Alfa Romeo P3 Category Grand Prix 750 kg Constructor Alfa Romeo Team/s 1932– Alfa Corse1933/1935 - 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 Borzacchini1933 + Louis Chiron, Luigi Fagioli, Giuseppe Campari1934 + Achille Varzi, Louis Chiron, Guy Moll, Brian E. Lewis, Carlo Felice Trossi, Gianfranco Comotti1935 + 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 Balestrero1936 + 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 dampers1935 independent Dubonnet system with trailing links Suspension (rear) Semi elliptic leaf springs, friction dampers1935 reversed quarter elliptic leaf springs Engine Front mounted, Alfa Romeo,Straight-8 (two straight 4 blocks),Twin Roots Superchargers 1932 - 2654 cc, (65x100mm) 1934 - 2905 cc, (68x100mm) 1935 - 3167 cc, (71x100mm) bored out for German Grand Prix Gearbox Alfa Romeo 4-speed manualc.1934 Alfa Romeo 3-speed manual Wheelbase Track Front , Rear Dry Weight 1,545 lb (700 kg) Fuel Tyres 1932– Dunlop1933/35 - Englebert Debut 1932 Italian Grand Prix, Tazio Nuvolari, 1st Races competed Constructors' Championships Not applicable before 1958 Drivers' Championships Not applicable before 1950 Race victories 461932 Italian Grand Prix, Tazio Nuvolari1932 French Grand Prix, Tazio Nuvolari1932 German Grand Prix, Rudolf Caracciola1932 Coppa Ciano, Tazio Nuvolari1932 Coppa Acerbo, Tazio Nuvolari1932 Monza Grand Prix, Rudolf Caracciola1933 Coppa Acerbo, Luigi Fagioli1933 Grand Prix du Comminges, Luigi Fagioli1933 Marseille Grand Prix, Louis Chiron1933 Italian Grand Prix, Luigi Fagioli1933 Masaryk Circuit, Louis Chiron1933 Spanish Grand Prix, Louis Chiron1934 Monaco Grand Prix, Guy Moll1934 Alessandria Grand Prix, Achille Varzi1934 Tripoli Grand Prix, Achille Varzi1934 Casablanca Grand Prix, Louis Chiron1934 Targa Florio, Achille Varzi1934 Internationale Avus Rennen, Guy Moll1934 Mannin Moar, Hon. Brian Lewis1934 Montreux Grand Prix, Comte Trossi1934 Penya Rhin GP, Achille Varzi1934 Grand Prix de France, Louis Chiron1934 Grand Prix de la Marne, Louis Chiron1934 GP de Vichy, Comte Carlo Trossi,1934 German Grand Prix, Tazio Nuvolari1934 Coppa Ciano, Achille Varzi1934 Grand Prix de Nice, Achille Varzi1934 Grand Prix du Comminges, Gianfranco Comotti1934 Circuito di Biella, Comte Trossi,1935 Grand Prix du Pau, Tazio Nuvolari1935 Bergamo Circuit, Tazio Nuvolari1935 GP de France, Raymond Sommer1935 Biella Circuit, Tazio Nuvolari1935 Lorraine GP, Louis Chiron1935 Marne GP, René Dreyfus1935 Dieppe GP, René Dreyfus1935 Varese Circuit, Vittorio Belmondo1935 German Grand Prix, Tazio Nuvolari1935 GP du Comminges, Raymond Sommer1935 Coppa Ciano, Tazio Nuvolari1935 Nice GP, Tazio Nuvolari1935 Coppa Edda Ciano, Mario Tadini1935 Donington GP, Richard Shuttleworth1935 Coppa della Sila, Antonio Brivio1935 Brooklands Mountain Circuit Championship, Richard Shuttleworth Last season 1935
The Alfa Romeo P3, P3 monoposto or Tipo B was a classic Grand Prix car designed by Vittorio Jano, one of the Alfa Romeo 8C models. The P3 is considered to be the world's first genuine single-seat Grand Prix racing car and was Alfa Romeo's second monoposto after the Tipo A monoposto (1931). It was based on the earlier successful Alfa 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.
Description
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 European 1932 Grand Prix season in June, the P3 won its first race at the hands of Tazio Nuvolari and went on to win 6 races in total in that year, driven by both Nuvolari and Rudolf Caracciola. These victories included all three major Grands Prix in Italy, France and Germany.
The 1933 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 to Scuderia 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 the 1934 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 German Silver 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 the 1935 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 the 1935 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, in the heartland of the Mercedes and Auto-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 when Manfred 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.
Technical data
Technical data 1932 1934 1935 Engine: Front mounted 8-cylinder in-line engine displacement: 2654 cm32905 cm33167 cm33822 cm3 Bore x stroke: 65 x 100mm 68 x 100mm 71 x 100mm 78 x 100 mm Max power: 215 hp255 hp265 hp330 hp Valve control: 2 overhead camshafts, 2 valves per cylinder Upload: 2 Roots compressors Gearbox: 4-speed manual3-speed manual suspension front: Stiff front axleIndividual, type Dubonnet Front suspension: Longitudinal leaf springsCoil springs suspension rear: Stiff rear axle Rear suspension: Longitudinal leaf springsCantilever Suspension Brakes: Hydraulic drum brakes Wheelbase: 264-266 cm 267 cm Dry weight: About 700 kg Top speed: 230 km/h? km/h? km/h? km/h
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, José Padierna de Villapadierna, Giovanni Battaglia, Clemente Biondetti, Austin Dobson
Notes
References Profile of P3 at Grand Prix History The Golden Age by Leif Snellman
External links Results Tables by Quintin Cloud
de:Alfa Romeo P1/P2/P3