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1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B

Arriving at Alfa Romeo in 1923, Vittorio Jano oversaw the development of the P2 Grand Prix car that won several Grand Prix victories and claimed the first manufacturer's champion for Alfa Romeo in 1925. His expertise was also used on its road cars resulting in some of the most exciting vehicles of its era. A series of six-cylinder models were produced between 1927 and 1933, known as the 6C, and built in various specifications. Among them were the Super Sport and Gran Sport equipped with twin overhead camshafts, hemispherical combustion chambers, and a Roots-Type supercharger.

1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B photo
MM Spyder by Touring
Chassis #: 412030
View info and history
The P2 had been powered by a straight-eight-cylinder engine displacing 1,987cc, but it did not use the 8C designation. That designation was applied to the eight-cylinder road and racing Alfa Romeos built from 1931 to 1939. The engine initially displaced 2,336cc, eventually growing to 2,905cc. The engine used two alloy four-cylinder blocks with a common crankcase that also incorporated the heads. The bore and stroke were the same as the 6C 1750, and so were the pistons and rods. A central gear tower drove the superchargers, overhead camshafts and ancillaries.

Production cars using the 8C engine included the 8C 2300 of 1931 through 1935, and the 8C 2900 of 1936 to 1941. Racing versions included the Tipo B or P3 Monoposto, the first genuine single-seat racing car in Grand Prix racing and it dominated the competition in the 1932 season, winning almost at will.

The Alfa Romeo 8C 2300, initially designed as a racing car, had 188 examples produced for road use. Tazio Nuvolari drove an 8C 2300 Spider to victory at the 1931 and 1932 Targa Florio race in Sicily, and the 1931 Italian Grand Prix victory at Monza gave the 'Monza' name to the twin-seater Grand Prix car, a shortened version of the Spider. The 8C 2300 Tipo Le Mans won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1931, 1932, 1933, and 1934.

1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B photo
Berlinetta by Touring
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As the well-funded German Grand Prix teams became more dominant during the mid-1930s, Alfa Romeo shifted its goals, putting more focus on sportscar and road racing, including Italy's most famous road race, the Mille Miglia. Mercedes-Benz and Auto-Union (the 'silver arrows') entered Grand Prix competition in 1934, and it soon became clear that the Alfa Romeo suspension system of rigid axles on semi- or quarter-elliptic springs was outdated. Since the Auto Union's suspension had proven effective, Alfa Romeo contracted their designer - the Porsche design office - to design new all-independent suspension systems for the 6C2300B (Project number 63) and the 8C2900 (Project number 69). At the same time, Alfa Romeo's technical department in Milan was working on a new rigid frame to replace the prior flexible frames.

Alfa Romeo had introduced the 6C2300 model in 1934 as a replacement for the previous six-cylinder models but featured chain-driven overhead camshafts rather than gear-driven ones. The following year, the semi-elliptic spring suspension and chassis were replaced with a new all-independent setup employing double trailing arms with enclosed spring/damper units in the front and torsion bars at the rear. In this guise, it was called the 6C2300B.

Alfa Romeo would use a similar suspension as on the 6C2300B for the replacement of the 8C2300 model, the 8C2900. Although similar, it used a completely different rear setup with swing axles, radius arms, and a transverse leaf spring. A pair of shock absorbers were located on each side, one hydraulic, the other an adjustable friction type. Adjustments were made by cable on the early cars, and hydraulic in later examples. To cope with swing axle effects, a system was designed which effectively shortened the spring length independently on either side.

1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B photo
Spider by Touring
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The Tipo C Grand Prix cars used in the Italian Grand Prix in September 1935 had similar design features, however, early examples (as well as the first 8C2900 sports car), used horizontal spring/damper units at the front. By 1936, these were changed to vertical.

Instead of the 8C2300, the engine powering the 8C2900 was a development of the Grand Prix Tipo B, with fixed head and block units, magneto ignition, twin updraft Weber carburetors, and twin superchargers.

The first 8C2900A appeared in October of 1935 at the Paris Salon wearing open spider coachwork built 'in house' by Carrozzeria Alfa and was painted in two different colours, separated by a curved line along the side. It was devoid of louvers in the bonnet, an unusual design feature of the era, but utilized several small openable vents down each side of the bonnet. Later in the year, a second similar example was displayed at the Milan show.

1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B photo
MM Spyder by Touring
Chassis #: 412030
View info and history
Alfa Romeo's production of civilian and racing vehicles declined drastically in 1936 as its resources were focused on supporting the Italian war effort in Africa. They built military equipment, trucks, and aero engines, and did manage to build four cars for Scuderia Ferrari wearing minimalistic bodies similar to those of a Tipo C Grand Prix car but with cycle wings. In this guise, they won the Spa 24 Hours and the Mille Miglia in convincing fashion, placing 1st, 2nd, and 3rd.

