|
| One of the most beautiful cars of the late 1940s, the Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 was among the first Italian sports cars to go into production after World War II. The superbly styled coachwork by various coachbuilders earned the 6C 2500 dual honors: it was one of the last cars to be recognized by the CCCA (Classic Car Club of America) and one of the first to be honored by the Milestone Car Society as a postwar collectible.
Subtle in its design, most Alfa Romeo 6C 2500SS's (total production 383) had only minor exterior embellishments. Equipped with a four-wheel fully independent suspension and four-wheel hydraulic brakes, the 6C 2500 Sport and Super Sport models were powered by a race-proven, 2443-cc, six-cylinder dual overhead-camshaft engine with hemispheric combustion chambers. Sport models had a single two-barrel carburetor and 7:1 compression ratio, and developed 90 horsepower, while the SS ( Super Sport) had 3 Weber two-barrel carbs., 7.5:1 compression ratio, developing 105HP, 100MPH, with aluminium body panels and a 12" shorter wheelbase giving it a more aggressive appearance.
The car's striking shape was actually narrower at the rear than the front, which led to the unusual three-passenger front bench seat. The sport had a more generous rear seat than the super sport because of its longer wheelbase but unfortunately this detracted from its looks. Alfa 6c drivers had to show their dexterity, as the cars were right-hand drive with a four-speed shifter mounted on the left side of the steering column. The interiors were superbly appointed with jewel-like instruments and luxurious upholstery of glove-soft leather. Such fine detail was a hallmark of these last hand-built Alfa Romeos.
Jano's fabulous 6C 1750, 8C 2300 and 2900 were world-class performance cars, but they were also prohibitively expensive for the depressed 1930s economy. To broaden its market, Alfa needed a cheaper car. The 6C 2300, introduced in 1934, offered the same displacement as Jano's 8-cylinder supercharged passenger cars, but with natural aspiration, two fewer cylinders, about half the horsepower and none of the sophistication (or fabulous castings) of those benchmark cars.
The 6C 2500 was still not a cheap car by any standard, though. Chassis were individually assembled by hand, and usually shipped off to the coach builder of the owner's choice, even though "factory" bodies were available. Initially introduced as the 6C 2300 in 1934 with independent front suspension but a solid rear axle, the car received fully independent suspension as the 6C 2300 B in 1935. After Jano was fired, Bruno Trevisan enlarged its engine to 2.5 liters in 1939 thus becoming the 6C 2500.
The Super Sport version of the 2.5-liter engine develops 110 horsepower and is capable of 100 mph. By carefully picking its venues, Alfa was able to record some victories for the 6C 2500, but the description of the engine as being "race-derived" is more hyperbole than fact. In spite of its twin-cam configuration and triple carburetors, the 6C 2500 SS was mildly tuned. Brake mean effective pressure for the Super Sport engine was only 7.26 kg/cm2, compared to 8.55 kg/cm2 in Colombo's development for the notorious 6C 3000 C50 coupe.
In 1946, Alfa's Portello factory, especially its foundry, was nothing more than rubble. Alfa had moved its huge inventory of cars and parts out of the factory before it was bombed, and cached them away in a cave north of Milan. As soon as the Germans were driven out of Italy, the horde of parts was rescued and assembly of cars recommenced. Three single-carburetor Sport models were assembled in 1945 and the number of cars for 1946 soared to 162. In the following year 281 6Cs were built, 71 of which were Super Sports. Thus, a majority of the parts in those 1947 cars are actually pre-war, and ex-cave.
The 6C 2500 is probably the most comfortable long-distance tourer Alfa ever built. A fully independent suspension combines rear torsion bars, front coil springs and a long wheelbase to give a luxurious ride. The bodywork by Pininfarina, Touring and others on this chassis unquestionably set the direction of post-war automotive design. This model was also a favorite of Middle Eastern royalty and Hollywood movie stars. Furthering its desirability, this model was the last of the hand-built Alfas, as the succeeding 1900 series was assembled on a production line. The Super Sport models have always attracted more interest and thereby attained higher values.
This particular car #915717, a Super Sport, Touring, 3 window Coupe, is a fully restored automobile including the engine compartment, mechanicals and interior. The dash is complete with correct instruments, knobs and steering wheel, and leather interior. The Sport models were constructed as all steel hand built bodies while the Pininfarina Super Sports were hand built steel with aluminum doors, hood and trunk and the Touring cars were hand built all aluminum bodies on their patented 'Superleggera' (superlight) tube structure.
60 3 window coupes (one ea. side plus rear) were produced in parallel with 14 Touring Aerolux Coupes, and they were both followed in 1950 by 25, 5 window Touring Coupes called the Villa D’Este, for a total Touring Coupe production of 99 from 1946-1952.
This particular car won "1st in Class" at the Amelia Island Concours D'Elegance in March 2005. After receiving new paint and detailing, the car was awarded 3 rd in class along with the Road and Track Trophy (for 'the car they would most like to drive' of the 225 entrants) at the prestigious Concourse D’Elegance, Pebble Beach, in August 2005. In September 2006 the car received a 1st in class and the trophy for 'Best Italian Car' at the Meadowbrook Concours d’Elegance in Detroit and then drove 250 miles back to Toronto.
- 2005 1 st in Class, Amelia Island Concours d’ Elegance
- 2005 3 rd in Class, Pebble Beach Concours d’ Elegance
- 2005 Road and Track Award (for the car they would most like to drive home), Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance
- 2006 1 st in Class, Meadowbrook Concours d’ Elegance
- 2006 Best Italian Car, Meadowbrook Concours d’ Elegance
- 2007 2 nd in Class, Vanderbilt Concours d’ Elegance
- 2007 Vanderbilt Award (Judges Choice), Vanderbilt Concours d’ Elegance
- 2007 1 st in Class, Alfa Romeo Owners Club, National Concours d’ Elegance
- 2007 2 nd, People’s Choice, Alfa Romeo Owners Club, National Concours d’ Elegance
|