Alfa Romeo P2 holds a special place. Born 100 years ago, on June 2, 1924, this car represented a bold challenge to the dominance of the Bugatti Type 35, undisputed queen of the tracks at the time. It was a time of great turmoil in motoring, where innovation and the quest for speed pushed manufacturers to continually challenge each other. In this context, the Alfa Romeo P2 fitted in like a breath of fresh air, ready to subvert the rules of the game.
Alfa Romeo P2: the legend of the 100-year roar
Exactly 100 years ago, a new car challenged an existing behemoth and managed to emerge victorious. We are talking about the day June 2, 1924, when the Alfa Romeo P2 first made its roar heard, ready to literally steal the show from the Bugatti Type 35, which had long mastered the racing world.
Under the P2’s hood throbbed a two-liter inline eight-cylinder engine, which for the times we are talking about was a real engineering gem with fixed steel cylinder heads. Equipped with twin camshafts and a Roots supercharger with intercooler. A true synonym for power that was capable of putting out 140 horsepower at 5500 rpm.
The car featured a solid chassis and a particularly aerodynamic, carefully thought-out design. The P2‘s ladder frame was traditional, except for the tail. It was in fact lengthened, and the staggered arrangement of the seats made it possible to offer the driver a cockpit that was more comfortable and better aerodynamics.
This is what was created by Vittorio Jano, the man who certainly wrote a piece of Alfa Romeo history. At the time he was coming out of a layoff from Fiat, and it was then that Jano was recruited by Nicola Romeo with a very specific assignment. In fact, he was asked to succeed in creating a car that could give a distinctive brand to the manufacturer. At the time, there was little expectation that a car would be built that could compete with Bugatti, but what happened was unexpected, something that certainly exceeded the company’s expectations.
In fact, On June 9, 1924, the P2 took to the track at the Cremona Circuit for its first official race. At the wheel was Alberto Ascari, who managed to cross the finish line a full minute ahead of the second-place finisher and Roberto Malinverni‘s Bugatti, which was in third place. The race consisted of five complete laps of the course for a total of 40 miles. Also in Cremona, the P2 also broke the ten-kilometer world record with an average speed greater than 150. Since then, the P2 and Alfa Romeo managed to achieve various successes. To think that at that time, competitions were dominated by Bugatti, but not only. In fact, at the top were often Sunbeam, MIller, and Delage. So was Fiat, which produced the 801 and 805 GP cars that, after Jano’s own engine and compressor interventions, were achieving various successes.
In chronological order, we find the dominance that P2 achieved in Lyon also in 1924. On that occasion, Bugatti appeared with the new Type 35, with the intention of regaining the throne. The attempt was a failure, as the car came in at number seven, while in first place again came Alfa Romeo. Next came another great victory in Italy, at Monza. The following year, even two victories from the four Grands Prix of the first World Championship came, which granted Alfa Romeo the championship title.
A change in regulations that came in 1926 ended the dreams of P2 and Alfa Romeo. Instead, the new regulations were made to reduce engine displacement to 1.5 liters. Therefore, the P2’s two-liter engine suffered, and this was the cause that favored Bugatti. An incident that marked the end of Alfa Romeo’s undisputed P2 dominance that lasted a few years.
In spite of the change a few years earlier, something great happens for the P2 and for Alfa Romeo equally in 1930. During a racing event that at the time consisted of driving around Sicily, Targa Florio, for a length of 335 miles Achille Varzi completes an epic feat.
During the race there was a problem with the spare tire that caused the fuel tank to leak during the last leg of the race. Varzi’s mechanic attempted to top up the fuel on the run, but accidentally spilled fuel on the hot exhaust. Courageously, he succeeds in smothering the flames with the seat cushion and allows the Alfa to cross the finish line first. A unique episode where P2 finished two minutes ahead of Louis Chiron‘s Bugatti Type 35 B. An exciting finale for a legendary car, as after that episode P2 made its exit. A concentrate of power and tenacity, capable of dominating the tracks and writing epic pages in automotive history.
