Benito Mussolini’s Alfa
December 11, 2007 –A 1935 Alfa Romeo 6C 2300 Pescara Spyder that competed in the Mille Miglia and was once owned by Benito Mussolini will be auctioned by H&H at The Centaur, Cheltenham Racecourse on February 27, 2008. Of huge historical importance, the stunning dark red Two-Seater carries an estimate of £600,000-800,000.
Chassis 700635 clothed in striking coachwork by Carozzeria Touring was built to the special order of Benito Mussolini. Before delivery he had it modified with a dickey seat and the engine was specially tuned to deliver 95bhp rather than the 68bhp of the standard model.
The car was driven in the 1936 Mille Miglia by Ercole Boratto, an ex-Alfa Romeo test driver who was Mussolini’s chauffeur at the time. The car finished 13th overall and 3rd in class. Mussolini retained the car until 1939, since when it has only had three owners, the latest of which had it restored by Dino Cognolato to a standard good enough to achieve second in class in the 2005 Pebble Beach Concours and victory in the New York Concours meeting of the same year.
This matching numbers car of enormous historical interest even retains traces of the partial alcohol fuelling system it is believed to have operated during the Mille Miglia, when the fascist regime was promoting the use of alternative fuels in the face of stringent petrol sanctions.
For further details of H&H’s sale of collectors’ cars, motorcycles, bicycles, registration plates and automobilia at Cheltenham Racecourse on February 26/27, logo onto www.handh.co.uk or call 01925 730630.