Alfa Romeo SE 048SP

Last updated
Alfa Romeo SE 048SP
Alfa Romeo SE 048.jpg
Category Group C
Constructor Alfa-Lancia Industriale
Designer(s) Giuseppe Petrotta
Predecessor Lancia LC2
Technical specifications
Engine Alfa Romeo Tipo 1035 3,495 cc (213.3 cu in) naturally aspirated 40 valve, DOHC V10.
Ferrari 3,498 cc (213.5 cu in) naturally aspirated 60 valve, DOHC V12.
Mid-engined, longitudinally mounted
Transmission 6-speed manual
Competition history
RacesWins Poles F/Laps
0000

The Alfa Romeo SE 048SP was a Group C racing car built by Alfa Romeo in the early 1990s. Designed to replace the Lancia LC2 after the Group C regulations had undergone a major revamp, the SE 048SP had an Abarth-developed chassis mated to the 3.5-litre V10 engine from the stillborn Alfa Romeo 164 Procar, but, although at least one SE 048SP was built, it never left the development phase. The V10 engine appears to have been replaced by a Ferrari-sourced 3.5-litre V12 engine at some point during its development, although this was never officially confirmed by Alfa Romeo.

Design and development

The Alfa Romeo SE 048SP, as it appeared at the 2010 Goodwood Festival of Speed. Alfa Romeo SE 048 SP Goodwood festival of speed 2010.jpg
The Alfa Romeo SE 048SP, as it appeared at the 2010 Goodwood Festival of Speed.

In 1990, the Group C regulations underwent a major revamp, with the primary focus being on changing the engines to 3.5-litre units sourced from Formula One cars. [1] The Fiat Group had previously run the Lancia LC2 in the Group C category, but had cancelled that project in 1986 after only winning one race with the LC2. [2] In 1990, Lancia were primarily focusing on the World Rally Championship (with the Group A Delta Integrale), whilst Ferrari were focusing on their Formula One programme; this meant that Alfa Romeo were the only member of the Fiat Group that would have the capacity for a sports car racing programme; they had last competed in top-level sports car events in the 1970s, with the Alfa Romeo Tipo 33. [1] As Abarth had previously developed the Lancia LC2, it was them who Fiat turned to for the chassis development of the new Group C car, [1] which was assigned the project code of "SE 048SP". [3] Giuseppe Petrotta, formerly of Osella, was the man selected to design the SE 048SP, [4] and he drew up a fairly conventional car, with radiators mounted in the front of the chassis, covered rear wheels, and a nose that featured the traditional Alfa Romeo grille. [1]

The project itself was a well-kept secret, and very little was ever revealed about the car's specifications. [1] One thing that Alfa Romeo did reveal was that it used the 3.5-litre Tipo 1035 V10 engine from the still-born Alfa Romeo 164 Procar; this was a naturally aspirated 72 degree V10 originally designed for the Ligier Formula One team, and produced a claimed output of 620 hp (462 kW; 629 PS) at 13,300 RPM. [5] It is believed that the car was built in 1990, as it had a much simpler rear wing than those found on cars built for the 1991 World Sportscar Championship season, but no official build date was given. [1] MOMO's founder Gianpiero Moretti had apparently been in talks with Alfa Romeo about using the SE 048SP, but these did not result in any deal being made. [1] As a result, although at least one SE 048SP was built, the car never left the development phase, and never raced. [1] It ended up in Alfa Romeo's Museo Storico, but made a public appearance at the 2010 Goodwood Festival of Speed, where it appeared to be fitted with a 3.5-litre Ferrari V12 engine, [1] producing a claimed output of 680 hp (507 kW; 689 PS) at 12,750 RPM. [6] This may have been because the V10 engine had proved fragile in the "Abarth SE047", which was a re-engined Lancia LC2 used as a test-bed for the SE 048SP project. [7] The budget that the SE 048SP would have used, in combination with the money used in Lancia's WRC programme, were used instead on the Alfa Romeo 155 touring car programme, [7] which saw Alfa Romeo win numerous national championships, most notably the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft in 1993, [8] and the British Touring Car Championship in 1994. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abarth</span> Italian car manufacturer

