1953 Alfa Romeo 6C 3000 CM Superflow IV Coupe

Alfa Corse developed the first new Alfa Romeo racing car in the post-World War II era, dubbed the 6C 2500 Competizione. It made its racing debut in 1948 at the Mille Miglia and formed the basis for a one-off car called the 6C 3000, introduced in 1950. Giuseppe Busso was tasked with furthering the design and creating a sports racing car based on the 6C 3000 engine. The result was the 6C 3000 CM, with the CM representing Competizione Maggiorata or Competition Enlarged Displacement. It was designed to compete at some of the world's finest racing stages, including the Mille Miglia and the 24 Hours of LeMans.

The chassis of 6C 3000 CM was a unique backbone design with tube-frame construction. Independent A-arms were in the front, with a DeDion axle setup at the rear. Large finned aluminum drum brakes were mounted inboard at the rear, which helped reduce unsprung weight. The 3.5-liter twin-cam straight six engines received six individual Weber carburetors and dry sump lubrication. It offered 275 horsepower at 6,500 RPM and was backed by a five-speed gearbox and aluminum-cased rear differential. Both the Berlinetta and Spider aluminum bodies were built by Carrozzeria Colli of Milan.

Juan Manuel Fangio drove a Berlinetta to a 2nd Place finish at the racing debut of the 6C 3000 CM at the Mille Miglia in April 1953. In June, at the 24 Hours of LeMans, the Alfa Romeos recorded the fastest speeds down the Mulsanne Straight. In September, Fangio drove a 6C 3000 CM to its first victory at the Gran Premio Supercortemaggiore. At the close of the 1953 season, Alfa Romeo withdrew from factory-backed racing to focus its resources on the new production Giulietta model.

Several of the eight 6C 3000 CM cars were sold to customers. Chassis number 00125 was sold to Jo Bonnier and rebuilt by Zagato. Chassis number 00126 was sold to the Argentine president, Juan Peron, and fitted with custom coachwork by Boano.

This particular example is chassis number 00128. It originally wore Berlinetta coachwork by Colli and is believed to have been a training car used by Alfa Romeo for the 1953 24 Hours of LeMans. After withdrawing from racing, the car was shipped to Carrozzeria Pinin Farina in Torino and became a test bed for new ideas and given the nickname 'Superflow.'

It was shown in April of 1956 at the Torino Motor Show, where it had dramatic tail fins, see-through Plexiglas front fenders, a heart-shaped grille, and a wraparound windscreen with a full glass canopy and 'gullwing' roof panels. Its exterior was finished in white with blue coves and upholstery. The car soon returned to Pinin Farina, where it was restyled and then shown at the Salon de l'Automobile in Paris that October.

In this guise, Superflow II no longer had transparent fenders; instead, there were conventional steel wings and covered headlamps. It retained the original glass canopy mostly unchanged, however, the body's traditional grille was substituted for a lower air intake, simple hood scoop, and oversized Alfa Romeo badge. The rear fenders were reworked with transparent Plexiglas fins. This new body was finished with a red exterior with white striping. The interior was also re-trimmed, and the badging was updated to reflect its Superflow II identity.

In 1958, the car received another restyling by Pinin Farina, this time resulting in a Super Spider open sports car. It was finished in all white with red upholstery. It had open headlamps, a raked windscreen, and large faired-in headrests. The fins were replaced with a rounded rear section with simple wraparound taillights. It debuted in 1959 at the Geneva Motor Show, with many of its design elements reappearing on the Duetto Spider that arrived in 1966.

The car's final form was created for the Geneva Motor show in March 1960. In this guise, the Superflow IV had covered headlamps, smoother fender profiles, and a new windshield frame. Thanks to a structural ridge running down the center of the roof, the car received a unique glass canopy with sliding roof panels and removable windows on either side.

After being shown throughout Europe, the car was sent to the United States, where it toured the country and left with Continental Alfa Romeo in Boulder, Colorado. During the 1960s, it was displayed at Aaron Mosko's Italian Motors in Denver, and some years later, it was sold to Howard Wignall of Littleton, Colorado. In 1975, the car was acquired by Jackson Brooks from Mr. Wignall, paying $35,000 for the car. A year later, it was driven to and from California to participate in the annual Monterey Historic Automobile Races and the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.

Ernest Kanzler of Los Angeles purchased the Superflow IV in 1979 from Mr. Brooks, and retained it through the late 1980s. It was later sold to Peter Kaus of Aschaffenburg, Germany, who displayed it in his Rosso Bianco Museum. While in his care, the Pinin Farina coachwork was removed, and a replica of a Colli Spider body was built and fitted to the chassis. It remained in this configuration until 2006 when the Rosso Bianco Museum closed, and the car was sold to the current North American owner. In his care, the car was completely restored to show condition, during which time the Pinin Farina body was reunited with the original chassis. A replica chassis was built and fitted with the Colli-style Spider body.

Since the restoration was completed, the Superflow IV has been shown at the 2013 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, where it received First in Class and the Vitesse Trophy. A year later, it was shown at Villa d'Este. In 2017, it was awarded Best of Show at the Salon Privé Concours d'Elegance and the Warren Classic & Supercar Show in the UK.

By Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2019

This Alfa Romeo began life as a race car with a very different coupe body built by Carrozzeria Colli. It was driven by Juan Manuel Fangio to second place in the 1953 Mille Miglia and afterward became a development car for various Pinin Farina design studies. The turn coachbuilder fitted four different bodies on the chassis between 1956 and 1960: first it was presented as the Superflow in Turin with Plexiglas front fender caps and a wraparound windshield with a full Plexiglas canopy and gullwing roof panels. Later that year, it was shown as the Superflow II at the Paris Auto Salon. In 1959, the same chassis was restyled and shown again as the Spyder Super Sport in Geneva, and a year later, the last body, named Coupe Super Sport Speziale, was also presented in Geneva. It is in this final configuration that the car exists today.