1938 Alfa Romeo Type 308

When Vittorio Jano designed the 2.3L eight cylinder of 1932, the Alfa Romeo 8C was born. One of the most famous engines to ever power an automobile, the mill provided motivation for some of the most scandalously gorgeous and sinfully fast cars of the era.

The original 8C inspired the current Alfa Romeo supercar of the same name, as well as a legion of admirers with dedication that borders on insanity. Want proof of the hallmark extremes belonging to hardcore 8C fans? A sought-after book by Simon Moore, titled The Immortal 2.9, is a rare volume detailing the limited production run of the Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B. The book regularly retails for about $1,500.

The Alfa eight cylinder conquered the racing world for a couple years following its introduction. Alfa earned a reputation as an unbeatable force, and the cars just kept getting better as the car maker reached for the sky. By 1934, though, increasing competition from Germany brought Alfa back down to Earth.

Auto Union and Mercedes-Benz were building ferocious machines capable of defeating even the fiery Italians. As racing had become a necessary component of Alfa's business and a key to upholding the firm's status, the losses to Germany were very difficult.

A pressured Alfa, taken over by fascist Italy's Institute for Industrial Reconstruction, was fumbling its efforts to regain a competitive advantage. The resistance to defeat proved fruitless. While the Germans were dumping untold fortunes into the development of new, high-tech cars, Alfa's relatively limited funds and sloppy, bureaucratic organization could pursue only updated versions of recent models.

In 1937 came an unsuccessful bout of 12 cylinder race cars designed by Jano. The worsening struggle into which these racers threw Alfa prompted the firing of Vittorio Jano. Though success was not far off in the form of the 1.5L Tipo 158 'Alfetta,' some mediocrity still followed the company immediately after Jano's expulsion. Alfa Romeo's Tipo 308 typified the company's fight to get back to its former success.

The 308 was an acceptable car, but it just wasn't as competitive as Alfa had wished. An expected 4 were built during 1938 under Gioachino Colombo's design. The vehicle seemed rather conventional next to its famed predecessors, some of which used twin superchargers driven by eight cylinders or even twin-engines of six cylinders apiece. Still, its design was advanced with four wheel independent suspension and an enlarged version of the 8C mill.

The supercharged straight eight, based off the 2900 unit, was modified for competition in the 3-liter Grand Prix class. It displaced 2,991cc and, with 295hp, churned out incredibly close to 100hp per liter. It was linked to a four-speed transmission that sent power to rear swing axles suspended by transverse leaf springs.

In basic design, the 308 was too similar to the road-going 2900B. While the 2900B was a good enough road car to inspire a book that now retails in the four-figure range, it was not intended to be a competitive Grand Prix car. The 308 suffered from just the sort of problem that German race cars of the time had the luxury of avoiding. It was a good car, but its hand-me-down design origins prevented it from delivering genuine competition to the new German kings.

Though the 308 wasn't the vehicle to lift Alfa out of its racing turmoil, salvation was on the horizon. The 1.5L Alfetta, first introduced in 158 guise, was a good design aided in production by Enzo Ferrari. It faced reliability issues at first, but the cars persisted until automotive efforts were halted by World War II. The 158 reappeared after the war. In 1950, Alfa Romeo once again took the grand prix World Championship thanks to the upgraded 158.

Sources:

Braden, Pat. Alfa Romeo Owner's Bible. Cambridge, MA: Bentley Publishers, 1994. Print.

Snellman, Leif. 'Alfa Romeo Tipo 308 (Grand Prix 3 litre).' The Golden Era of Grand Prix Racing 06 Mar 2008 Web.16 Apr 2009. http://www.kolumbus.fi/leif.snellman/c1.htm.

By Evan Acuña