1951 Alfa Romeo Gran Premio 159

Won the 1951 World Championship with J. Manuel Fangio.
By Daniel Vaughan | Oct 2005

In August of 1938, the 158 began its racing career victorious, finishing first and second at Livorno. It was driven by Villoresi and Biondetti. This would signal the beginning of a successful racing career that would last for 13 years. During World War II, racing was postponed and the 158s were put into storage. Six years later, they were brought out of retirement and brought back to the track.

The 15 represented the cubic centimeters of the engine, while the 8 was for the number of cylinders. So the 158 was equipped with a supercharged 1500cc, 8-cylinder engine capable of producing 200 horsepower at 7000 rpm. The engine was designed by Gioacchino Colombo.

Gioacchino Colombo started out being the primary builder of Ferrari's engines in the late 1940s and was a major contributor to the success of Ferrari. Aurelio Lampredi became his assistant in 1947. Lampredi soon became convinced that a large engine that was naturally aspirated would have better fuel economy and provide more power. Colombo was of the belief that a smaller engine coupled with a supercharger would produce better results. Ferrari tested Lampredi's idea and proved it to be successful. Lampredi was promoted to chief design engineer, and Colombo returned to Alfa Romeo. The Lampredi engines were used by Ferrari in the ladder part of the 1950s.

The supercharger was a single-stage, Roots-type, that provided 17.6 psi of boost.

In 1946, the 158's were modified to meet Formula Libre regulations. The 158 now produced 254 horsepower.

In 1947, the 158/47 came about due to new regulations for the Formula 1 class. As a result, the horsepower rating was increased to over 300.

In 1951, Alfa Romeo modified the 158 and renamed it the 159. The engine was now producing 420 horsepower, which was sufficient enough to beat the 4.5-liter Ferrari to score Juan Manuel Fangio a World Championship.

For the 1952 season, the regulations were changed for the World Championship series, which meant the 159 was now obsolete. Since they were only created in 1951, only four were produced.

The 159 was powered by an eight-cylinder engine with twin roots-type superchargers. The single-seater 1500-pound racer was able to propel to a top speed of nearly 200 mph.

By Daniel Vaughan | Oct 2005