |
| Predecessor | Alfa Romeo Tipo A |
| Successor | 1935 Monoposto 8C 35 Type C |
| 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 independentDubonnet 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 RootsSuperchargers 1932 - 2654 cc, (65x100mm) |
| Gearbox | Alfa Romeo 4-speedmanual 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 | 1932Italian Grand Prix, Tazio Nuvolari, 1st |
| Races competed | |
| Constructors' Championships | Not applicable before 1958 |
| Drivers' Championships | Not applicable before 1950 |
| Race victories | 46 1932Italian Grand Prix, Tazio Nuvolari 1932French Grand Prix, Tazio Nuvolari 1932German Grand Prix, Rudolf Caracciola 1932Coppa Ciano, Tazio Nuvolari 1932Coppa Acerbo, Tazio Nuvolari 1932Monza Grand Prix, Rudolf Caracciola 1933Coppa Acerbo, Luigi Fagioli 1933Grand Prix du Comminges, Luigi Fagioli 1933Marseille Grand Prix, Louis Chiron 1933Italian Grand Prix, Luigi Fagioli 1933Masaryk Circuit, Louis Chiron 1933Spanish Grand Prix, Louis Chiron 1934Monaco Grand Prix,Guy Moll 1934Alessandria Grand Prix,Achille Varzi 1934Tripoli Grand Prix, Achille Varzi 1934Casablanca Grand Prix, Louis Chiron 1934Targa Florio, Achille Varzi 1934Internationale Avus Rennen, Guy Moll 1934Mannin Moar, Hon. Brian Lewis 1934Montreux Grand Prix, Comte Trossi 1934Penya Rhin GP, Achille Varzi 1934Grand Prix de France, Louis Chiron 1934Grand Prix de la Marne, Louis Chiron 1934GP de Vichy, Comte Carlo Trossi, 1934German Grand Prix, Tazio Nuvolari 1934Coppa Ciano, Achille Varzi 1934Grand Prix de Nice, Achille Varzi 1934Grand Prix du Comminges,Gianfranco Comotti 1934Circuito di Biella, Comte Trossi, 1935Grand Prix du Pau, Tazio Nuvolari 1935Bergamo Circuit, Tazio Nuvolari 1935GP de France, Raymond Sommer 1935Biella Circuit, Tazio Nuvolari 1935Lorraine GP, Louis Chiron 1935Marne GP, René Dreyfus 1935Dieppe GP, René Dreyfus 1935Varese Circuit, Vittorio Belmondo 1935German Grand Prix, Tazio Nuvolari 1935GP du Comminges, Raymond Sommer 1935Coppa Ciano, Tazio Nuvolari 1935Nice GP, Tazio Nuvolari 1935Coppa Edda Ciano, Mario Tadini 1935Donington GP, Richard Shuttleworth 1935Coppa della Sila, Antonio Brivio 1935Brooklands Mountain Circuit Championship, Richard Shuttleworth |
| Last season | 1935 |
TheAlfa Romeo P3,P3monoposto orTipo B was a classic Grand Prix car designed byVittorio Jano, one of theAlfa Romeo 8C models. The P3 is considered to be the world's first genuine single-seat Grand Prix racing car[1] and was Alfa Romeo's secondmonoposto after the Tipo A monoposto (1931).[2] It was based on the earlier successfulAlfa 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.
Introduced halfway through the European1932 Grand Prix season in June, the P3 won its first race at the hands ofTazio Nuvolari and went on to win 6 races in total in that year, driven by both Nuvolari andRudolf Caracciola. These victories included all three major Grands Prix in Italy, France and Germany.
The1933 Grand Prix season brought financial difficulties to Alfa Corse, so the cars were simply locked away and Alfa intended 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 toScuderia 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 the1934 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 GermanSilver 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 the1935 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 the1935 German Grand Prix at theNürburgring, in the heartland of theMercedes andAuto-Union empire. In the race, Nuvolari punctured a tyre early on while leading, but after his next pitstop he carved back through the field until the last lap whenManfred von Brauchitsch, driving the more powerful 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, cementing its status as a truly great racing car.
| Technical data | 1932 | 1934 | 1935 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine: | Front mounted 8-cylinderin-line engine | ||
| displacement: | 2654 cm3 | 2905 cm3 | 3822 cm3 |
| Bore x stroke: | 65 x 100mm | 68 x 100mm | 78 x 100 mm |
| Max power: | 215 hp | 255 hp | 330 hp |
| Valve control: | 2 overheadcamshafts, 2valves per cylinder | ||
| Upload: | 2Roots compressors | ||
| Gearbox: | 4-speed manual | 3-speed manual | |
| suspension front: | Stiff front axle | Individual, type Dubonnet | |
| Front suspension: | Longitudinal leaf springs | Coil springs | |
| suspension rear: | Stiff rear axle | ||
| Rear suspension: | Longitudinal leaf springs | Cantilever Suspension | |
| Brakes: | Hydraulic drum brakes | ||
| Wheelbase: | 264 cm | 267 cm | |
| Dry weight: | About 700 kg | ||
| Top speed: | 230 km/h | ? km/h | ? km/h |
