Forza Ricardo

Sir,

Oh history! Re the 1939 V16 Alfa Romeo — Ricardo or Ricart?

In 1947 I wrote to Harry Ricardo asking his advice on having new bronze cylinder heads for the Vauxhall Villiers, a modified version of his 1922 three-litre TT Vauxhall. The last two paragraphs of his reply confirmed that he did design the cylinder heads for the V16 three-litre Alfa Romeo.

In later correspondence with a member of Ricardo’s staff the writer concluded: “Concerning the V16 Alfa Romeo; as far as I can discover at the moment, all we designed was the cylinder head…”

600 bhp with Nuvolari driving? That would have been quite something.

Tony Brooke, Moreton-in-Marsh, Glos.