Alfa Romeo 8C 2900
The Alfa Romeo 8C 2900 represents the apex of Vittorio Jano’s Alfa Romeo career and of pre-war Italian automotive ambition. Evolving the 8C engine family to 2,905 cc (bore enlarged to 68 mm, stroke to 100 mm), the 2900 used twin Roots superchargers now mounted low on the left side of the block rather than the single blower of the 2300 — a refinement that improved both packaging and breathing. Power output was 180 hp in standard form, with competition developments reaching 220 hp or more. This was the final expression of the engine lineage that began with the Alfa Romeo P2 of 1924 — a continuous thread of straight-eight supercharged design running from Jano’s arrival at Alfa through thirteen years and four world-class racing machines. Jano left Alfa Romeo at the end of the 1937 season; the 8C 2900 was effectively his farewell.
The 8C 2900A was introduced at the 1935 London Motor Show and built on the Tipo B Grand Prix chassis (2,718 mm wheelbase). Only 11 were built, with in-house spider bodies. Entered by Scuderia Ferrari, the 2900A delivered a clean sweep of the 1936 Mille Miglia: Antonio Brivio first, Giuseppe Farina second, Carlo Pintacuda third — all three works cars finishing in order. In 1937 the result was nearly as complete: Pintacuda won, Farina was second. The 2900A also won the 1936 Spa 24 Hours, with Raymond Sommer and Francesco Severi. These results — a 1-2-3 and a 1-2 in the two Mille Miglia entries — represent some of the most dominant pre-war sports car performances.
For 1937 Vittorio Jano designed a new chassis from the outset as a road car — the 8C 2900B. Available in two wheelbases — Corto (short, 2,799 mm) and Lungo (long, 3,000 mm) — the 2900B was bodied by the finest Italian coachbuilders to create road cars of extraordinary beauty. Thirty-two 2900Bs were built in regular production (ten in 1937, twenty-two in 1938), with 19-inch rims and 17-inch hydraulic drum brakes. Touring Superleggera bodied the majority, including five Berlinetta examples (chassis 412020, 412024, 412029, 412035, and 412036) widely regarded as among the most beautiful automobiles ever built. Zagato produced one very sporty interpretation, Castagna one luxurious roadster, and Pininfarina two spiders. The road 2900 was the most expensive car in the world at its 1937 introduction. In 1938, Alfa Corse replaced Scuderia Ferrari as the works racing entity and prepared four 2900B Corto roadsters for the Mille Miglia, bodied by Touring Superleggera; Clemente Biondetti won.
The 8C 2900’s remarkable coda came nearly a decade later. In the 1947 Mille Miglia — the first post-war edition — dealer and occasional racer Emilio Romano acquired the last of the five Touring Berlinettas (chassis 412036, exhibited at the 1938 Paris Motor Show) and co-drove it with Clemente Biondetti to victory. The superchargers had been removed to comply with new regulations, yet the car still won. This represented the fourth Mille Miglia win for the 8C 2900 and the eleventh — and final — outright Mille Miglia victory for Alfa Romeo as a manufacturer, closing a chapter that had opened with the 24 HP’s first race entry in 1911.
Connections
- Vittorio Jano — engineered, 1936–1937, source: supercars.net
- Scuderia Ferrari — entered 2900A (Mille Miglia 1936–1937, Spa 1936), source: wikipedia.org
- Alfa Corse — entered 2900B (Mille Miglia 1938, superseding Scuderia Ferrari), source: wikipedia.org
- Giuseppe Farina — drove 2900A (Mille Miglia 1936 2nd, 1937 2nd), source: wikipedia.org
- Raymond Sommer — drove 2900A (Spa 24h 1936 win), source: wikipedia.org
- Touring Superleggera — primary coachbuilder; 5 Berlinettas, multiple roadsters, source: carrozzieri-italiani.com
- Zagato — coachbuilt one 2900B (sporty variant), source: wikipedia.org
- Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 — engine_lineage_from; 2900 is the enlarged/refined 8C architecture, source: wikipedia.org
- Mille Miglia — won 1936, 1937 (2900A); 1938 (2900B); 1947 (2900B Berlinetta — Alfa’s last MM win), source: wikipedia.org