CarBrandLogos archive · Alfa Romeo · 1927

Alfa Romeo6C

Vittorio Jano's straight-six, and the making of a reputation on the road.

Photo: Thesupermat · CC BY-SA 4.0

The story

A defining chapter in Alfa Romeo history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Alfa Romeo 6C, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

1938 Alfa Romeo 6C 2300B Mille Miglia Spyder

Origins

Vittorio Jano came to Alfa Romeo from Fiat in 1923 and redrew the company. His P2 grand prix car won the first world championship for manufacturers in 1925; the 6C was the road-going application of the same thinking, launched in 1927 and produced in one form or another until 1954.

1938 Alfa Romeo 6C 2300B Mille Miglia Spyder · Brian Snelson from Hockley, Essex, England, upload by Herrick 07:16, 8 November 2007 (UTC) · CC BY 2.0

1928 Alfa Romeo 6C 1500 Sport Zagato Spyder - fvr

Design and engineering

The name describes the layout - six cylinders in line - and the engine was the heart of it, a light and efficient unit that grew from 1500 cc through 1750 and 1900 to 2500 cc, gaining twin overhead camshafts and, in the fastest versions, a supercharger. Chassis were built at the Portello works in Milan in front-engine, rear-drive form and generally sent out to Touring, Zagato or Pinin Farina to be bodied, so a 6C might be a formal saloon, a stripped racing two-seater, or something very glamorous in between.

1928 Alfa Romeo 6C 1500 Sport Zagato Spyder - fvr · Rex Gray · CC BY-SA 2.0

1932 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Grand Sport Zagato Spider - fvr

In production

Competition made the name. The 6C 1750 Gran Sport of the early 1930s is the definitive version - short, light and supercharged - and Tazio Nuvolari won the Mille Miglia with one. Alfa Romeo's grip on that race through the period was built on 6C and later 8C cars, and the models in the showroom took the credit.

1932 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Grand Sport Zagato Spider - fvr · Rex Gray · CC BY-SA 2.0

Legacy

After the war the 6C 2500 continued in small numbers, an expensive coachbuilt car for a country that could barely afford one, until the 1900 arrived in 1950 with unitary construction and a proper production line and changed Alfa Romeo's business permanently. The 6C is the last full expression of the older company: hand-built, costly, and engineered with very little regard for what it took to make.

At a glance