Abarth & C. S.p.A. is an Italian racing- and road-car maker and performance division founded by Italo-Austrian Carlo Abarth in 1949. Abarth & C. S.p.A. is owned by Stellantis through its Italian subsidiary. Its logo is a shield with a stylized scorpion on a yellow and red background.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand tourer</span> High-performance luxury car

A grand tourer (GT) is a type of car that is designed for high speed and long-distance driving with performance and luxury. The most common format is a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive two-door coupé with either a two-seat or a 2+2 arrangement. Grand tourers are often the coupé derivative of luxury saloons or sedans. Some models, such as the Ferrari 250 GT, Jaguar E-Type, and Aston Martin DB5, are considered classic examples of gran turismo cars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zagato</span> Italian coachbuilding company

Zagato is a coachbuilding company founded by Ugo Zagato in 1919. The design center of the company is located in Terrazzano, a village near Rho, Lombardy, Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfa Romeo 164</span> Motor vehicle

The Alfa Romeo 164 is a four-door executive saloon manufactured and marketed by Italian automaker Alfa Romeo from 1987 to 1998, styled by Pininfarina, and cooperatively designed and sharing platforms and numerous elements with the Fiat Croma, Saab 9000 and Lancia Thema.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfa Romeo 155</span> Motor vehicle

The Alfa Romeo 155 is a compact executive car produced by Italian automobile manufacturer Alfa Romeo between 1992 and 1998. It was unveiled in January 1992 at Barcelona, with the first public launch in March 1992, at the Geneva Motor Show. A total of 195,526 units were made before it was replaced by the 156.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fiat Twin Cam engine</span> Reciprocating internal combustion engine

The Fiat Twin Cam is an advanced double overhead camshaft inline-four automobile engine produced from 1966 through 2000 as a Fiat/Lancia engine. Designed by ex Ferrari engineer Aurelio Lampredi, the engine was produced in a large number of displacements, ranging from 1.3 to 2.0 L and was used in Fiat, Lancia, Alfa Romeo, SEAT, FSO and Morgan cars. The Fiat Twin Cam engine has been widely used in motorsport and has been the most successful engine in the history of the World Rally Championship. Fiat and Lancia won a total of ten World Rally Championships for Manufacturers using engines based on the Lampredi Twin Cam engine. It was replaced by the Fiat "family B" Pratola Serra engine series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pininfarina</span> Italian car design firm and coachbuilder

Pininfarina S.p.A. is an Italian car design firm and coachbuilder, with headquarters in Cambiano, Turin, Italy. The company was founded by Battista "Pinin" Farina in 1930. On 14 December 2015, the Indian multinational Mahindra Group acquired 76.06% of Pininfarina S.p.A. for about €168 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Automotive industry in Italy</span> Overview of the automotive industry in Italy

The automotive industry in Italy is a quite large employer in the country, it had over 2,131 firms and employed almost 250,000 people in 2006. Italy's automotive industry is best known for its automobile designs and small city cars, sports and supercars. The automotive industry makes a contribution of 8.5% to Italian GDP.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ferrari 288 GTO</span> Motor vehicle

The Ferrari GTO is an exotic homologation version of the Ferrari 308 GTB produced from 1984 until 1987 in Ferrari's Maranello factory. It was designated GT for Gran Turismo and O for Omologata.

The Turin Motor Show is an auto show held annually in Turin, Italy. The first official show took place between 21 and 24 April 1900, at the Castle of Valentino, becoming a permanent fixture in Turin from 1938 having shared it with Milan and Rome until that time. From 1972, the show was held biannually and in 1984, it moved into Fiat's shuttered Lingotto factory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lancia LC2</span> Series of racing cars by Italian automobile manufacturer Lancia

The Lancia LC2 was a series of racing cars built by Italian automobile manufacturer Lancia and powered by engines built by their sister company Ferrari. They were part of Lancia's official factory-backed effort in the World Sportscar Championship from 1983 to 1986, although they continued to be used by privateer teams until 1991. They were also the company's first car meeting the FIA's new Group C regulations for sports prototypes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abarth 1000 GT Coupé</span> Motor vehicle

The Abarth 1000 GT Coupé or Alfa Romeo 1000 Abarth GT Bertone Coupé is a prototype car made by the Italian car producer Abarth in collaboration with Alfa Romeo, and designed by Franco Scaglione for Bertone. Three cars were built; one example survives, rebodied by Luigi Colani.

