Vittorio Jano's 1927 6C 1500 provided the foundation for a series of engines that form the basis of Alfa Romeo's great prewar reputation. Expanded to 1752 cc, it became the 6C 1750. With two added cylinders, the 6C 1750 design became the 8C 2300. The Tipo B 2.9-liter Grand Prix expanded upon these principles and was ultimately adapted to the famed 8C 2900 sports cars.
However noble, the performance attributes of the 6C 1500 and its derivatives became dated. In 1934, Jano created a new generation of Alfa Romeo powerplants: the dual overhead camshaft 6C 2300. With a 70-mm bore and 100-mm stroke, the 6C 2300 continued the long stroke that gave Alfa's engines high-end torque for drivability while adopting an improved light alloy cylinder head with chain-driven camshafts. Reliability was a priority in its design, and Jano gave it hollow camshafts for superior lubrication, seven main bearings for rigidity, a single-piece block and head castings, and an innovative dual-level sump that acted as an efficient oil cooler. In 1939, the bore was increased to 72 mm, creating the 6C 2500 with 2443-cc displacement.
The new 6C series engine was complemented by a brilliant chassis reflecting all that Alfa had learned from its dominant GP and sports cars: four-wheel independent suspension; parallel trailing arms at the front and swing axles at the rear. Springing was by torsion bars at the rear and coil springs in hydraulic cylinders at the front.
Most 6Cs were provided on special order to favored clients for custom coachwork, among them the 1939 6C 2500 offered here. Chassis number 913014 was discovered by the current owner in Nova Scotia in 1976. Years of research traced the car back through its prior owners in England to a Heathrow Airport parking facility where it had had been abandoned with a broken axle. The Alfa's attractive cabriolet coachwork was an even greater mystery. Again, painstaking and lengthy research by the owner finally traced the body to Gebruder Tücher in Zurich, Switzerland. The company, still in existence building bus bodies, provided copies of the original records showing delivery by November 1, 1939, to Herr Direktor Weber in two-tone gray, the same colors it displays today.
With the combination of Vittorio Jano's powerful yet reliable engine and race-bred, fully independent suspension, prewar 6C 2300 and 6C 2500 models are superb road machines. The Tücher-bodied example shown here is not only rare, it is unique. It is faithfully presented, appearing much as it did when it was delivered to Herr Direktor Weber 61 years ago. Angelo Tito Anselmi's authoritative book Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 indicates that this is the earliest surviving 6C 2500.
{analysis} This car sold for $121,000 at RM's Arizona Biltmore sale, January 19, 2001, including buyer's premium.
There should be a law that prohibits invoking the ghost of Vittorio Jano every time an Alfa crosses the block. While Jano is credited with the 6C 2300, he was fired from Alfa two years before the 6C 2500 appeared. Certainly the 6C 2500 engine is a minor elaboration of Jano's earlier powerplant, but the honor of its development goes to Bruno Trevisan, who also created the more sporting Corto and Super Sport versions. Furthermore, the 6C 2500 was not a very distinguished race car, nor was it the obsolescence of the great Jano cars that prompted the 6C 2300 and 6C 2500, the Depression instead being the cause. Alfa needed cheaper cars for the economy, and that is exactly what the 6C 2300 and 6C 2500 were.
It would be fascinating to know exactly what Herr Weber direkted (S/N 915521 went to Albert Speer; two earlier 6C 2500s anonymously to the Deutsche Wehrmacht). Hopefully, the new owner will continue the dedicated research undertaken by the individual who restored this car. Without the supplied provenance, including the identified bodybuilder and, indeed, the original owner's name, this car would have brought much less.
This provenance is probably more valuable than the claim that this is the oldest 6C 2500 known. A quick read of Anselmi's book fails to reveal a reference to this car, but Anselmi does state that the official factory register, covering the years 1939-1942, was destroyed during the war. This leaves Luigi Fusi's personal records as the most authoritative resource. Fusi lists the first 1939 6C 2500 Turismo five-seater chassis as
S/N 913001, which means there are potentially 13 other chassis waiting to dethrone this car as the oldest of the litter.
This pre-war Tücher-bodied Alfa deserves better than a fawning, Jano-laden description that misleads more than it informs. The car is a handsome and distinctive link between the angular body styles of the 1930s and the seminal, aerodynamic bodies that clothed the same chassis after the war. Given the decent condition of the car (SCM's Dave Brownell described it as being an "older restoration still quite presentable" in the April 2001 issue) and its rarity, it should be considered very well bought in today's market.-Pat Braden
(Historic data and photo courtesy of auction company.){/analysis}