1931 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Gran Sport Spyder

This 1931 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Series V Gran Sport wears coachwork by Zagato and is powered by a 1,750cc DOHC inline 6-cylinder engine with a Roots-type supercharger and single Memini Twin-Throat carburetor delivering 85 horsepower at 4,400 RPM. There is a four-speed manual gearbox and four-wheel mechanically operated drum brakes. It was issued its Certificato d'Origine on March 18th, 1931, and is the 11th of the Series V cars built. It was sold new on March 20th to privateer racer Sergio Rusca of Milan.

This Alfa Romeo, like many that bore a similar name, was quickly entered into competition. Rusca and co-driver Giovanni Minozzi drove the Alfa in the 1931 Mille Miglia where it wore race number 151 and finished 13th overall. Alfa Romeo was well represented in the race as twelve of the top fifteen finishers were from the marque, and ten of those were 6C 1750s.

Rusca later raced the Alfa Romeo in a race at the Circuito Tre Province in September, where it finished 3rd overall.

The car remained with Rusca for a short period of time as it was sold in October of 1931 to another privateer named Giovanni Restelli of Como, Italy. While in his care, the car was raced by Restelli and co-driver Pieri to a 17th-place finish at the 1932 Mille Miglia. Restelli placed 1st Overall at the Bellagio Guello in June and 4th in Class that July at the Gaisbergrennen in Austria.

The Alfa Romeo passed through several Italian owners before it was acquired by Giacomina Vonwiller of Austria in 1935. It remained in Austria until around 1966, when it was purchased by Bill Pollock of Pottstown, Pennsylvania. It then passed to John Mozart of Palo Alto, California, in 1983, who owned it for four years. Subsequent owners included Tom Price and Tom Armstrong. The current caretaker acquired the vehicle through Mark Leonard of Grand Prix Classics in 2003. It was then sent to Ivan Zaremba at Phil Reilly & Company for an engine overhaul and the replacement of the Series VI gearbox with a correct Series V case.

In 2005, the current owner and his father brought the car to the Mille Miglia Storica in 2005, and he was invited back in 2008 as part of the official Squadra Alfa Romeo Automobilismo Storico. The other two cars were owned by the Alfa Romeo Museum. At the event, this car placed 5th overall. It went on to win the 1000 Millas Sport in Patagonia, Argentina, in 2005, 2008, and 2015, garnering podium positions in other years.

In 2016, the car returned to Phil Reilly & Company for a body-off cosmetic restoration. It was determined during the restoration that the body was highly original, and only the fenders and running boards are believed to have been replaced. Since the completion of the cosmetic restoration, the Alfa has been used sparingly.

By Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2022