Alfa Romeo 135
The Alfa Romeo 135 Tornado was an Italian 18-cylinder radial engine designed by Giustino Cattaneo in 1934–1935. Design and development. The Alfa 135 consists of two nine-cylinder radial rows, back to back, operating a two-throw crankshaft. Cattaneo left Alfa Romeo in 1936, leaving the development of the 135 to eng. Bossi and his staff, but without success. At the time of its first running in 1938 and 1939 it was one of the most powerful radial engines in the world, generating just less than on 100 octane fuel, but the standard fuel available was  87 octane, with which the 135 developed . Despite the obvious potential, this engine was affected by many reliability problems. Although many mechanical defects were addressed during testing, it suffered from overheating and vibrations so seriously that it was rejected from service. Up to 1944 approximately 150 were made, none of which were fitted in operational aircraft. Further development resulted in the Alfa Romeo 136, but this remained a paper project before the Armistice in September 1943 intervened.