March-AlfaRomeo

Origins

March-Alfa Romeo was the brief works-engine partnership Robin Herd and his March Engineering attempted in 1976 alongside the team's main Ford-Cosworth DFV programme. Alfa Romeo had returned to F1 engine supply with the flat-12 boxer that powered the Brabham BT45 and Brabham BT46; March accepted a customer supply for Vittorio Brambilla and Lella Lombardi to evaluate the alternative powerplant.

Golden Era

There was no golden era. The March-Alfa Romeo combination scored no major results and was generally less competitive than the team's parallel DFV-powered cars. Brambilla and Lombardi achieved occasional point-scoring finishes but the partnership did not develop further.

Legendary Cars

The March 761 chassis, in its Alfa Romeo flat-12 trim, raced in only a few 1976 events. Visually it was distinguishable from the DFV-engined sister cars chiefly by the bulkier rear bodywork required to package the wider Italian engine.

Lows and Reinventions

The Alfa Romeo flat-12, like all flat-12 engines, was poorly suited to ground-effect aerodynamics that began to dominate from 1977 onwards. March quickly abandoned the partnership and returned exclusively to Cosworth power for 1977 and beyond.

Modern Era

March-Alfa Romeo is remembered as a brief technical experiment within March's larger Ford-Cosworth era. The chassis itself, in its rare Alfa-engined trim, is a curiosity in private collections; March's competitive March-Ford record in the same season demonstrated the team had picked the wrong engine for the technical regulations of the era.