1930 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Third Series Super Sport Spider Coachwork

1,752cc DOHC Supercharged Inline 6-Cylinder Engine
Single Solex Carburetor
Approx. 85bhp at 4,500rpm
4-Speed Manual Transmission
4-Wheel Drum Brakes

*Formerly owned by actor James Robertson Justice, Alfa Romeo author Roy Slater and sculptor Stanley Wanlass
*History back to earliest days in Italy and UK, copies for Italian registration records on file
*Never publicly offered for sale
*Eligible for many long-distance touring events

THE ALFA ROMEO 6C

"The 1750, and for that matter the 1500... must be among the finest ever made both from the point of view of engineering and driver satisfaction." - Michael Frostick, Alfa-Romeo-Milano.

It was Enzo Ferrari, no less, who persuaded Vittorio Jano to leave FIAT's racing department and join him at Alfa Romeo. One of the most gifted and influential automobile engineers of all time, Jano would not only supervise Alfa Romeo's Grand Prix racing programme but also design its road cars. This happy state of affairs resulted in the latter emerging as some of the most exciting of their day, establishing the Milanese marque's reputation for producing sporting driver's cars second to none.

Jano arrived at Alfa in 1923 and by the following year had produced one of the most fabulous racing automobiles of all time - the legendary P2. As well as bringing Alfa much valuable publicity by virtue of its outstanding Grand Prix successes, the P2 provided the basis for Jano's first production model. Announced in 1925 but not produced for another two years, the 6C 1500 was designed as a fast touring car combining light weight with sparkling performance. The latter was achieved courtesy of a 1,487cc inline six-cylinder engine based on the P2's straight eight and producing 44bhp in single-overhead-camshaft Normale form.

Twin-overhead-camshaft Sport and supercharged Super Sport models followed, the latter being the first of its type to feature the classic open two-seater coachwork by Zagato forever associated with sporting vintage Alfas. Production of the 6C 1500 ceased in 1929 on the arrival of the 6C 1750.

Logical derivative of the Tipo 6C 1500, itself directly descended from Jano's all-conquering P2 that had won the World Championship in 1925, the Tipo 6C 1750 arrived in 1929 boasting a derivative of the 1500's six-cylinder engine enlarged to 1,752cc. Built in single-cam Turismo and twin-cam Sport (later renamed Gran Turismo) variants, the 6C 1750 was an exciting fast touring car combining light weight with sparkling performance, more than 120km/h (75mph) being attainable, depending on coachwork. Aimed at gentleman racing drivers, there was also a limited edition Super Sport, or 'SS', version, which later evolved into the Gran Sport. Produced from 1929, the SS was available with or without a Roots-type supercharger, the production split being 52/60 (blown/un-blown). Most of these cars carried coachwork by Carrozzeria Zagato or Carrozzeria Touring, with James Young being responsible for bodying the majority imported into the UK.

The Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 SS was one of the most popular and successful sports-racing cars of its day, as demonstrated by the fact that no fewer than 26 competed in the 1929 Mille Miglia, of which 25 finished, six among the first ten. The race was won, for the second consecutive year, by Giuseppe Campari and Giulio Ramponi driving, of course, a 6C 1750 SS. Other high-profile victories for this model include the 24 Hours of Spa Francorchamps, Grand Prix of Ireland, and the 12 Hours of San Sebastian - all in 1929 - plus the 24 Hours of Spa Francorchamps and RAC Tourist Trophy in 1930. The 1750's sporting career, aided by its mechanical longevity, extended far beyond its production, which ceased in 1933.

THE CAR OFFERED

One of only 52 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 SS cars fitted with a supercharger, chassis number '0312957' comes from the end of the third series and would have been the 116th of the third series completed. Research with respected historian Angela Cherrett, who personally recorded notes from vehicle road licensing authorities in the 1980s and 90s, supported by copies of these papers from the Italian licensing authorities, chart reference to this car as such - "The car's certificate of origin was for September 16, 1930, the coachwork was described as 'da corsa 2 posti' and the car was sold on September 17 'dalla Fabbrica Alfa Romeo a SA Alfa Romeo' with a declared value of Lire 60,000. It was registered as 36436 MI (a Milan plate) on the same day." Mrs. Cherrett surmises that this transaction appears to be some sort of inhouse arrangement by Alfa Romeo, perhaps suggesting that it may have been used in competition, 'da corsa' meaning racing, but that neither she or other experts have been able to verify this. Most of the race cars in this period wore Zagato Two Seater bodies, which is how the car has always been known.

