In the late 1920s, Alfa Romeo was just a teenager, advancing into the road car market with the likes of the Torpedo and into racing with the P2 Grand Prix. The company racked up such a string of race successes that Enzo Ferrari’s Scuderia Ferrari featured Alfa Romeo cars before he built his own automobiles. In one of the most important favors ever conveyed to Alfa, Ferrari lured Vittorio Jano to Alfa from Fiat. Jano was a brilliant engineer. He set to work creating four-, six- and eight-cylinder motors in a common configuration, with hemispherical combustion chambers, alloy fabrication, and overhead valves driven by twin overhead camshafts. These elements have been the basis of Alfa’s engines ever since. The six-cylinder cars were called 6Cs and they were made starting in 1927 with the last iteration rolling out in 1954. The straight-six experienced several increases in displacement, from 1500 cc’s to 3000 cc’s at which point only prototypes were made. These cars were supplied as rolling chassis in three lengths – Tourismo, Sport, and Super Sport – to at least a dozen coachworks – Zagato, Touring, Pinin Farina, and many others. Many 6Cs are one-offs, and this next car might aspire to that group. Here on eBay is a 1946 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 S rolling chassis, with an asking price of $81,750. This chassis is located in Farnham, United Kingdom, from a seller with experience finding these early Alfas. We have T.J. to thank for this tip!
To the casual observer, this motor has the right configuration to be a 6C. However, only a conversation with the seller will tell us exactly what we have here, and by the way, that’s not much. You’ll be on your own for all the rest of the components, which is a considerable list of very rare parts. If it is a 2500 engine, it generates anywhere from 90 bhp to 110 bhp, depending on carburetion. These cars typically had a four-speed manual gearbox and drum brakes all around. While some 6Cs went racing, most were road cars. Production numbers were vanishingly small: only 1302 6C 2500 road cars are accounted for.
The seller indicates that the tubular support frame was built so the car could receive a racing-style body in the 1950s. The project was abandoned. The chassis is apparently 118.1 inches long, making it a “Sport”. It’s difficult to tell what shape this really is; I’d throw a sheet over it to see what it looks like if I were a serious buyer. Someone more sophisticated would probably CAD/CAM their way to a vision of the body. For the money, I’d want my Alfa 6C to look like this coupe, but obviously, the one on offer is a convertible.
At least some type of seat is present – perhaps belonging to a 6C, perhaps not. Overall, from here to the finished product is a path paved with cubic dollars, a ton of time, and maybe a few tears. Meanwhile, a perfectly nice 6C 2500 Sport cabriolet sold just a few months ago for $300,000. How does that price inform how we should think about this one?
Needs to be cleaned up and put into a museum. REVS Museum in Naples, Florida would be a great place for it.
Could be an interesting project to build a body if you had unlimited money or were a master metal worker.Then there’s all the mechanical work needed.
Or hang a Devin body on it- Bill Devin built one back in the 50’s and it recently sold for some serious coin.
Does it have an original vin?
$81k for a car I can sit in and go Vroom! Vroom!
$81,750? Seriously? It would make a great jungle gym for the kids.
Again, nice work, Michelle.
I´m no expert on this level/era of Alfa, but just 30 miles from Farnham (home of UK´s first Formula One World Chammoion, Mike Hawthorn btw) is Jim Stokes Workshop in Waterlooville Hants, a world expert who can supply new components for most of the Jano Alfas and advise on this purchase.
Looking at what is here, it seems relatively good value and quite attractive to someone with the money and resource to see the program through to the end. Final values would probably be less than the investment required to get it there, but a noble endeavour.
Ref Vittorio Jano, he left/was forced out of Alfa in 1938 and became chief engineer with Lancia. So the best sporting and racing Lancias (Aurelia B20, Appia, D50 F1 car and D24 sports cars) were also done on Jano´s watch. When Lancia bankrupted itself in 1956, Jano went to Ferrari where he was responsible for the Dino V6 engine and also the development of the Colombo V12 into ever bigger capacity and greater success.
There´s only one CV like that!
This has probably been cobbled together from a collection of parts. Still, many parts are missing and would virtually unobtainable. I guess someone’s trying to cash in on the current mania for these parts cars. Not so long ago it would have been worth a fraction of the asking price. But in today’s market, who knows?
