The Alfa Romeo P3, P3

monoposto An open-wheel single-seater (often known as formula car) is a car with the wheels outside the car's main body, and usually having only one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, sports cars, stock cars, and touring cars, which have thei ...

or Tipo B was a classic Grand Prix car designed by

Vittorio Jano Vittorio Jano ( hu, János Viktor; 22 April 1891 – 13 March 1965) was an Italian automobile designer of Hungarian descent from the 1920s through 1960s. Jano was born ''Viktor János'' in San Giorgio Canavese, in Piedmont, to Hungarian immi ...

, one of the

Alfa Romeo 8C The Alfa Romeo 8C was originally a range of Alfa Romeo road, Auto racing, race and sports cars of the 1930s. In 2004 Alfa Romeo revived the 8C name for a V8-engined concept car which made it into production for 2007, the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizion ...

models. The P3 was first genuine single-seat Grand Prix racing car and Alfa Romeo's second

after Tipo A monoposto (1931). It was based on the earlier successful

Alfa Romeo P2 The Alfa Romeo P2 won the inaugural Automobile World Championship in 1925, taking victory in two of the four championship rounds when Antonio Ascari drove it in the European Grand Prix at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Spa and Gastone Brilli-Peri w ...

. 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. The P3 was introduced in June, halfway through the

1932 Grand Prix season The 1932 Grand Prix season marked the second year of the AIACR European Championship. It saw the debut of Alfa Romeo's sensational new Tipo B (also called the P3) and with it, Tazio Nuvolari won the Championship driving for the Alfa Corse work ...

in Europe, winning its first race at the hands of

Tazio Nuvolari Tazio Giorgio Nuvolari (; 16 November 1892 – 11 August 1953) was an Italian racing driver. He first raced motorcycles and then concentrated on sports cars and single-seaters. A resident of Mantua, he was known as 'Il Mantovano Volante' (Th ...

, and going on to win 6 races that year driven by both Nuvolari and

Rudolf Caracciola Otto Wilhelm Rudolf CaracciolaBolsinger and Becker (2002), p. 63 (30 January 1901 – 28 September 1959) was a racing driver from Remagen, Germany. He won the European Drivers' Championship, the pre-1950 equivalent of the modern Formula One Wor ...

, including all 3 major Grands Prix in Italy, France and Germany. The

1933 Grand Prix season The 1933 Grand Prix season was an intermediate year, as it would be the last season for the current AIACR regulations before a new weight-formula was introduced in 1934. As such, the European Championship was not held and the manufacturers held b ...

brought financial difficulties to Alfa Corse so the cars were simply locked away and Alfa attempted 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 Scuderia Ferrari Società per Azioni, S.p.A. () is the racing division of luxury Italian auto manufacturer Ferrari and the racing team that competes in Formula One racing. The team is also known by the nickname "The Prancing Horse", in refere ...

. 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 The 1934 Grand Prix season saw the advent of the new 750 kg Formula. In an effort to curb the danger of rising speeds, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, AIACR imposed this upper weight limit that effectively outlawed the large ...

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 Silver Arrows (german: link=no, Silberpfeil) was the nickname given by the press to Germany's dominant Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union Grand Prix motor racing cars between 1934 and 1939. The name was later applied to the Mercedes-Benz Formula ...

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 1935 Grand Prix season was the second year of the new 750 kg Formula. The success of the previous year encouraged the AIACR to reinitiate the European Championship. It was composed of the seven national Grands Prix and was won by Rudol ...

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 The 1935 German Grand Prix was a Grand Prix motor race held at the Nürburgring on 28 July 1935. Classification Race The 1935 event was considered to be one of the greatest motorsports victories of all time. The 1935 German Grand Prix will al ...

at the

Nürburgring The is a 150,000 person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Formula One, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long "North loop" track, built in the 1920s, around t ...

, in the heartland of the

Mercedes Mercedes may refer to: People * Mercedes (name), a Spanish feminine name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or last name Automobile-related * Mercedes (marque), the pre-1926 brand name of German automobile m ...

and

Auto-Union Auto Union AG, was an amalgamation of four German automobile manufacturers, founded in 1932 and established in 1936 in Chemnitz, Saxony. It is the immediate predecessor of Audi as it is known today. As well as acting as an umbrella firm fo ...

empire. In the race, Nuvolari punctured a tyre early on while leading, but after the pitstop he carved through the field until the last lap when

Manfred von Brauchitsch Manfred Georg Rudolf von Brauchitsch (15 August 1905 – 5 February 2003) was a German auto racing driver who drove for Mercedes-Benz in the famous "Silver Arrows" of Grand Prix motor racing in the 1930s. Racing career Brauchitsch won th ...

, 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. The P3 had earned its place as a truly great racing car.

Drivers

* 1932:

Giuseppe Campari Giuseppe Campari (8 June 1892 – 10 September 1933) was an Italian opera singer and Grand Prix motor racing driver. Racing career Born near the city of Lodi southwest of Milan, as a teenager he went to work for the Alfa Romeo automobile compa ...

Baconin Borzacchini Baconin Borzacchini (Terni 28 September 1898 – Monza 10 September 1933) was an Italian Grand Prix motor racing driver often referred to as Mario Umberto Borzacchini. Biography Born Baconino Francesco Domenico Borzacchini in Terni in the Umbria ...

* 1933:

Louis Chiron Louis Alexandre Chiron (3 August 1899 – 22 June 1979) was a Monégasque racing driver who competed in rallies, sports car races, and Grands Prix. Among the greatest drivers between the two World Wars, his career embraced over thirty years, ...

