A superb and rare photo of the great Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Super Sport Compressore factory
racing car, during the Targa Florio
in 1929.
The Alfa Romeo 6C name was
used on road, race and sports cars made between 1925–1954 by Alfa Romeo. 6C refers to a
straight 6-cylinder engine. Bodies for these cars were made by coachbuilders
such as James Young, Zagato, Touring, Castagna, and Pininfarina. Starting from
1933 there was also a 6C version with
a factory Alfa body, built in Portello.
The company that became Alfa
Romeo was founded as Società Anonima Italiana Darracq (SAID) in 1906 by
Cavaliere Ugo Stella, an aristocrat from Milan, in partnership
with the French automobile firm of Alexandre Darracq. The firm initially
produced Darracq cars in Naples, but after
the partnership collapsed Stella and the other Italian co-investors moved production
to an idle Darracq factory in the Milan suburb of
Portello, and the company was renamed A.L.F.A.
(Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili). The first non-Darracq car produced by
company was the 1910 24 HP, designed by Giuseppe Merosi. Merosi would go on to
design a series of new ALFA cars with
more powerful engines (40-60 HP). ALFA also
ventured into motor racing, drivers Franchini and Ronzoni competing in the 1911
Targa Florio with two 24 HP models. However, the onset of World War I halted
automobile production at ALFA for three
years. 1916 saw the company come under the direction of Neapolitan entrepreneur
Nicola Romeo, who converted
the factory to produce military hardware for the Italian and Allied war
efforts. Munitions, aircraft engines and other components, compressors and
generators based on the company's existing car engines, and heavy locomotives
were produced in the factory during the war. When the war was over, Romeo took complete control of ALFA and car
production resumed in 1919. In 1920, the
name of the company was changed to Alfa
Romeo with the Torpedo 20-30 HP becoming the first car to be badged as
such. Their first success came in 1920 when Giuseppe Campari won at Mugello and
continued with second place in the Targa Florio driven by Enzo Ferrari. Giuseppe Merosi continued as head designer, and
the company continued to produce solid road cars as well as successful race
cars (including the 40-60 HP and the RL Targa Florio). In 1923 Vittorio Jano
was lured away from Fiat, partly thanks to the persuasion of a young Alfa
racing driver named Enzo Ferrari, to replace Merosi as chief designer at Alfa
Romeo. The first Alfa Romeo under Jano was the P2 Grand Prix car, which won
Alfa Romeo the inaugural world championship for Grand Prix cars in 1925. For
Alfa road cars Jano developed a series of small-to-medium-displacement 4, 6,
and 8 cylinder inline power plants based on the P2 unit that established the
classic architecture of Alfa engines, with light alloy construction,
hemispherical combustion chambers, centrally-located plugs, two rows of
overhead valves per cylinder bank and dual overhead cams. Jano's designs proved
to be both reliable and powerful. Enzo
Ferrari proved to be a better team manager than driver, and when the
factory team was privatised, it then became Scuderia Ferrari. When Ferrari left Alfa Romeo, he went on
to build his own cars. Tazio Nuvolari
often drove for Alfa, winning many races prior to WWII. In 1928 Nicola Romeo
left, with Alfa going broke after defense contracts ended, and in the end of
1932 Alfa Romeo was rescued by the government, which then had effective
control. Alfa became an instrument of Mussolini's Italy, a national
emblem. During this period Alfa Romeo built bespoke vehicles for the wealthy,
with the bodies normally built by Touring of Milan or Pininfarina. This was the
era that peaked with the legendary Alfa Romeo 2900B Type 35 racers. The Alfa
factory (converted during wartime to the production of Macchi C.202 Folgore
engines) was bombed during World War II, and struggled to return to
profitability after the war. The luxury vehicles were out. Smaller
mass-produced vehicles began to be produced in Alfa's factories beginning with
the 1954 model year, with the introduction of the Giulietta series of berline
(saloons/sedans), coupes and open two-seaters. All three varieties shared what
would become the classic Alfa Romeo Twin Cam engine, initially in 1300cc form.
This engine would eventually be enlarged to just under 2
liters (1962cc) and would remain in production through
1995.
Contact us for more Alfa Romeo , Ferrari and other automotive photos!
This is a very nice and very rare photo that reflects a wonderful era of
Alfa Romeo ‘s and Ferrari ’s automotive history in a wonderful way. This is your rare chance to own this
photo, therefore it is printed in a nice large format of ca. 8" x 12"
(ca. 20 x 30 cm). It makes it perfectly
suitable for framing.
Contact us for more Alfa Romeo , Ferrari and other automotive photos!