This magnificent 6C 2300B Mille Miglia left the Portello Works in April 1938. Its early ownership is unknown, but it is first recorded as being owned by Herr Hoffer of Geneva in 1946. In 1953, Herr Hoffer sold the car to Jean-Louis Fatio for the princely sum of 500 Swiss francs. According to correspondence on file, in 1957, Monsieur Fatio sold the car to his friend and fellow Geneva resident Michel Dovaz, who re-registered this Alfa Romeo in France in August 1958. Dovaz — a prominent wine expert and food critic — would retain the car for more than three decades.
During this time, he amassed a highly unusual and desirable collection of more than 50 vintage and classic cars, all of which were kept in original unrestored condition at his estate in Villemaréchal, roughly 80 kilometers south of Paris. Monsieur Dovaz owned, at one time or another, no fewer than 21 Bugattis, while Alfa Romeo representation extended to a post-war 6C 2500 Competizione and a 6C 2500 SS cabriolet.
In 1990, ownership passed into the hands of Dutch Alfa Romeo collector and dealer Douwe Heida. Sadly, time had taken its toll on the car, and Mr. Heida duly embarked on an exacting restoration. Strenuous efforts were made to establish the original color scheme which, according to original Touring records, was reputedly light blue. It was in this form that the car passed into the ownership of Belgian Alfa Romeo aficionado and Pebble Beach judge Raoul San Giorgi in 1997.
Mr. San Giorgi retained 815053 for only two years, with ownership subsequently passing to Dutch collector and vintage-car dealer Paul Koot in 1999. After a four-year tenure in Mr. Koot’s collection, the car ventured into American ownership. A second comprehensive restoration was embarked upon with, among other things, the body being removed from the Superleggera tubing and sympathetically restored prior to refitment to the frame.
The entire restoration took more than two years and incorporated both a change in exterior color to black and a retrim in dark green leather. An Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Veloce-sourced 5-speed gearbox with a BMW clutch assembly was installed in the car to improve its touring capability; the correct-type Alfa Romeo gearbox, numbered 843047, was retained, and it accompanies the car today.
The restored car was awarded a Best in Class award at Pebble Beach in 2007 (where it was also a Best of Show runner-up), and a coveted Senior Badge at the CCCA Nationals in Bellevue, WA, in early 2008. In 2009, it won the Pre-War Sports Car class at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, further evidence of the beauty of Touring’s design and the quality of its restoration.
