Alfa Romeo 6C

Bodies for these cars were made by coachbuilders such as James Young, Zagato, Touring Superleggera, Castagna, and Pinin Farina.

In the early 1920s Vittorio Jano received a commission to create a lightweight, high performance vehicle to replace the Giuseppe Merosi designed RL and RM models.

It was based on Alfa's P2 Grand Prix car, using a single overhead cam 1,487 cc in-line six-cylinder engine, producing 44 horsepower.

Series production started in 1927,[3] with the P2 Grand Prix car as a starting point.The Alfa Romeo 6C-1500 Super Sport features a twin overhead cam six cylinder engine with a bore of 62 mm and stroke of 82 mm, giving a displacement of 1487 cc, as against the P2's 1,987 cc, while supercharging was dropped.

The car had a top speed of 153 km/h (95 mph), a chassis designed to flex and undulate over uneven surfaces, as well as sensitive geared-up steering.

Additionally there were 3 examples built with James Young bodywork, one of which is a part of the permanent collection at the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum in Philadelphia, PA, USA, in original and unrestored condition.

The English-language section about this car tells: [excessive quote] Born with a spyder body by Zagato, this car is a 6C 1750 Gran Sport with Compressor, the sportiest version of the Milanese 6-cylinder, and was sold new to Giovanni Battista Aldo Barabini of Genova in 1931.After several changes of ownership the car goes back to Alfa Romeo, to be resold in 1933 to Dino Carabba, who in 1934 enrolls in the Varese-Campo dei Fiori [rally], coming in fourth in class and eleventh overall.In those years, the 6C probably runs in minor races, changing hands three times before being sold to the body shop Giuseppe Aprile of Savona, in August 1938.

The Alfa Romeo 6C 1900 was the final derivative of the original 6C 1500, produced in 197 examples during 1933 as a transitional model, before the new 6C 2300 was introduced the following year.

[22] Besides the larger displacement, other notable mechanical changes were aluminium cylinder heads, an improved chassis frame and a new transmission.

In this version the engine was placed in a completely redesigned chassis, with independent front suspension and rear swing axle, as well as hydraulic brakes.

The Aerospyder represents: Between 1935 and 1937 the Jankovits carried out the construction; a "rolling chassis" could be registered in Fiume (number plate: 2757 FM) tested, and subsequently modified.

The No.700316 6C 2300 Tipo Turismo straight-six engine placed behind the driver was Alfa Romeo: 2,309 cc, iron block, light alloy head, chain-driven dual overhead camshafts, spur gears, wet sump lubrication.

The Jankovits fitted exhaust pipes of equal length and improved intake of air to reduce the pressure drop.

The final suspension was all-independent, with "silent bloc" bushes; at the front it consisted of double wishbones, with a thick sheet steel (4 mm) upper wishbone, lever-arm Houdaille shock absorber hydraulic dampers, longitudinal torsion bars, and lower location through a transverse leaf spring; at the rear it had swing axles and radius arms, with a transverse leaf spring and longitudinal torsion bars.

The bodyshell was streamlined to minimise turbulence in the air flow, fully enveloping the underbody and integrating door handles and lights.

A horizontally mounted radiator made it possible to design an exceptionally low front profile for a pre-war car.

[33] The car was sold to wealthy customers like King Farouk, Alì Khan, Rita Hayworth, Tyrone Power, and Prince Rainier.

All 6C 2500 vehicles are catalogued, together with chassis specifications, known fate, technical and race data and first owners, in the Editoriale Domus book Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 (written by Angelo Tito Anselmi).

Alfa Romeo chose the name 'Villa d’Este' after this design won the Concorso d’Eleganza,[45] which was held at the historic resort on Lake Como in northern Italy.

One was shipped to Italian East Africa, where Giambattista Guidotti, winner of the 1937 Mille Miglia driving an Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 B, was instructed to conduct testing in the harsh operational conditions.

[49] Like its predecessor, the three-litre engine had a cast iron block, an aluminium head with hemispherical combustion chambers, two valves per cylinder, angled 90° and timed by directly acting, chain driven dual overhead camshafts.

Fed by a twin-choke carburettor, it developed 120 PS (88 kW), sent to the rear wheels through a 4-speed all-synchromesh gearbox with a column-mounted shifter as on the 6C 2500.

[49] After three prototypes had been made between 1948 and 1949, the project was abandoned when market analysis and product planning suggested the development of a smaller four-cylinder car—the Alfa Romeo 1900.

[49] Despite this, the 3-litre engine was developed for competition use and gave birth to a number sports racing cars during the first half of the 1950s: the 6C 3000 C50, 6C 3000 CM and 6C 3000 PR.

[51] With the end of its racing career, the 1953 Supercortemaggiore winner 6C 3000 CM spider was used by the Experimemtal Department of Alfa Romeo for testing new components.

Amongst them were disc brakes, installed in 1955, which are still present today on this vehicle,[51] part of the Museo Storico Alfa Romeo collection.

The ex-1953 Mille Miglia coupé was given to Pinin Farina, and rebodied four times into four different show cars to Aldo Brovarone's design:[57]

One of the two 6C 3000 CM spiders was modified to cope with the new rules of the International Sport Category, enacted in the 1954 season, which limited engine capacity to 3 litres.

Lopresto's 6C 1750 GS Zagato-Aprile at Rétromobile, Paris, 2015
1933 6C 1900 Gran Turismo Touring Superleggera Spyder.
The engine compartment of the Alfa Aerodinamica Spyder
The Aerodinamica Spyder at the 2011 Goodwood Festival of Speed
Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Super Sport Spyder Corsa
1949 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Sport "Freccia d'Oro"
1949 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Super Sport Villa d'Este (Touring Superleggera) at the 2014 Lime Rock Concours d'Élegance.
Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Coloniale
1960 Alfa Romeo Superflow IV
The 3000 PR at Chateau Impney on 12 July 2015.