Luigi Fagioli Luigi Cristiano Fagioli (; 9 June 1898 – 20 June 1952), nicknamed "the Abruzzi robber", was an Italian motor racing driver. Having won his last race at 53 years old, Fagioli holds the record for the oldest Formula One driver to win a race, and ...

* 1934:

Achille Varzi Achille Varzi (8 August 1904 – 1 July 1948) was an Italian Grand Prix driver. Career Born in Galliate, province of Novara (Piedmont), Achille Varzi was the son of a textile manufacturer. As a young man, he was a successful motorcycle ra ...

Guy Moll Guillaume Laurent "Guy" Moll (28 May 1910 – 15 August 1934) was a French racing driver. Moll was the son of a French father and Spanish mother who had emigrated to Algeria, then a French colony. He had only started racing in 1930, running a ...

, Brian E. Lewis,

Carlo Felice Trossi Count Carlo Felice Trossi (27 April 1908 – 9 May 1949) was an Italian racecar driver and auto constructor. Racing career During his career, he raced for three different teams: Mercedes-Benz, Alfa Romeo and, briefly, Maserati. He won the 1947 Ita ...

Gianfranco Comotti Gianfranco "Franco" Comotti (July 24, 1906 – May 10, 1963) was an Italian racecar driver. He participated in two World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 3 September 1950. He scored no championship points. He also participated in ...

* 1935:

Raymond Sommer Raymond Sommer (31 August 1906 – 10 September 1950) was a French motor racing driver. He raced both before and after WWII with some success, particularly in endurance racing. He won the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race in both and , and altho ...

, Comte George de Montbressieux, Richard Shuttleworth,

René Dreyfus René Dreyfus (6 May 1905 – 16 August 1993) was a French driver who raced automobiles for 14 years in the 1920s and 1930s, the Golden Era of Grand Prix motor racing. Early life Dreyfus was born and raised in Nice to a Jewish family. He show ...

Vittorio Belmondo Vittorio Belmondo is a former Italian racing driver. He entered 23 races in Maseratis and Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis. The company was founded on 24 June 1910 ...

Mario Tadini is a character (arts), character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario (franchise), Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in ...

Antonio Brivio Antonio Brivio (Sometimes shown as Marchese Sforza Brivio; 30 January 1905, in Biella, Vercelli, Italy – 29 January 1995) was an Italian bobsledder and racing driver. Auto racing career Among his greatest successes in the field of sports c ...

Guido Barbieri Guido is a given name Latinised from the Old High German name Wido. It originated in Medieval Italy. Guido later became a male first name in Austria, Germany, the Low Countries, Scandinavia, Spain, Portugal, Latin America and Switzerland. The mea ...

Pietro Ghersi Pietro Ghersi (1899 – 1 January 1972) was an Italian motorcycle racer and, from 1927, also a racecar driver. He was born in Genoa. With his brother Mario Ghersi and Luigi Arcangeli he biked in the 1926 Isle of Man TT and 1930 Isle of Man TT i ...

Renato Balestrero Renato Balestrero (27 July 1898 – 18 February 1948) was an Italian racecar driver from Genoa, winning 54 out of 217 races between 1922 and 1947.

* 1936:

, "Charlie" Martin, José Padierna de Villapadierna,

Giovanni Battaglia Giovanni "Gianni" Battaglia (born 1893 in Luino) was an Italian racing driver. He drove 12 races between 1931 and 1938, all in an Alfa Romeo, including five times the Mille Miglia The Mille Miglia (, ''Thousand Miles'') was an open-road, motor ...

Clemente Biondetti Clemente Biondetti (18 October 1898 – 24 February 1955) was an Italian auto racing driver. Born into a working-class family, Biondetti raced motorcycles before turning to automobiles where he had greater success. Biography Born in Buddusò, Sa ...

Austin Dobson :''This article describes the English racing driver. For the English poet, see Henry Austin Dobson''. Austin Dobson (19 August 1912 in Lodsworth, Sussex – 13 March 1963 in Cuckfield, Sussex) was a racing driver from England. He was the ...

Alfa Romeo P3, Bj 1932, de Cadenet - 1977-08-14 B.jpg,

Alain de Cadenet Alain de Cadenet (27 November 1945 – 1 July 2022) was an English television presenter and racing driver. He was noted for racing in 15 editions of the 24 Hours of Le Mans during the 1970s and 1980s, achieving one podium finish with third ...

with Alfa Romeo P3. Alfa P3 B.jpg, Engine of the Alfa P3 Tipo B - Note the twin gear driven superchargers. File:Car Musée Enzo Ferrari 0054.JPG, The Tipo B Aerodinamica variant with

won the

Avus The Automobil-Verkehrs- und Übungsstraße ('Automobile traffic and training road'), known as AVUS, is a public road in Berlin, Germany. Opened in 1921, it was also used as a motor racing circuit until 1998. Today, the AVUS forms the northern par ...

GP in 1934. File:Car Musée Enzo Ferrari 0057.JPG, The Tipo B Aerodinamica in Enzo Ferrari Museum in Modena. Goodwood FoS 2011 2.JPG, 1932 Tipo B Don Lee Special in Goodwood FoS 2011 Tazio Nuvolari passing at the 1935 Grand Prix de Pau.jpg, Tazio Nuvolari passing at the 1935

Grand Prix de Pau The Pau Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix de Pau) is a motor race held in Pau, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department of southwestern France. The French Grand Prix was held at Pau in 1930, leading to the annual Pau Grand Prix being inaugurate ...

Notes

References

Profile of P3 at Grand Prix HistoryThe Golden Age by Leif Snellman

External links

{{Alfa Romeo Pre War Timeline Grand Prix cars P3 1932-35 Grand Prix racer Cars introduced in 1932 1930s cars de:Alfa Romeo P1/P2/P3