THE 12-CYLINDER ALFA-ROMEO.

The new 12-cylinder Alfa-Romeo racing car, on which Arcangeli met his death and which has already proved itself excptionally fast, is a really remarkable machine. Mounted in a fairly wide chassis are two of the famous 1,750 c.c. 6-cylinder engines, with a bore and stroke of 65 x 88 mms., which thus give a total capacity for the 12-cylinder car of 3,496 c.c. Each engine is quite separate from the other, having its own supercharger, clutch, gearbox and propeller shaft, each of which drives one back wheel, and a differential is therefore particularly necessary. The steering wheel is situated in the centre of the car, and operates two push-and-pull rods, one for each front wheel, so that no tie-rod

is needed. The driver thus sits in the middle of the car between the propeller shafts, and the overall height of the machine is kept satisfactorily low.

The complete car only weighs some 18 cwt., while the engine develops over 300 h.p., and the speed of the car is believed to amount to over 150 m.p.h.