Probably not everyone knows about Alfa Romeo’s foray into the world of powerboating. Or rather, powerboat racing. We relived it by visiting the beautiful museum in Arese, near Milan, Md, which traces the history of the automaker founded in 1910 as A.L.F.A. (an acronym for Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili), later Alfa Romeo after Nicola Romeo acquired the brand in 1918.
Alfa Romeo and powerboating, a success story
Five world titles, the first two Formula 1 championships, 11 Mille Miglias, 10 Targa Florios, and countless successes in the Sport and Tourism categories: Alfa Romeo’s four-wheel sports history is well known. Less well known is its venture into motorsports, an equally compelling field where Alfa Romeo’s innovations have found application. From the 1930s through the 1980s, Alfa Romeo played a leading role in this field, adapting aero and automotive engines from iconic models such as the Alfetta, Giulietta, Giulia GTA and Montreal to racing boats.
So many successes collected by Alfa Romeo-powered boats. 11 world records, 6 world, 7 European and 9 Italian titles, as well as 5 Coni gold medals.
The incredible triple life of the Alfetta 158 engine.
Alfa Romeo’s marine engines, often supplied exclusively for competition, were handled directly by the racing department. An emblematic example is the engine of the Alfetta 158, which, after contributing to the first Formula 1 title in 1950, had already won three world championships in motorsports. Achille Castoldi, a top driver, had been granted exclusive use of the engine as early as 1938 and had saved it during the war.
The boat Arno II° is a testament to this connection. Piloted by Castoldi and Varzi, it experienced a golden age in racing. The Alfetta engine subsequently continued to triumph, contributing to success stories on the water with boats such as the Laura 1°.
So many Alfa Romeo champions
We recall some successful models: the Loustic 2, a racer that won three world records in 1964, and the Molinari-Alfa Romeo 2500, which won the world title in 1966. Other unique models, such as the Dalla Pietà , made their mark with numerous European and Italian titles. The model below, theAlfa Romeo-Popoli, on permanent display at the museum, is powered by an Alfa Romeo P 33. piloted by legendary Emilian driver Leopoldo Casanova, it achieved the world speed record in the KC 500 kg class in 1970: 139.90 mph, or 225.15 km/h.
This is a “three-point” model, a configuration popular in the United States since 1945 and introduced in Italy in 1949 by Achille Castoldi, a pioneer of blue water powerboating. Unlike traditional boats, which rest completely on the water, this type of boat has only three points of hull-water contact: the two side boots and the propeller.
This configuration allows the stern to rise, generating the characteristic hydrodynamic lift that makes these boats resemble water-to-air missiles when they reach maximum speed.
Not only powerboating
Alfa Romeo’s nautical narrative is not limited to records and competitions. For example, Glauco, a rare traditional monohull from 1932, represents the use of Alfa engines in “lake” boating. Other stories relate to the steamboats of Venice and the “exploding barges” of World War II.
