The Ex Adrea De Cesaris 1982 Alfa Romeo

! The Ex-Adrea de Cesaris 1982 Alfa Romeo 182 Chassis No. N182/1 • A genuine Works ‘ground effect’ Alfa Romeo Grand Prix car, carrying arguably the most iconic of all racing liveries. • One of the first Formula 1 cars to utilise the strength advantages of a fully carbon fibre tub. • Driven to pole position at the 1982 Long Beach Grand Prix by Andrea de Cesaris. • In its current ownership for the last 15 years and the previous for 10 years before that. • Wonderfully original and a highly desirable and blue chip entry to the popular world of Historic F1. Alfa Romeo returned to Formula 1 in 1979 after a 28 year sabbatical with the 177 which was designed and built under Carlo Chiti at Autodelta. Soon the 177 was replaced with the much improved 179 which gained the backing of cigarette giant Marlboro. The 179 was developed over a period of three seasons, which included flashes of promise such as a pair of pole positions and Bruno Giacomelli and 2nd at the 1980 Australian Grand Prix. Hungry to push forward and in a bid to do better, Alfa Romeo gained the services of Ligier designer Gérard Ducarouge in 1981 and the 182 was bourn. T. + 44 (0)1285 831 488 E. [email protected] www.williamianson.com ! Ducarouge persuaded the Turinese team to embrace carbon fibre technology in the production of its 1982 chassis, the 182 and at the beginning of the 1982 season only Alfa Romeo and McLaren were capitalising on the advantages of using carbon fibre. The monocoque’s design was largely similar to the aluminium 179, but instead was constructed entirely in carbon fibre by Advanced Composites in Derby, England. This new construction method yielded a reputed weight saving of 20kg, with the monocoque weighing just 30kg while at the same time improving it’s stiffness. Ducarouge’s design focus with the new 182 was aerodynamically based with major refinements over the old 179 design, exploiting the effective “ground effect” underbody. The suspension design employed remained closely linked to the 179. T. + 44 (0)1285 831 488 E. [email protected] www.williamianson.com ! The efficient design of the 182 which utilised lightweight components, meant that some ballast was required to bring the overall running weight up to the minimum limit of 580kg, a far more desirable option than having a car which is too heavy! For power, the 2991cc Alfa Romeo 1260 V12 engine, which produced around 525 bhp, was used as with the 179; a useful advantage over the Cosworth DFV engine cars. This was transferred through an Alfa Romeo cased gearbox with Hewland internals to the wheels. Once again, Marlboro sponsored the Alfa Romeo F1 effort and the 182 was adorned in the iconic fluorescent red and white paint scheme. 182-01 was the first chassis produced of this model, and debuted at the Brazilian GP at Jacarepagua with Andrea de Cesaris, although it had been taken to the South African GP at Kyalami for the first race of the season as a spare but not used. De Cesaris qualified 10th at Jacarepagua, but retired on lap 14 after the under-tray came loose. Next was to Long Beach for the United States (West) GP, where de Cesaris again drove 182-01. He caused a stir when he qualified on pole position ahead of Lauda’s McLaren. De Cesaris took the lead at the start, and led for the first 14 laps when Lauda overtook him whilst the pair lapped Boesel’s March 821. De Cesaris continued in 2nd place until lap 33 when his suspension collapsed and he crashed as a result of brushing too many walls. According to the Sheldon and Rabagliati Record of Grand Prix and Voiturette Racing, 182-01 was not present at a contemporary Grand Prix after Long Beach. T. + 44 (0)1285 831 488 E. [email protected] www.williamianson.com ! In 1990, 182-01 was acquired by Mr. Ermano Ronchi from the workshop of former Autodelta mechanic Marcello Gombi. He ran the car a couple of times in demonstrations. The current owner then bought 182-01 from Mr. Ronchi in 2000, before commissioning Hall & Hall to go over the car and carry out crack testing on mechanical components. Once completed, 182-01 was run on test days at Donington Park and Mallory Park. In 2001, 182-01 was inspected and granted old style FIA Papers which remain with the car. Today, 182-01 is available in largely original, unaltered, complete form having been used only sparingly over the years. With the FIA Historic F1 Championship going from strength to strength, this noteworthy Alfa Romeo is the perfect opportunity to join the grid in one of the most iconic liveried cars of it’s era. T. + 44 (0)1285 831 488 E. [email protected] www.williamianson.com.

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