Alfa’s 1934 6C model was conceived as a natural development of the successful 6C 1500 and 6C 1750 series, and set the pattern for post-war Alfas. With dual overhead camshafts and a 70 x 100-mm bore and stroke, Jano’s final design of a production Alfa Romeo was robust: an engine with seven main bearings and a stiff, boxed-chassis frame. Though designed and built with costs in mind, it carried on the sporting traditions of the Milanese marque. The success of the 6C 2300 models was demonstrated in 1938 when Pintacuda and Giuseppe Farina finished first and second in the Mille Miglia, […]
Alfa’s 1934 6C model was conceived as a natural development of the successful 6C 1500 and 6C 1750 series, and set the pattern for post-war Alfas. With dual overhead camshafts and a 70 x 100-mm bore and stroke, Jano’s final design of a production Alfa Romeo was robust: an engine with seven main bearings and a stiff, boxed-chassis frame. Though designed and built with costs in mind, it carried on the sporting traditions of the Milanese marque.
The success of the 6C 2300 models was demonstrated in 1938 when Pintacuda and Giuseppe Farina finished first and second in the Mille Miglia, just one leading example of many highly successful competition outings in the season. In 1939 the factory increased the cylinder bore to 72 mm, creating the 2443-cc 6C 2500. With an improved cylinder head for better breathing and compression ratio increased from 6.75:1 to 7:1, output rose from 87 bhp to 95 bhp in the Sport version, with a single-throat Weber carburetor, and up to 105 bhp in the Super Sport version, which sported three Weber carburetors.
In 1948 Alfa developed the 6C 2500 Competizione, of which only three were built. One of these cars had a more advanced chassis, developed and manufactured by Gilco Milano. Behind the company name of Gilco was the full name of Gilberto Colombo, who designed and manufactured racing Ferrari and Maserati chassis in the 1950s. In 1950 Alfetta gave the order for chassis 64251 to Gilco
to build a special frame to accommodate the 6C running gear.
Meanwhile, on the motor racing competition front, 1950 was an unforgettable season for the Alfa Romeo team, which entered the newly designed type 158 in 11 Grand Prix and won them all, Fangio winning six and Farina five. In 1951 Fangio went on to win the first of his five world championship titles. As a result of this achievement, at the end of the season Alfa Romeo had the Gilco Tubolare chassis rebodied by Ghia and, after displaying it at a concours in Milano, gifted it to Juan Manuel Fangio as a present in recognition of winning the world championship.
At some later stage Fangio decided to sell the car, which was then exported to England. Years afterward it was discovered in an unrestored condition in a collection of Ferraris. Between 1995 and 1997 the car underwent a very thorough restoration, taking some 5,800 hours, which was fully documented and photographed.
It has since won many concours prizes, most recently winning its class at the famous Villa d’Este Concours this year against stiff competition, and taking second prize overall. This is an opportunity to acquire a magnificent and elegant sports car with a thoroughbred race car chassis, eligible for many of the international concours d’elegance and long-distance touring events around the world. A true wolf in sheep’s clothing, both beauty and beast.
{analysis} The auction copy rings all the bells crafted to open the most truculent wallet: Jano-derived, racing heritage, one-of-a-kind competition version, special tubular chassis, custom body, ex-Fangio and—here’s the clincher—a real barn find. Worth $220,000 to $260,000, asserts the auction company (in spite of the fact that SCM’s own Price Guide tops out around $175,000).
Bidding stopped at $160,000 at Christie’s Pebble Beach sale, August 19, 2001, and the car drove off a no-sale. Of all coach-built Alfa Romeos, the 6C 2500 is the least sporting Alfa, even when dubbed “Competizione.” The buyer who anticipates a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” may be in for a shock the first time he floors this car in fourth. A “sheep in wolf’s clothing” might be a more appropriate description.
This car was built at a time when Alfa was not keeping precise production records, even by Italian standards, so I will not claim that this car’s heritage is suspect. But I have looked in vain in Fusi, Tabucchi and Anselmi for a reference to a 6C 2500 engine number beginning with 924. The same goes for this car’s chassis number. The “gift from Alfa” account is well known, but it was a 1900 coupe from the early 1950s that was Alfa’s gift to Fangio, who has placed his signature on that car’s firewall.
Finally, the mention of Colombo in relation to an Alfa suggests Gioacchino Colombo, who went on to do great things for Ferrari. The Colombo in this instance, however, is Gilberto, no relation to Gioacchino, and references to Gilberto’s further successes with Ferrari and Maserati are, to say the least, sparse. Further, Gilco seems to have built frames only for the Ferrari 125, according to the official Ferrari 50th Anniversary book. Hopefully, the claims of ex-Fangio and ex-Gilco for this 6C are fully documented in the papers that accompany the car.
Suspicions aside, this is still an attractive 6C 2500. Its body is a refreshing departure from the frequently seen Pininfarina style, and hints at the tighter lines of the 1900 series that followed. That it was a no-sale only underscores the fact that the 6C 2500 is a slow mover in more ways than one.—Pat Braden{/analysis}