Alfa Romeo 158/159 Alfettas raced in 54 Grand Prix races, winning an astonishing 47 of them. This placed them among the most successful vehicles to ever hit a race track. Orazio Satta Puliga, born on this day in 1910, had just joined Alfa Romeo in 1938 when he was tasked with designing this revolutionary race car. Equipped with a 1.5 liter straight 8 supercharged engine, the car was originally developed for the pre-World War II voiturette formula series. With the end of World War II came the new Formula One series, introduced in 1947. This car would go on to dominate the first two seasons.
Throughout Orazio’s career he would be responsible for numerous other Alfa Romeo designs. His efforts are seen in the 1900, Giulietta and Giulia, among many others. Orazio received a promotion to central director in 1951 and then served as general vice president of Alfa Romeo between 1969 and 1973, at which time he retired.