As traced from the vehicle registration records the car was sold by Alfa Romeo to Luca Alessio on March 22, 1932 for 32,000 Lire, remaining with him for a mere 2 months, before returning to factory ownership on May 27, 1932. Further Italian owners were Francesco Cherubini and Adolfo Carminati, before again returning to Alfa. Its final custodian on the Italian registration records is noted as being James Street, c/o RACI Milano, who bought the car on December 15, 1933.

At this point the car was sold to the UK, and it seems more than likely from his more anglicized name that it might well have been Mr. Street who imported the car. Its first British license was 'AUU 594', a series that was issued solely for the window from November 1933 to January 1934 in London which fits this sequence neatly.

Its next chapter in the UK saw ownership by a Mr. Noakes, followed by James Robertson Justice a noted British actor, who is perhaps best known Internationally for his roles in The Guns of Navarone, or Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, while in the UK he is recalled for a roster of light comedy roles in the 'Doctor' series of movies as Sir Lancelot Spratt. An imposing man, characterized by his physical presence and beard, off camera Robertson Justice was unquestionably a 'car guy' at heart, at various times cars in his stable included a Gullwing Mercedes. For a brief time, he was the owner of the famed 5 Liter Chain Drive Bugatti 'Black Bess' and in the 1930s had aided his friend Whitney Straight with his Maserati Grand Prix car.

In November 1952, AUU 594 was advertised by Jack Bond's noted car dealership 'Vintage Autos' – as 'supercharged Grand Sport 2 Seater by Zagato. The engine has just been completely overhauled at a cost of over £200 and has only 150 miles use since. Brand new hood (top) has just been fitted and the whole car resprayed Alfa-red.' 'This Alfa is the late property of a well-known film star' – referring to Justice.

Its next owner was a Mr. Simmons before the car passed to Roy Slater, who is listed as one of the first eight members of the newly formed Alfa Romeo Register in 1956. Of course, Mr. Slater was a noted authority on these cars and collaborated on a number of books on the marque, including Alfa Romeo – A History with Peter Hull and The 6C 1750 Alfa Romeo with Luigi Fusi.

Advertised by Major W.J. Boddington of Roydon in Essex, in this period we presume on Slater's behalf, Mr. Slater sold 0312957 to another well-known British collector and active Vintage Sports Car Club participant, Hamish Moffat. It is understood to have been re-registered by Moffat with the license plate 'AR 1750', in which guise it was photographed in a number of publications around this time. We understand that while with Moffat the car was restored by him and the hood/top tray and the small, hinged luggage compartment was paneled over in a single piece.

Moffat may well have been its last British owner, some time after he owned the car it migrated to the US where it has been ever since. Angela Cherrett cites American owners of Ed Mayne, then noted collector William 'Bill' Jacobs of Chicago and later Bob Fergus. By the late 1980s it was acquired by the incredibly talented sculptor Stanley Wanlass, whose brilliant, stylized, motoring bronzes feature action scenes from a variety of eras of the history of the automobile, including one named 'Free Wheelin' depicting a 2.9 Alfa Romeo of this period. The current owner purchased the car nearly a decade ago from Wanlass.

The Alfa Romeo presents in a highly restored condition, a refurbishment which we believe to date from the late 1980s and shows most of the aluminum castings to have been heavily buffed, as well as the front axle, and replacement modern engraved chassis and engine plates. Beneath the cosmetically shiny finishes, its known pedigree is endorsed by the majority of its components being correctly stamped including the front dumb iron with Super Sport 3rd series frame number. It is noted that there is no number on the steering box, suggesting that this may be a new casting, while the rear axle number sits in the sequence of 5th Series Grand Sport 6C 1750s. Beyond the mechanical components, a similar pattern is found in the coachwork, where despite the aforementioned repaneling of the tail, when inside the bodywork its period framework is evident in the tail. The ribbed, domed rear axle floor is also clearly original and within the doors can be found standard metal cross support bars and the typically basic wood frame that one would expect to see in the doors on a Zagato Sports body of this era.

Alfa Romeos of this period have long been coveted for their nimble driving characteristics and eligibility for the multitude of retrospective long-distance events including the Mille Miglia Storica. This example is one of the very few that can trace its lineage back to the pre-war era, carries a notable career of prominent ownerships and is in exceptionally fine cosmetic order.