The Alfa Romeo 158/159, also known as the Alfetta (Little Alfa in Italian [1]), is a Grand Prix racing car produced by Italian manufacturer Alfa Romeo. It is one of the most successful racing cars ever; the 158 and its derivative, the 159, took 47 wins from 54 Grands Prix entered. [ 2 ]

The Alfa Romeo 158 (commonly called "Alfetta" or little Alfa) is one of the most successful Grand Prix race cars ever produced. It was originally developed for the 1937 voiturette formula which limited displacement to 1.5 liters.

The team, led by Gioachino Colombo, sketched out the lines of the GP Tipo 158, soon to be nicknamed "Alfetta". The engine was an innovative straight-eight design in light alloy with screw-in steel bores, twincam valve train and a fuel system featuring a Roots supercharger.

What resulted was the 158, designed in Milan by Gioacchino Colombo but built at the Scuderia headquarters in Modena. An initial quartet of four cars (known as “series one spec”) was built with 1.5-liter, supercharged straight-8 engines producing 180 horsepower at 6500 RPM.

The 158 makes its debut in the 1937 Coppa Ciano with a victory. It remains active until the outbreak of the Second World War. Then it returns to the track in the post-war period, and in 1950, in the first edition of the Formula 1 World Championship, it is the car to beat.

Unaware of the 512's driving issues, the specialised press began to wonder which car Alfa Romeo would have continued to race with: the 158 or the 512? The 158, designed in the summer of 1937 and born in the spring of the following year, behaved well and …

It was a 1951 specification car, a 158 chassis upgraded from original 158 specifications to 1951 standards with the improved, more powerful engine and current bodywork, though it does not have the 1951 experimental de Dion axle, which was not fitted to all cars.

Jan 13, 2020 · Fangio took over Fagioli’s Alfetta to win the French GP (just) at Reims-Gueux in July 1951 – the 158-series’ 34th victory since 1946. But next time out, at Silverstone for that year’s British GP, González of Ferrari beat the Alfas at last in his unblown 4.5.

Although the Alfetta started life as a Voiturette, it has earned its place in history as one of the greatest Grand Prix racers ever built. It is believed that six 158s were built in 1938, which were raced for two seasons.

The Alfa Romeo 158 was the car driven by all seven Alfa Romeo drivers during the inaugural season of the F1 World Championship in 1950. As such, it was driven by Giuseppe Farina to the World Drivers' Championship. It was the winning car …