1931 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Zagato Spyder

With the body bare, the originality of the car could be confirmed, down to markings inside panels left by craftsmen who created it in 1931

by Donald Osborne

Alfa Romeo and Zagato are two of the most charismatic names in Italian automotive history. Alfa Romeo built thousands of cars with bodies by other coachbuilders, and Zagato bodied chassis from most of the great manufacturers of the world, but beginning in the late 1920s, these two great houses jointly produced some of the most desirable sports and racing cars of the 20th century.

One of these is the 6C 1750 Super Sport Spyder. Begun as a 1,500-cc SOHC, 6-cylinder in 1927, the engine underwent development for the next five years. The second series, in 1929, had two overhead cams and more power. In 1929, the displacement was raised to 1,752 cc, where it remained through 1932 and the fifth and sixth series.

Less than 400 of the 6C 1750 SS and GS cars were built. Campari’s win in the 1928 Mille Miglia with the first of the 6C 1500 supercharged Zagato Spyders set the stage for Alfa’s dominance of Italian sports car racing in the 1930s. In the following...