[alfa] Ha ha. Ha ha ha. HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!! (was: Graduate Duetto race car)

["John Hertzman" <johnhertzman@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I haven't tried to follow most of the Duetto argument, but I did notice what seemed to be a disparaging comment about swing axles on British cars, along with a swipe at "Volkswagen engined, tail happy Porsches", both in a note from Brian Shorey in AD10-0470. Lest anyone get too negative an impression of swing axles  and/or of Dr. Porsche's engineering, I think it may be reasonable to mention that swing axles were used on all Alfa race cars after the Tipo B (or P3) and before the 159, including the 158 which won the World Championship in 1950. Alfa had adopted the swing axles (and a takeoff on Porsche style front suspensions) as part of a response to the drubbing they got from both Auto Union and Mercedes, both with swing axles, in the mid-thirties. It didn't reverse Alfa's fortunes, but did reflect a consensus among Alfa,,Mercedes, and Dr. Porsche at Auto Union that swing axles were not laughable.
 
Later prewar both Auto Union and Mercedes, and in 1951 Alfa with the 159, went to De Dions, but Mercedes returned to swing axles postwar with the W196 GP car of 1954, which took the Word Championship in both 1954 and 1955. (Alfa did not compete under that formula, but Mercedes was beating Alfa's surrogate Ferrari.) 
 
On the sports racer (as opposed to Grand Prix) end of things Alfa used swing axles on the 8c 2900 and all 6C 2500s an well as the 6C 2300 Pescara and Mille Miglia cars, while Mercedes used it on the 300 SL and 300 SLR sports cars which won the 1955 sports car world championship, winning both the Mille Miglia and the Targa Florio on Alfa's home turfs in the process. Their record is by no means solely attributable to the swing axle, but it was clearly not an insurmountable barrier. The Brits may not have used it as well as the Italians and Germans did, but the concept was not fatally flawed.
 
On the "Volkswagen engined, tail happy Porsches", I will just mention that Italian accounts generally attribute the development of the Veloce version of the Giulietta to a response to the drubbing that the Giulietta got in the Mille Miglia from the Porsche entries the first year that the two makes went head to head with no unfair advantages.
 
Personally, I'm partial to the Alfas (partly as a contrarian, appreciating both their real merits and their accomplishments as underdog) but feel that appreciation of Alfa's merits demands appropriate respect for the merits of others.
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