1929 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750

Sold for $836,000 at 2014 Gooding & Company : Pebble Beach Concours.
Sold for $692,500 at 2021 RM Sothebys : Monterey.
Vittorio Jano joined Alfa Romeo in 1923. His first creation at Alfa was the P2, which enjoyed much success on the Grand Prix circuits, and was largely based on Jano's experience with Fiat's Tipo 805 Grand Prix car of 1923.

The Alfa Romeo P2 was followed by a line of passenger cars to succeed the Giuseppe Merosi-designed RL and RM. Merosi's L-head 6- and 4-cylinder cars - by this point in history - had become dated and required a replacement. Jano responded with a 1.5-Litre six-cylinder that set new standards for lightweight high-performance motorcars, the 6C 1500. The iron cylinder block and head were each single piece castings. The block is mated to a light alloy crankcase. It was initially a single camshaft design; Jano added a twin-cam head, designated 'Sport', and used for performance applications. A shaft and bevel gear drive was used for the 6C's cams. In its basic 'Sport' configuration, the 6C 1500 produced 54 horsepower at 4500 RPM. The series eventually grew to 1900 CC and power - with the help of a supercharger - rose to over 85 horsepower.

The chassis was lightweight and low-to-the-ground. It was given a semi-elliptical spring setup that passed through the front axle. The 6C 1500 in its naturally aspirated and supercharged versions would go on to claim numerous victories over much larger and more powerful machinery. Among the successful 6C 1500 pilots was Enzo Ferrari who, at the time, was employed by Alfa.

This 1929 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 SS 'Super Sport' Two Seater wears coachwork by Touring. It is a 3rd Series 1750 SS that spent over a half-of-century in the Southern Hemisphere where it resided in South Africa in the care of enthusiast Hugh Gearing. Its early years included competition in Italy and South Africa.

In the late 1930s, it was sold to a U.K. resident and received the coachwork that it wears today.

In the post-War era, the car was purchased by Hugh Gearing. Gearing continued its racing career, and on one occasion, it was loaned to Juan Manual Fangio to drive at a South African event.

The car has fully valanced front fenders and opening hood vents. Many of the mechanical components are original. The supercharger, however, has been replaced with another correct early version.

This 1929 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 SS 'Super Sport' Two Seater wears coachwork by Touring. It is a 3rd Series 1750 SS that spent over a half-of-century in the Southern Hemisphere where it resided in South Africa in the care of enthusiast Hugh Gearing. Its early years included competition in Italy and South Africa.

In the late 1930s, it was sold to a U.K. resident and received the coachwork that it wears today.

The car was shown in 2015 at The Elegance at Hershey Concours where it was crowned the 'Most Elegant Sports and Racing Car' in attendance. In September 2017, this stunning 6C 1750 was awarded 'Best in Class' in the 'Pre-World War II Coachbuilt' category at the Lime Rock Park Historic Concours. Later that same month, the Alfa again proved an award-winning entrant when it was anointed with 'Best in Italian Class' honors at the Boston Cup.

The car is currently finished with a black exterior over a cognac leather interior and rides on matching black wire wheels. It is one of 121 Super Sport examples produced and is powered by a numbers-matching 1.75-liter, straight six-cylinder supercharged engine paired to a four-speed manual gearbox of the period. The engine features a later-series Memini carburetor and although these items (carburetor and gearbox) are of a later series, they are believed to have been common, early improvements were were already present on the car when Gearing acquired it.

By Daniel Vaughan | Oct 2014