Does it run
@gary- “Ran when parked”
My comment, $81K for this ? He’s out of his ever-loving mind. This is nothing more than a parts car. The writer is visualizing a finished project, not this pile of parts.
Add lights and drive!!
Don’t forget to take the jack stands out.
With a original vin on the frame its been worth something about
16750$ because this cars doesn’t fetch that moon prices as a
Bugatti or a Bentley race car. Also original Bugatti running
frames make to 25k, those with the magic ‘SC’ in its label 45k
SC was their label for soubaisse compresseur – lower then
the axles and compressor. Mates, i think its a parts car with
drivetrain only original.
Check out auction result from an expert house:
https://www.artcurial.com/en/lot-alfa-romeo-6c-2500-sport-freccia-doro-1948-ndeg-de-serie-916218-moteur-6-cylindres-en-ligne
My sentiments and knowledge confirm that pre-war European
cars where made with steel chassis and wooden body frame.
Alfa racers had a body smaller then the track whilst road
models used outriggers welded on the main frame.
But here we know there are exceptions as the famous Citroen
traction avant who is full steel uni body (also the convertibles)
and the other exception for post war cars the English Alvis
(TD,TE,TF) up to 1967 with wooden body frame and Graber
steel hull.
Tubular body frames as used on the gullwing 300SL or early
Ferrari (and some of their race models) where popular after ww2.
An interesting history for a wooden framed car read this,
especially the part as “His first Bugatti T49 had been acquired
in the Vosges, Germigny, from two farm workers who had been
using the car to transport potatoes ! In 1958″…. lol
https://www.artcurial.com/en/lot-1929-bugatti-type-40-no-reserve-3888-29#popin-active
In July of 1972, a friend and former employer was closing his restoration shop as he was getting married & moving away. He had several cars he needed to get rid of, including an Alfa 1750 roadster, and a post-war 6C2500 alloy bodied coupe. Neither were running and needed restoration, however they were basically 100% complete and had not been raced.
He wanted $300 for the 6C, and $800 for the 1750. I wanted both, but didn’t have the cash. He was under a time constraint and needed the cars gone, so we worked out a deal for the 6C. I flat-towed the car up to a barn I had rented and put it in the barn. A couple of weeks later I was drafted into the US Army, and entered basic training on 7 September.
So the Alfa sat in the barn along with other vintage cars I had. On 5 May 1973, I had a call from a friend who lived not far from the barn, and he said I needed to come up right away. On arrival he took me up to the barn’s location, where I discovered a big smoking ruin, as the building had been hit by lightning the night before. All the cars were completely destroyed, the entire body of the Alfa was now a solidified pool of Aluminum on the concrete floor of the barn.
My one chance for an early Alfa was gone.
Out of date auction results aside, exhaust manifold is $1500.00 alone, driveline, suspension, most of frame, looks 6c to me, put it on my watch list, this stuff is disappearing fast, get over the “vin” nonsense, serial numbers, needs further inspection, could hit $50-60K , if stars align maybe more. Old , rusty tubing not a consideration, price wise , this gem will be back on the road with proper cosmetics (body, etc.) and be worth a ton .
Correct, @V12MECH. This is not a pile of scrap or the basis for a 32 Highboy so will find its next owner at a price which they consider reasonable. That person will do the due diligence, have the money and knowledge to be comfortable with their decision.
Value is realtive. “Back in the day”……Apple share price was 7 cents in 1985. If you don´t understand what it represents, there´s an argument to say that 7 cents is a lot of money for a piece of paper.
I note that Steve Jobs´old sandals sold fro $ 220,000 earlier in the week. Lets hope they are both matching numbers and the right size.
And they smell too! Since you’re asking.
Cool car for somebody rich, but the tubing looks heavy and very poorly braced around the grill. Definitely not done by Touring!
Classic Virus covered this car and noted something similar about the tubing.
Thanks Michelle,
I never heard of Classic Virus before but oh could get lost there…
I am familiar with the chap who is selling this and he is, above all, an enthusiast of vintage Alfa Romeos. Definitely worth contacting if you are interested and nothing to do with Jim Stokes, although he does utilise his services from time to time.