Carlo Felice Trossi

Count Carlo Felice Trossi di Pian Villar (27 April 1908 – 9 May 1949) was an Italian racing driver and auto constructor.

Carlo Felice Trossi
Trossi in 1934
BornCarlo Felice Trossi
(1908-04-27)27 April 1908
Gaglianico, Piedmont, Italy
Died9 May 1949(1949-05-09) (aged 41)
Milan, Lombardy, Italy

Racing career

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During Trossi's career, he raced for three different teams: Mercedes-Benz, Alfa Romeo and, briefly, Maserati. He won the 1947 Italian Grand Prix and the 1948 Swiss Grand Prix. He relieved playboy-driver Frederick McEvoy for 51 laps of the 75-lap 1936 Vanderbilt Cup;[1] while the Australian started and finished the race, Trossi earned more points than him under the mileage-based AAA points system.[2]

The 1935 Trossi-Monaco, often on display at the Museo Nazionale dell'Automobile

Trossi backed one of the most unusual Grand Prix cars, the Trossi-Monaco of 1935. It featured a 16-cylinder, two-stroke cycle, two-row radial, air-cooled engine and an aircraft-like body designed by Augusto Monaco. The car was a spectacular failure and never raced in a Grand Prix event.[3]

Trossi had many exciting hobbies: racing boats and airplanes in addition to cars. He was also the president of the Scuderia Ferrari in 1932.

Enzo Ferrari said of Trossi: "He was a great racer but never wanted to make the effort to reach a dominant position and I remember him with emotion since he was one of the first to believe in my scuderia of which he was a part".[4][better source needed]

Personal life

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Trossi was born in Gaglianico, Italy. He died of a brain tumor in Milan at 41 years of age.[5]

Motorsports career results

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European Championship results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

YearEntrantChassisEngine1234567EDCPts
1935Scuderia FerrariAlfa Romeo Tipo B/P3Alfa Romeo 3.2 L8sMON
Ret1
FRABELGERSUIITAESP1
1936Scuderia TorinoMaserati V8RIMaserati 4.8 V8sMON
Ret
ITA
7
7th23
Maserati 4C 2500Maserati 2.5 L4sGER
8
SUI
1937Scuderia FerrariAlfa Romeo 12C-36Alfa Romeo 4.1 V12sBEL
Ret
GERMONSUIITA
8
17th35
1938Officine A. MaseratiMaserati 8CTFMaserati 3.0 L8sFRAGERSUIITA
DSQ
36th32
Source:[6]
Notes
  • ^1 – As a co-driver Trossi was ineligible for championship points

Post-WWII Grandes Épreuves results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

YearEntrantChassisEngine1234
1947Alfa CorseAlfa Romeo 158Alfa Romeo 158 1.5 L8sSUI
3
BEL
3
ITA
1
FRA
1948Alfa CorseAlfa Romeo 158Alfa Romeo 158 1.5 L8sMONSUI
1
FRAITA
Ret
Source:[7]

References

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  1. ^ "Carlo Felice Trossi". www.champcarstats.com. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
  2. ^ "1936 AAA National Championship Trail". www.champcarstats.com. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
  3. ^ Road & Track, April 1972.
  4. ^ Piloti Che Gente, Enzo Ferrari, 1893
  5. ^ Saward, Joe. "Jean-Pierre Wimille: The man who would have been champion..." Archived 2001-06-17 at the Wayback Machine at grandprix.com
  6. ^ "Drivers – Carlo Felice Trossi". kolumbus.fi. Archived from the original on 6 July 2017. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  7. ^ "Carlo Felice Trossi – Biography". MotorSportMagazine. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
Sporting achievements
Preceded by European Hill Climb Champion
(for Racing Cars)

1933
Succeeded by