John Z. Goriup Posted June 1, 2014 Share #1 Posted June 1, 2014 Advertisement (gone after registration) My almost correct identification of the Alfa in the "name this car" thread and the subsequent answer of 6C 2500 reminded me of another 6C 2500 Alfa which I was fortunate enough to see and shoot myself at the 2012 Alfa Romeo Club of America's annual meeting Concours, a '39 Alfa-Romeo 6C 2500 Super Sport Berlinetta Aerodinamica Cupe Touring. This unique specimen has a remarkable provenancet: it was closely based on a one-off aluminum bodied 8C 2900 streamlined coupe built during '38 by Alfa for the express purpose of winning the 24 hours of Lemans. The 8C failed in its mission to win the '39 race, but by virtue of its sensational looks and exquisite performance spawned a small series of some 35 road versions of the race car, but with a 2500cc 6-cylinder motor, still aluminum bodied, but with all the luxury accoutrements a truly Grand Touring coupe of the era required. Then came the war and one of these 6-cyl. models was liberated by Russian troops & "lost" for several decades somewhere in eastern Europe, where some local amateurs appearantly cobbled up a crude home-made cabriolet body for it and drove it thousands of miles, otherwise leaving it largely original. When the wall came down in '88 many ultra rare traesures believed to be lost forever were found and started making their way back to the West…..including this car. When the buyer removed the ersatz cabrio body he found the chassis, motor and running gear to be in remarkably original & usable condition - but no sign of the original body. Purely on a hunch, he got in touch with the octagoraian and long retired ex-CEO of Carozzeria Touring, Carlo Anderloni and prosed recreating a proper body for his find. To his everlasting & incredulous surprise Anderloni enthusiastically agreed and even went so far as to contact the also 80+ year old shop-foreman of the old Touring works, the man who actually personally beat out all the panels and crafted the original aluminum body. The project took 2 years using the original prints, specs, tooling jigs and as many original parts as could be located world-wide, and was debuted to the world in 2002. It has since resided in a private San Francisco automotive collection / museum. I hope this car qualifies as one of the 'exceptional cars" suggested by Stuart in his very gracious reply to my McLaren thread, because when you see it In the metal, this car really is exceptional. The lines, the color, the proportions, the details, the excution and attention to craftsmanship of the highest order is downright astonishing. Anderloni passed away in 2003 but wrote in his memoirs that this particular car is the best Touring ever created. JZG Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/228170-a-ghost-from-the-past/?do=findComment&comment=2602196'>More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted June 1, 2014 Posted June 1, 2014 Hi John Z. Goriup, Take a look here A ghost from the past. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
pauledell Posted June 2, 2014 Share #2 Posted June 2, 2014 A fine series of a beautiful classic. Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuny Posted June 2, 2014 Share #3 Posted June 2, 2014 Lovely in photos and subject. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iduna Posted June 11, 2014 Share #4 Posted June 11, 2014 John, this is a rare beauty. You captured the details very well without too much reflection. The color is deep and rich. The detail of the leather straps is surprising. One can only admire the design and class of the car. Thanks for sharing this series. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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