A Carrozzeria Alfa Spider was displayed near the end of the season, at the Paris Salon wearing a similar paint scheme as the 1935 Milan show car. A few months later, that same car was displayed at the 1936 Milan show but with another spider with white central bodywork and red wings. In the first part of 1937, another spider was displayed at the Berlin and Geneva shows wearing a single dark color.

Scuderia Ferrari placed first and second in 1937 Mille Miglia, and Pietro Ghersi won the Pontedecimo-Giovi Hillclimb in October of that year. This was the final event run by Scuderia Ferrari as the Alfa Romeo Works racing team.

1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B photo
MM Spyder by Touring
Chassis #: 412030
View info and history
Alfa Romeo built ten examples of the 2900A, with five in 1935 and five in 1936. The 2900A cars rested on a 2.75-meter wheelbase and one example was sold with the Mille Miglia style bodywork. The other examples wore Carrozzeria Alfa bodywork and two original examples survive today, however, their firewall plates identify them as 8C2900B (perhaps to convince buyers they were a new car?).

The 8C2900B was built on two wheelbase platforms, a Corto (short chassis) version measuring 2.80 meters and a 3.00-meter wheelbase for the lungo. Several concessions were made in regards to comfort, including the detuning of the engine, a compression ratio of 5.75:1, and more aluminum castings compared to the magnesium ones on the race cars.

Carrozzeria Touring designed two drawings, number 977 (a coupe on a long chassis) and 979 (a spider on a short chassis). Number 979 had been built for an American client MacLure Halley. It is believed that the first spider on a short chassis was built on chassis number 412011 - the London Motor Show car displayed in October of 1937. The first coupe (a.k. Berlinetta) was chassis number 412020, the October 1937 Paris Salon car. 412011 and 412020 were later shown at the Berlin show in early 1938 and sold to German customers. Mr. Halley's car (chassis 412014) and the first Berlinetta were shown at the Mila Show in November of 1937.

1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B photo
MM Spyder by Touring
Chassis #: 412030
View info and history
Five spiders were built with Carrozzeria Touring coachwork for the 1938 Mille Miglia, where they finished first and second. The engine in the first place car was more similar to the 3-liter Tipo 308 Grand Prix car than a production 8C2900B. Works cars were also victories at the Spa 24 Hour race in Belgium along with several hill climbs.

For the 1938 Le Mans 24 Hour race, a one-off racing Berlinetta (chassis 412033) was created. While most cars had open configuration, the Alfa Le Mans Speciale wore a streamlined coupe body built by Carrozzeria Touring. Driven by Sommer and Biondetti, it proved to be exceptionally quick during the early part of the race before it was forced to retire due to a blown front tire that exploded with such force that it severely damaged the bodywork. Tire trouble was followed by a dropped valve. At the time of its retirement, it had a lead of over 160 km over the next car.

Along with chassis 412011 and 412014, Touring built four additional spiders (412024, 412029, 412035, and 412036) on short chassis before switching to long chassis platforms. These larger vehicles were generally heavier than the Berlinettas due to the steel used in the bodywork compared to aluminum in the Berlinettas.

1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B photo
Berlinetta by Touring
View info and history
A total of thirty-two examples of the 2900B were built during regular production, with ten in 1937, and twenty-two the following year. Another 2900B was assembled from parts in 1941. Carrozzeria Touring provided coachwork for most of these, with a few by Pininfarina. Chassis number 412012 began life as a cycle-fender competition car, later lengthened and re-bodied by Pinin Farina with Cabriolet bodywork. Later in life, it came to the United States where it received a Chrysler engine.

After Scuderia Ferrari's departure, Alfa Corse (an in-house racing team for Alfa Romeo) took over the racing duties. They


by Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2020

Related Reading : Alfa Romeo 8C History

Vittorio Jano was responsible for the design of the magnificent engineering marvel, the 8C 2300. The name was formed by following Alfa Romeos naming convention the 8C represented the eight-cylinder engine while the 2300 represented the cubic-capacity. The engine is comprised of two four-cylinder engines with the cylinders aligned in a row. Central gearing drives the overhead twin camshafts. A Roots-type....
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1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Vehicle Profiles

1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B vehicle information
Spider

Coachwork: Touring
1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B vehicle information
Lungo Roadster

Coachwork: Touring
1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B vehicle information
Spider

Coachwork: Touring
1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B vehicle information
Berlinetta

Coachwork: Touring
1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B vehicle information
Spider

Coachwork: Touring
Chassis #: 412022
1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B vehicle information
Berlinetta

Coachwork: Touring
Chassis #: 412035
1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B vehicle information
Spider

Coachwork: Touring
1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B vehicle information
Berlinetta

Coachwork: Touring
1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B vehicle information
Roadster

Coachwork: Farina
1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B vehicle information
Coupe

Coachwork: Touring
1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B vehicle information
MM Spyder

Coachwork: Touring
Chassis #: 412030
1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B vehicle information
MM Spyder

Coachwork: Touring

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