1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B MM Spyder

Four 8C-2900 team cars were built by Alfa and Carrozzeria Touring for the 1938 Mille Miglia. Alfa dominated the race, and this car, driven by Carlo Pintacuda, led for most of the thousand-mile contest. At the last checkpoint, a brake problem sidelined it for 14-minutes, causing it to finish second by a mere two minutes. The car was later bought from Alfa Corse by Count Felice Trossi, and in the 1940s it came to the US in the ownership of Tommy Lee, who raced it at Pikes Peak and Watkins Glen. A young mechanic by the name of Phil Hill bought the car from the Lee estate and he drove it to victory at Pebble Beach, winning the Del Monte Cup in 1951. Ralph Lauren purchased the car in 2004. After restoration by Paul Russell and Company, returning the car to its Mille Miglia configuration, it was featured in an exhibit in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston called 'Speed, Style and Beauty; Cars from the Ralph Lauren Collection.'