The Giro d'Italia automobilistico was an automobile race around Italy, historically first held in 1901, then reinstituted as annual event between 1973 and 1980, resurrected for 1988 and 1989, and again in 2011. Both in its historical and modern iterations the Giro d'Italia was inspired by its French equivalent, the Tour de France Automobile.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicola Materazzi</span> Italian mechanical engineer (1939–2022)

Nicola Materazzi was an Italian mechanical engineer who developed several sports and racing cars, including the Ferrari 288 GTO, Ferrari F40, Bugatti EB110, and B Engineering Edonis. He was one of Italy's leading turbocharging specialists from the mid-1970s, a respected sports car and motorcycle engineer, and is sometimes referred to as "Mr. F40" or the "father of the F40."

Stellantis Heritage is a department established to protect and promote the historic legacy –both automotive and archival– of the Italian brands Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Lancia and Abarth. It was founded in Torino in 2015 to coordinate all the activities which, up to that moment, had been conducted individually by the brands to promote their historical and cultural heritage.

Sergio Limone is an Italian automobile engineer. He has carried out numerous sports car projects for the Fiat Group, including the Lancia Rally 037, Lancia Delta S4 and Lancia Delta for FIA World Rally Championship, and the Alfa Romeo 155 and Alfa Romeo 156 Touring cars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ferrari V12 F1 engine</span> Reciprocating internal combustion engine

Ferrari has made a number of V12 racing engines designed for Formula One; made between 1950 and 1995. Some derived engines were also used in various Ferrari sports prototype race cars and production road cars.

The Alfa Romeo Tipo 1035 is a naturally-aspirated, 3.5-liter, V10 racing engine, designed and built by Alfa Romeo. It was originally specially designed for the Ligier Formula One team, but was later used in the experimental Alfa Romeo 164 Procar touring car, and the Alfa Romeo SE 048SP Group C sports prototype race car.

The Ferrari 268/282C/308C engine is a twin-turbocharged, 2.6-litre, 2.8-litre, and 3.0-litre, V-8 racing engine, designed, developed and built by Ferrari, for their sister company Lancia, to use in their Lancia LC2 Group C sports prototype race car; between 1983 and 1986. The engine itself is derived from the Dino engine.

The Autolook Week is an annual motorsport festival held for the first time in Turin from 7 to 11 September 2022.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Melissen, Wouter (30 June 2010). "1990 Alfa Romeo SE 048SP – Images, Specifications and Information". Ultimatecarpage.com. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  2. ↑ Collins, Peter (29 July 2004). "Lancia LC2". Auto Italia. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  3. ↑ Hergault, Julien (26 March 2013). "Alfa Romeo: The secret project..." 24 Heures du Mans. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  4. ↑ Heseltine, Richard. "Top 10 Group C Oddities". www.autoclassics.com. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
  5. ↑ Motta, Roberto (24 October 2007). "Alfa V10 164 ProCar". VeloceToday. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  6. ↑ Melissen, Wouter (30 June 2010). "1990 Alfa Romeo SE 048SP Specifications". Ultimatecarpage.com. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  7. 1 2 Collins, Peter (1 December 2012). Alfa Romeo 155/156/147 Competition Touring Cars: The Development and Racing History. Veloce Publishing Ltd. pp. 17–18. ISBN   9781845843427 . Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  8. ↑ "Die DTM-Saison 1993". Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters. Archived from the original on 29 February 2012. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  9. ↑ "In Depth: 1991-2000". British Touring Car Championship. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.