1930 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 GS Testa Fissa Spyder

This vehicle was bought new as a running chassis by George Easton for Ronald Stewart. It was bodied by coachbuilder A.E. Leadbetter in the U.K. after it had been designed by George Easton. It was raced extensively at Brooklands in 1930 and won its class with speed records of up to 12 hours, averaging 95 mph. The car was found with tuner Vic Derrington in the U.K. in 1947 having been re-bodied as a tourer. Ian Gunn then purchased the car and discarded the body. The current owners obtained the car in 2008. They dismantled and restored it with a replica of the original body.

Enzo Ferrari convinced Vittorio Jano to leave FIAT's racing department and join him at Alfa Romeo, focusing his talents on their Grand Prix program and its road-going cars. His work helped establish the Milanese marque's reputation for producing some of the most accomplished automobiles of their era.

The Tipo 6C 1500, a descendent from Jano's all-conquering P2 that had won the World Championship in 1925, was replaced in 1929 by the Tipo 6C 1750 equipped with a derivative of the 1500's six-cylinder engine, enlarged to 1,752cc. It was built in single-cam Turismo and twin-cam Sport (later renamed Gran Turismo) variants that endowed the lightweight chassis with impressive sports car performance. The Jano-designed chassis received semi-elliptical springs that passed through the front axle.

Among the accolades achieved by the 1750 were 1-2-3 finishes in the Mille Miglia, and top results at Targa Florio, the Tourist Trophy and Spa 24 Hours in 1930.

To cope with the stresses of long-distance racing on the engine and supercharger, one early revision was to make the cylinder block and head a single casting, rather than separate pieces. This modification was known as a 'fixed head' or Testa Fissa in Italian and it is believed that twelve examples were supplied with these engines.

This particular Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 is equipped with Testa Fissa, fixed cylinder heads. It was originally commissioned by the prominent Brooklands racing driver Ronald Stewart and was designed in collaboration with the famed racer, Capt. George Eyston. After acquiring the rolling chassis, it was brought to the UK where it received its wind-cheating cowled body, which was similar in design to other projects that he would later develop on MG chassis. The coachwork was courtesy of A.E. Leadbetter of South London.

Upon completion, the ALfa was registered for the road in the UK with the London Prefix of GF 5733. It was road legal on April 12th of 1930 and is believed to have worn silvery/grey paintwork when new (or perhaps polished aluminum).

Sir. Ronald Stewart and Captain George Eyston contested several records on May 1st of 1930 at the Brooklands track. Their efforts were rewarded with the British record, 3 hours, at 96.30MPH and five International class records (E) average 95.05 MPH for 12 hours.

During the 1930 season, Eyston campaigned the Alfa at Brooklands, including on October 4th where - with co-driver C.R. Grant- placed 8th overall. For long-distance runs, the car was fitted with a one-off high-ratio rear axle, which it retains to this day.

It is believed that the Alfa was sold within the year, and during the war years, its whereabouts are not known. Early on, its bodywork was replaced and it may have been fitted with a four-seater touring body. Additionally, the fixed head block was troublesome so it was replaced with a detachable head unit. On October 1st of 1951, the Alfa was offered by sale by Vic Derrington of Kingston on Thames and later acquired by Geoffrey Wilson, the chairman of the Alfa Romeo Club.

It was soon sold to V. Derrington, who was local to Brooklands in Kingston Upon Thames, then to Geoffrey Wilson and latterly Ian Gunn, then living in the town of Malvern Link (home to Morgan Motor Cars). Mr. Gunn acquired the Alfa Romeo on November 13th of 1953 and it remained in his care for the next fifty-five years. Shortly after acquiring the Alfa, it incurred minor damage to the rear of the four-seater body, prompting Gunn to discard the bodywork and ultimately dismantle the car to aid its shipping when he moved to Canada and then America in the 1960s.

The current caretaker acquired the car in 2008 and commissioned an exacting and sympathetic restoration, returning it to its original form. Gary Pitney of the U.K. methodically copied the original British-built coachwork. At the time, the car retained its original firewall, radiator, and hood. The engine was rebuilt with a correct Testa Fissa head.

On completion of the work, the car returned to the USA and was displayed at the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance in 2017 and at the Concours of Elegance at Hampton Court that same year.

The 1,752cc DOHC supercharged inline six-cylinder engine breaths through a single dual-throat Memini carburetor and originally produced 102 horsepower at 4,500 RPM. Currently, the engine offers 140 bhp. There is a four-speed manual transmission and four-wheel drum brakes.

By Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2022