Alfa Romeo P3

This car took part in the Race for Pre 1952 Grand Prix Cars at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 2000.

It's Rodney Felton's 1934 Alfa Romeo P3 and was driven in the race by Sir John Venables-Llewelyn. The programme of the event said this about the car:

'Alfa Romeo are prominent too, indeed the redoubtable Sir John Venables-Llewelyn will be a contender for outright victory with Rodney Felton's gorgeous P3. The supercharged straight-eight machines were winners in the early '30s, driven by stars like Tazio Nuvolari and Achille Varzi.'

The Alfa Romeo P3 was introduced in 1932 with a twin-supercharged straight-8 engine, initially with a capacity of 2,654cc. In 1933 much of the European racing season was missed due to financial problems at Alfa Romeo, but the cars were eventually handed over to Enzo Ferrari whose Scuderia Ferrari ran the cars for the 1933-1935 seasons. By 1935 the P3s were outclassed by the Mercedes-Benz W25s and Auto Union B Types, but Tazio Nuvolari won a famous victory in the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring with a P3 bored out to 3,822cc.