Alfa Romeo 158/159 Alfetta
- Constructor
- alfa-romeo
- Years
- 1950–1951
- Designers
- Gioacchino Colombo
- Engine
- Alfa Romeo 158/159 straight-8
- Configuration
- supercharged straight-8, 1479 cc, supercharged
- Power
- 420 bhp (Over 300 bhp as the 158 in 1950; about 420 bhp at 9,600 rpm as the 159 in 1951)
- Chassis
- tubular frame
- Gearbox
- Alfa 5-speed manual
- Suspension
- Front: trailing arm, transverse leaf springs. Rear: swing axle with transverse leaf spring, replaced by a de Dion axle on the 159
- Brakes
- drum
- Weight
- 710 kg
- Wheelbase
- 2502 mm
- Tyres
- Pirelli
- Races
- 13
- Wins
- 10
- Poles
- 10
- Drivers' titles
- 2
- Constructors' titles
- 0
- Specification confidence
- high
A pre-war voiturette design, hidden through the war and brought back to win the first two World Championships
Nothing new: the point of the 158 is that a 1938 design was still the best car in the world in 1951
Alfa entered 1950 with a car designed twelve years earlier and won every race it started. By 1951 it was drinking fuel at about 1.5 miles per gallon and needed two stops where the Ferrari 375 needed one; Fangio won the title anyway, at Barcelona, when Ferrari picked the wrong tyre size. Alfa then withdrew from Grand Prix racing entirely rather than build a successor, which is why 1952 and 1953 were run to Formula Two rules.
Every race entered in 1950; 4 of 7 in 1951. Drivers' titles for Farina and Fangio.