Alfa Romeo’s 1982 turbo-charged 182T V8 F1 car comprised their new Tipo 890T V8 married with an Alfa Romeo 182D chassis.
Autodelta’s first experiments with the turbo-V8 were in a modified 179 chassis – #179/2 perhaps – as shown here during a test session conducted by Giorgio Francia at Misano on March 31, 1982 (above and below). Alfa’s photograph caption adds, that ‘the vehicle completed around 50 laps, setting a new unofficial track record.’
Andrea De Cesaris tested the definitive Alfa Romeo 182T ahead of the ’82 Italian GP (above), but it was unraced that year, making its race debut when it morphed into one of 183Ts raced throughout season 1983.
It wasn’t the first time Autodelta had developed a turbo-charged engine of course. The final 1976 variant of the 3-litre Flat 12 Tipo 33s deployed a 2134cc version of that engine fed by twin-KKK K26-turbo-chargers, intercooling, indirect Lucas fuel injection, Magneti Marelli ignition and the rest…
Proving that Alfa Romeo had a sense of humour, the text on the reverse of this factory shot reads, ‘The last of the Mohicans (Tipo 33s) was the 33 TT12 Turbo, which was equipped with two KKK turbo-chargers and had its engine displacment reduced to just over 2-litres.’
The muletta at Autodelta’s premises above is a spaceframe chassis ‘TT’. The company was testing its new turbo-charged Flat-12, while simultaneously building an aluminium monocoque variant ‘SC’ to better cope with the rigours imposed thereon by the muscular engine and prodigious grip of the design/tyres.
Ultimately the turbo SC only raced twice, on both occasions with Arturo Merzario at the wheel. He was second in the Salzburg 300k World Sports Car Championship round on September 18, 1977 behind Vittorio Brambilla’s T33/SC/12, and won the final round of the Interserie – the ADAC Rennsport – at Hockenheim on October 9, 1977; on both occasions racing chassis #11512.016 which nowadays resides in Alfa’s fabulous museum.
Alfa Romeo then did a left-turn away from sports cars and recommenced a long, fruitless – very frustrating for we Alfisti – dalliance with Grand Prix racing.
Bruno Giacomelli during the November 16, F5000/F1 1980 Australian Grand Prix at Calder won by Alan Jones’ Williams FW07B Ford Cosworth.
Alfa Australia – bless ’em – saw the sense in bringing Bruno and a 179 (179/6) for the AGP; Oz is a decent sized market for their product and Victoria has a large Italian/parentage population. He was five-tenths adrift of AJ in practice and finished a lap adrift in the race, Didi Pironi was third in an Elfin MR8-C Chev F5000.
The sight, and especially the sound of the 3-litre V12 I’ll never forget. The cogs had to be swapped sequentially on the way down the 6-speed box. Bruno’s four banzai-fast double-shuffles at the end of each straight and howl of the engine in response really did – ahem – stir ones erectile tissue.
From memory the 179 was in winning/points scoring positions in it its first couple of years of competition…bias freely acknowledged mind you.
Credits…
ANSA Foto, Alfa Romeo, Forix, primotipo, oldracingcars.com
Finito…
Hello Mark. I was also at Calder for the 1980 AGP. I recall it was a very warm weekend but also that the two F1 cars could brake much later and deeper into the corners than the F5000s.
Cheers Paul Best.