1983 was a pivotal year for Italy's Alfa Romeo, as internal team conflicts between management and the racing department led to the decline of their Formula 1 project. After testing the new 890T V8 turbo engine designed by Carlo Chiti on the 182 chassis, technical director Gérard Ducarouge and chief designer Mario Tolentino developed the first Alfa Romeo turbo-powered car designed from scratch: the 183T.
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| ALFA ROMEO 183T, Andrea de Cesaris Brands Hatch, European GP 1983 |
The new car was entrusted to Italian drivers Andrea de Cesaris and Mauro Baldi, featuring a new carbon-fiber monocoque chassis specifically built to house the new 630 hp V8 turbo, paired with a custom-designed 5-speed gearbox by Alfa Romeo. With a 2720 mm wheelbase and 558 kg weight, the 183T carried over the shape of the previous 182. Tolentino opted for long sidepods to house the radiators and turbines, contrary to the trend of minimizing them. He did, however, redesign the rear to create a "coke-bottle" shape, McLaren-style, to recover some of the lost downforce due to the ban on ground effect.
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| ALFA ROMEO 183T, Mauro Baldi Montecarlo, Monaco GP 1983 |
Despite high expectations, the season turned out to be a complete failure, notwithstanding some standout performances from De Cesaris, who secured two second-place finishes and led the Belgian GP for a long time before retiring. Baldi’s best result was a fifth place. The failure was attributed to chaos within Alfa Romeo’s racing division. Carlo Chiti’s Autodelta, in charge of engine development, clashed with Giampaolo Pavanello’s Euroracing, which had been promoted by Alfa president Ettore Massacesi to officially run the cars. This conflict hindered development of the 183T.
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| ALFA ROMEO 183T, Andrea de Cesaris Silverstone, British GP 1983 |
The in-house Alfa Avio turbines used in the turbo V8 were deemed heavy and fragile, with Euroracing blaming them for frequent breakdowns. They were replaced mid-season with German KKK and American Garrett units, sourced from the market rather than provided officially. Despite performance improvements, reliability issues persisted, with 19 retirements that year. Tensions peaked at the French Grand Prix, where De Cesaris’s lap times were annulled after a technical inspection revealed an empty fire extinguisher. Ducarouge, used as a scapegoat, was abruptly fired by Pavanello, ironically, the same man who had insisted on hiring him.
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| ALFA ROMEO 183T, Mauro Baldi Hockenheimring, German GP 1983 |
This marked the beginning of Euroracing’s separation from Alfa Romeo, which culminated in full control of the F1 project passing to Pavanello at the end of the year. Chiti, completely at odds with Euroracing's direction, left Autodelta and founded Motori Moderni. Several 183T chassis were sold to Osella, who used them to develop their cars between 1984 and 1988.
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