Enzo Ferrari and Vittorio Jano In 1923, Merosi was replaced by Vittorio Jano, who was hired away from FIAT. A young Alfa racing driver named Enzo Ferrari was instrumental in bringing Jano to the company. Jano's first design for Alfa Romeo was the P2 Grand Prix car. The P2 had a lightweight chassis, and 2 L straight-eight engine, with two rows of overhead valves set at a 100-degree angle, each row driven by an overhead camshaft (DOHC). The P2 won Alfa Romeo its first world championship in 1925. Under Jano, Alfa Romeo experienced a golden age. He developed a series of small- to medium-displacement 4, 6, and 8 cylinder inline engines based on the P2 motor that established the classic architecture of Alfa motors, with light alloy construction, hemi-sferical combustion chambers, centrally-located plugs, two rows of overhead valves per cylinder bank, and--usually--dual overhead cams. Jano’s designs not only achieved a high level of performance, but set exceedingly high standards of reliability. High perfomance sportscar’s Jano's first production car for Alfa Romeo was the 6C 1500, which appeared in 1927. The motor was essentially a detuned P2 unit with two fewer cylinders, resulting in a 1.5 L displacement, either as OHC or DOHC concept. Most 1500s were sold with conventional, utilitarian bodywork, but sporting versions were also produced and saw some success in racing. However, the 1500's larger-engined successor, the 6C 1750, which appeared in 1929, was the ultimate 6 cylinder Alfa of the period. The 1750 was highly successful on the track, with wins in the 1929 and 1930 Mille Miglia and the 1930 Targa Florio, and numerous other events besides. With spare but graceful two- seater bodies by Zagato and Touring, the 1750s were also beautiful; they epitomized the union of function and form in the vintage European sports ca.Outstanding as the 1750 was, it was technically surpassed by Jano’s next achievement, the 8c 2300 Monza of 1931. Jano used a creative innovation to avoid crank and camshaft whip: he divided the inline eight into two blocks of four cylinders, essentially two four-cylinder motors mounted front to back on a common crankcase. The 8C2300, 6C2300 and 6C2500 The 8C2300 was an expensive exotic of which only a few hundred examples were made. It was beautiful like the 1750 and with four Le Mans victories perhaps even more successful in racing, but it was introduced at a time when few could afford such luxuries and a government- supported company could not justify producing them. In response to new economic realities, Jano reverted to a 2.3 L 6-cylinder engine to produce a car that was smaller and cheaper than the 8 cylinder Alfas, although still neither small nor cheap in absolute terms. In spite of its pragmatic origins, the 6C 2300 and the 6C 2500 that followed it, had fully independent suspension and semi-monocoque construction, innovations that foretold the design of post-war Alfas like the Freccia d’Oro and the Villa d’Este. Tipo B and the 8C 2900 Jano produced two other major designs for Alfa Romeo. One was the P3 Gran Prix car, also known as the Tipo B. The P3 updated the classic Alfa architecture and was quite successful from its introduction in 1933 until it became uncompetitive after 1935.

Alfa 8c Monza World Champion's 1933

The final product, the 8C 2900, appeared first as a sports racer in 1936, and later as a production car. The production version was the 2900 B, described at the time as "the fastest car in the world." It was also one of the rarest and most expensive, making today's Ferraris look cheap and commonplace by comparison. The Scuderia Ferrari Enzo Ferrari had risen from driver to manager of the Alfa Romeo works racing team by the end of the 1920s. In 1929, he left the company and went into business selling Alfa Romeo cars and preparing them for racing. By prior agreement, Ferrari's new enterprise, Scuderia Ferrari, also assumed responsibility for managing the factory racing team and developing racing cars, like the Bimotore, in close collaboration with the factory. Crisis Despite the technical and racing success during Jano's tenure, Romeo’s industrial empire had financial difficulties and suffered serious damage in the crisis of 1929. Romeo had been removed as director in 1928, and the company passed into government receivership shortly after the crash. In 1934, it was absorbed with other industrial companies by an agency of the Facist government, the Instituto di Riconstruzzione Industriale (IRI), which was to control it for over 50 years. The government in control With the government in control, another former FIAT employee named Ugo Gobbato was brought in to direct AlfaRomeo. Under Gobbato's leadership Alfa Romeo began the transformation from traditional, artisanal production, to a modern, industrial approach. The company began large-scale production of aero engines, trucks, and other hardware which served Fascist ambitions, as well as improving its economic status. The end of the Jano era Alfa also became the government-subsidized standard-bearer for Italian racing efforts during the 1930s, but produced very few cars for sale. Racing was emphasized over passenger car production after Mussolini discovered its potential for building national pride and international prestige. For a time Alfa was vitrually unbeatable in sports car racing, winning Le Mans every year from 1931 to 1934, the Targa Florio in 1931-1935, and the Mille Miglia in 1931-1934, 1936, and 1937. In the early 1930s, Jano's P3 achieved an impressive string of successes on the GP circuit, as well. By the middle of the dedade, however, Alfa Romeo could not compete with the formidable teams from Mercedes and Auto Union, financed by Germany's even more ambitious government. Tazio Nuvolari’s stunning victory in the 1935 German Grand Prix was Alfa’s last major success for a decade. Jano, unable to satisfy Mussolini's desire for victory, was forced out in 1938 and went to work for Lancia. Ferrari's relationship with the company ended in the same year. At Alfa, Jano was followed by several designers: Gioacchino Colombo, who later designed engines for Ferrari, and Wilfredo Ricart, a Spaniard who created the Pegaso in the 1950s, succeded Jano in racing car design, and Bruno Trevisan took over production car activities. World War II The second world war again brought a halt to car production at Alfa. While the Portello plant made shells and other war materials, partially-assembled production vehicles were put in storage and a few racing and experimental cars were hidden in caves north of Milan. In the end, the war was a disaster for Italy, and for Alfa.

Alfa 1900