Car · Alfa Romeo · 1950–1951
Alfa Romeo 158/159 Alfetta
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.
- Seasons
- 1950–1951
- Variants
- 2
- Entries
- 48
- Wins
- 11
- Poles
- 10
- Fastest laps
- 13
- Drivers' titles
- 2
Why it mattered
The idea. A pre-war voiturette design, hidden through the war and brought back to win the first two World Championships
New on this car. Nothing new: the point of the 158 is that a 1938 design was still the best car in the world in 1951
What it did. Every race entered in 1950; 4 of 7 in 1951. Drivers' titles for Farina and Fangio.
- Designers
- Gioacchino Colombo
- Supersedes
- —
- Design life
- 1950–1951
- Confidence
- high
Variants 2
Specification — 158
- Chassis
- Single-seater, tubular frame
- Front suspension
- Trailing arm, transverse leaf springs, hydraulic dampers
- Rear suspension
- Swing axle*, transverse leaf spring, hydraulic dampers; *De-Dion-axle was one of the last modifications 1951.
- Brakes
- drum
- Gearbox
- Alfa
- Gears
- 5-speed
- Tyres
- Pirelli
- Fuel
- Shell (98.5% methanol, 1% Castor oil, 0.5% water)
- Engine
- Alfa Romeo 158/159
- Configuration
- straight-8
- Capacity
- 1,479 cc
- Aspiration
- supercharged
- Power
- —
- Power note
- Over 300 bhp as the 158 in 1950; about 420 bhp at 9,600 rpm as the 159 in 1951
- Weight
- —
- Wheelbase
- 2,502 mm
- Track, front
- 1,250 mm
- Track, rear
- 1,250 mm
A blank is a figure nobody published for this car. Where several teams quote the same number in a season it is usually the rule they were all built to rather than a measurement, so it is kept with the regulation limits instead of here.
Every entry 48 entries
Show all 48 entriesShow the first 10, Every entry
Where this comes from
- Constructor
- Alfa Romeo
- Predecessor
- Alfa Romeo Tipo 512
- Successor
- Alfa Special
- Races (published)
- 41
- Wins (published)
- 37
- Poles (published)
- 10
- Confidence
- reference
- Specification source
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfa_Romeo_158/159_Alfetta
- Register source
- https://github.com/f1db/f1db