After joining Alfa Romeo in 1923, Vittorio Jano created the all-conquering P2, an expedient design based largely on Jano’s experience with Fiat’s 1923 Tipo 805 GP car. Jano refined the best elements of the Tipo 805 and designed around some of its weaknesses. But this was not the creative Jano, it was the practical engineer going only as far as necessary to achieve the objective in the time available.


The P2’s 1925 championship initiated a long series of victories. Jano next turned to passenger cars to succeed the Merosi-designed RL and RM series. Merosi’s L-head six- and four-cylinder cars were now dated and Alfa needed something better. For 1927, Jano created a legendary six-cylinder that was to set new standards for lightweight, high-performance motorcars: the 6C 1500.


The 6C 1500’s engine was a masterpiece of design and construction. The iron cylinder block and head were each single-piece castings. The block mated to a light-alloy crankcase and sump. Initially a single-


camshaft design, a twin-camshaft supercharged powerplant, designated “Super Sport,” quickly became the standard for performance. Unlike the P2 and later 8C designs that used a geartrain to drive the camshafts, Jano utilized shaft and bevel gears for the 6C.


The chassis was low and lightweight, featuring semi-elliptic springs front and rear. While Alfa Romeo could, and in many cases did, clothe these artistic machines with
its own bodies, most were supplied in chassis form. They were the basis on which the best coachbuilders of the era expressed their ideas for both open and closed automobiles. Touring, Castagna, James Young and Brianza produced coachwork for this chassis, but most of all it was Zagato whose Spiders have come to epitomize the sporting 6C series. These cars were a triumph of balance, quickness and controlled responsiveness over ponderous leviathans, and were potential winners in any event.


This Alfa is one of only a few, perhaps as few as four, known to survive. According to Angela Cherrett, Registrar of the VSCC Alfa Section, this 6C is the oldest of them. Fortunately, its inherent quality and presence has kept it in the hands of Alfa enthusiasts who have preserved it. The panels still carry their original Zagato job numbers.


Sympathetically restored by Hill and Vaughn more than a quarter century ago, this car has been shown, raced and toured in historic events, driven by such luminaries as World Champion Phil Hill. It has garnered many Best of Show trophies and a first in class at Pebble Beach.

{analysis} This car sold for $112,200, including buyer’s premium, at the RM Monterey sale on August 18, 2001.


Merosi was a master of designing passenger cars but his Grand Prix cars were disasters, and Nicola Romeo wanted a change. Jano was hired with the understanding that he was to develop a sports car based on a winning Grand Prix Alfa Romeo. He delivered beyond Romeo’s wildest dreams, for his 6C 1500 and 6C 1750 Zagato-bodied Spiders became the standard against which all prewar lightweight sports cars were measured. Because they reflected many features of the P2, contemporaries regarded the 6Cs as road-going versions of the Grand Prix car.


On the other hand, this car is proof that performance really matters. While the “standard for performance” 6C 1500SS claimed a top speed of 87 mph, the 100-hp 6C 1750GS, first introduced in 1929, could almost reach 100 mph. The unsupercharged Sport model, with twin cams but only 60 hp, offers no more than 78 mph. Few people want to spend more than $100,000 for a sports car that can barely outrun an early VW Beetle.


This car also proves that intelligent marketing is an essential element of a successful sale. This is the oldest Jano-designed car in private hands, a Hill and Vaughn restoration that has been maintained with few expenses spared. However, it has been seeking a buyer for years, finally selling in Monterey for $112,200. The sale price can be compared to a supercharged 6C 1500SS Zagato that sold for $230,683, including buyer’s premium, at the Brooks Goodwood Festival of Speed auction on December 18, 1999.


Jack Becronis was a great Alfista and the owner responsible for restoring this car. At the time of his death, his wife knew little about his cars, and listened to some very bad advice. The initial asking price was more appropriate for a supercharged car, yet the widow, probably fearful of being taken advantage of, refused to consider lower offers. A stalemate between seller and buyers continued for years before reality dawned. By that time, every reasonable offer had already been refused and the car’s market was threadbare.


Whether or not $112,200 is an appropriate value depends entirely on how you regard the car. As the oldest example of a fabulous series, designed by one of the automotive greats and restored to perfection, it’s an absolute bargain. As a practical piece of sporting entertainment, that kind of money will buy you more testosterone. The new owner will probably want to keep the car for a while, until marketplace memories have faded.—Pat Braden


(Editor’s note: We are advised by the auction company that the high bidder in Monterey failed to perform, and that this car was subsequently sold to the underbidder, an SCM subscriber who is known for creating California-based vintage road rallies.){/analysis}

Comments are closed.