Alfa Romeo The Tipo A Single Seater of 1931

For many enthusiasts, the Tipo B Alfa Romeo is the first car which springs to mind when thinking of the racing monopostos from this famous Milan firm; however, there was a forerunner to that specific model, named the "Tipo A" which started the series of the single-seater models. The Tipo A was a makeshift model that used two 6c 1750 engines and gearboxes in parallel. Twin-engined racing cars have always brought special problems, even with expertise of the Alfa Romeo staff and later that of Scuderia Ferrari. It speaks highly of Vittorio Jano, his design staff and the men who built this car, that it was solely a matter of four months from starting on the drawing-board to starting on the grid for its first race, the 10 Hours of Monza. It showed great promise and upheld Alfa Romeo hopes during 1931 while the famous Tipo B was taking shape to supersede it in 1932, and which in three years won all the Grand Prixs held in Europe. As a former designer at Alfa Romeo, Luigi Fusi is well placed to tell the story of the Tipo A, and he has been able to comment on the technical points of each unit: engine, clutches, gearboxes, gear change control, foot / hand brake controls, rear axle, etc. He has published technical drawings, as well as recording with photographic images, the events in which it ran: 9th Gran Premio d’Italia – Monza, the Susa-Moncenisio Hill Climb, the 7th Acerbo Cup in Pescara, and the 4th Monza Grand Prix. The story of the Tipo A is brought to a close with details of the reconstruction of this magnificent machine for the Alfa Romeo Museum.