Alfa Romeo 512 F1 1940 by Autocult
What
if…
In
the late 1930s, road racing was clearly dominated by the German brands
Mercedes-Benz and Auto-Union. The other manufactures were hardly able to send competitive
cars to the race track and therefore they were looking for alternatives to the
3 liter premier class in order to achieve sporting success. The smaller
displacement class of 1.5 liter seemed to be the right choice. The traditional
Italian company Alfa-Romeo also came to this conclusion and realized its first
race car in 1938 – the Type 158. During this time, thoughts became more and
more concrete that the premier class of 3 liter cars should be replace by the
1.5 liter class in future. The plans were already so far advanced that the introduction
of the new class soon became apparent and Alfa-Romeo then developed a new
racing car.
This
task was entrusted to the then 43-year-old Spanish engineer Wilfredo Ricart.
For the first time in Alfa-Romeo history, he chose the center of the vehicle as
the engine location. In addition, he relied on a very low center of mass. He combined
these two specifications with the design of an extremely flat 12-cylinder engine
in a 1800 V design. A Roots supercharger ensured a powerful increase
in performance, so that the 1500 four-stroke engine had a performance of over
330 hp at 8,600 rpm. At the beginning of the development, probably only one
copy of the model, named with the abbreviation Type 512, was set on wheels. A
second racing car is said to have been set on wheels later on – already in the
times of war – but was never called into action to complete test drives.
The
two prototypes of the 512 have survived to this day. One is exhibited at the ‘Museo
storico Alfa Romeo’ and the other one is part of the exhibition of the ‘National
Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo daVinci’.
Description: | Alfa Romeo 512 F1 1940 |
Catalogue#: | ATC07023 |
Product Type: | Resincast |
Scale: | 1:43 |
Event: | Formula 1 or single seater |
Colour: | - |
Drivers: | - |
Sponsors: | - |
Dates: | 1940 |
Race/Position: | - |
Release Date: | April 2022 |
Weight: | 450 grams |
Comments: | Limited edition of 333 pieces |
About Autocult
A relatively new maker of very well finished resincast models, established in 2015. Very imaginative choice of subjects, often concentrating on the more eccentric episodes in motoring history! Production limited to 333 pieces of each subject, which often means that we get one delivery and that is it, so pre-orders strongly recommended!! Made in China for Germany.