1934 Alfa Romeo 6C 2300 Pescara Spider 7th Series GT

Neither car survived the years, and yet the history of Jacques de Rham is driving around again today, thanks to a meticulous reconstruction that keeps the memory of his Scuderia Maremmana alive. The young Swiss nobleman, then only twenty-six, founded his racing team in 1935 in Grosseto, Tuscany, and raced there with, among others, an Alfa Romeo P3 and a 6C 1750 that he had acquired from Scuderia Ferrari. In the first months of 1937, he entered two Alfa Romeo 6C 2300 GT Pescaras in various mountain rallies, both with Berlinetta bodywork by Touring, but he judged the cars too heavy to truly compete and sent them to Zagato in Milan for an aerodynamic, open Siluro body in aluminium. The result was a weight saving of nearly three hundred kilos, with a total weight under a thousand kilos, and on that same occasion the engines were fitted with new Borgo pistons. Thus equipped, the cars made their racing debut at the Grand Prix de Provence et de Marseille at the Miramas circuit, where Carlo Pes de Villamarina finished first in his class, followed by various podium finishes in mountain stages.

The 6C 2300, unveiled at the Milan Motor Show in 1934, was the youngest member of a noble line of sports models that had begun in 1925 with the 6C 1500, the first work of the legendary designer Vittorio Jano, whose Grand Prix models P2 and Tipo B had proven virtually unbeatable at their peak. The newly developed 2, 309 cc six-cylinder engine featured a crankcase cast into the block with an aluminium-alloy cylinder head, and was supplied in two versions: the Turismo on a long wheelbase and the sportier Gran Turismo on a short wheelbase. At their racing debut in the 1934 Giro d'Italia, the racing engines, equipped with two 35 mm Solex carburettors and double exhaust manifolds, delivered well over one hundred horsepower. At the Targa Abruzzo, the 24 Ore di Pescara, three Touring-bodied coupés captured the first three places, a result that prompted Alfa Romeo to build a series of sixty Gran Turismo examples under the name Pescara in honour of that victory. These were the direct predecessors of the later 6C 2300 B models that made their debut in the Mille Miglia in 1937.

This car starts from an authentic, matching-numbers chassis of a 1934 Alfa Romeo 6C 2300 7th Series GT Pescara Berlina with a Touring body, which was completely disassembled. The construction of the Siluro body was then entrusted to Dino Cognolato of Carrozzeria Nova Rinascente in Padua, one of the most experienced coachbuilders in the world. Based on full-scale drawings compiled from historical photographs, Cognolato built the entire aluminium body entirely by himself, down to small details such as the door latches. Meanwhile, the chassis and mechanics were overhauled, and the engine was tuned on the dynamometer to an impressive output of 119 hp at 4, 500 rpm. Combined with the low weight of just 989 kilos, this ensures breathtaking performance. The project took over four years to complete, and since then, this remarkable Alfa Romeo has accumulated a mileage of only 615 kilometres.

Recently, Zagato invited this Siluro to a gathering of Zagato-bodied cars on the occasion of the presentation of the new Maserati Mostro prototype at the former Alfa Romeo test track in Arese. This recognition further underscores the prestige of the reconstruction. The car comes with official certification by Zagato, a certificate of authenticity signed by the former chairman of the national technical committee of the Italian ASI, and extensive photographic documentation of the restoration and reconstruction. This is supplemented by a US certificate of ownership, Italian import documents relating to the import of the chassis from Switzerland to Italy, and invoices from specialised Dutch workshops that have maintained and technically assessed the car over the past few years. The car is currently based in the Netherlands and features a vibrant red paint finish.

Equipped with an authentic 1934 6C 2300 GT Pescara chassis, this Siluro falls well within the qualifying period for the Mille Miglia Storica. Its eligibility is further supported by this model's direct relationship to the 6C 2300 B, which made its debut in the race in 1937, making this car eligible to participate in a wide range of prestigious international events.

Contact Metropole Classics for more information or to schedule a viewing of this Alfa Romeo 6C 2300 Pescara Siluro.