Location:
Radnor Hunt Concours d'Elegance, 2010
Owner: Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Prologue:
Image Source: Nikon D200 (10.2 MP)
Sometimes the challenge of polishing digital illustrations is preserving the patina. I've always been fond of this set—the only four photos I shot, but four confident shots. The patina holds true, and the car looks in picture the way it looked in reality. Everything seems to work without much effort, which isn't often the case. I also remember I'd foolishly danced around this Alfa on a grey, drizzly day, and only decided to collect some pictures before we left. As soon as I read up on the car, it became one of my favorite Alfa stories; it's hammered-together look and colorful history make perfect sense. The car deserves more than four images, but then one can't replicate the atmosphere of an unseasonably cool Sunday in early September, much less turn the clock back a decade for one more perspective on some rough-hammered coachwork.
References:
- Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum: The museum website provides a nice history of #2211072 and its previous owners.
- VeloceToday: "Reflections on the Alfa 8C 2300 Castagna" by Pete Vack, May 12, 2010. A nice commentary on #2211072, with lots of colorful anecdotes.
- VeloceToday: "VeloceToday Drives the 8C 2300 Alfa Mille Miglia Castagna" by Pete Vack, May 12, 2010. A companion piece to the article above offers driving notes on chassis #2211072.
- TravelingWithTools: Mechanic Greg Stasko illustrates the nuances of Vittorio Jano's 8C motor in a way we simply cannot do from the outside.
This unique Mille Miglia Corto was modified shortly after its creation in 1933, perhaps in order to demonstrate the potency of the firm's best racing technology. Whatever the cause, the result is a hot rod Mille Miglia Spider that in 1939 competed at the Brooklands Fastest Road Car contest. Driven by owner Guy Templar, the car achieved an average speed of 116 mph around the banked track, sped 135 mph down Railway Straight, and logged a 0-60 time of 6.5 seconds. But for mechanical failure that prevented the car from completing the contest, chassis #2211072 landed among the top runners. The event returned no definitive result in terms of identifying the fastest car of the day, though a Delahaye won the contest by virtue of attrition. The trial split between a circuit and a mountain sprint, and most of the field fell aside with trouble.
Chassis #2211072 came to the United States in the post-War era and soon entered into the custody of Charles Addams, creator and artist behind The Addams Family. A member of the Sports Car Club of America, Charles owned a trifecta of prime classic era sporting machinery—this Alfa for one, a Bugatti Type 35C, and a Mercedes Type S. VeloceToday reports he also had a penchant for painting his cars black, but spared his Alfa from this macabre fate.
Most Mille Miglia Spiders received bodies by either Carrozzeria Touring or Zagato. Castagna is a rare choice for the bodywork of this short-chassis car, and #2211072 must be one of the few race-ready cars ever bodied by the Milanese company, let alone the only Alfa Romeo of its kind. In turn, the design cues of this particular car are somewhat special for Castagna.
While it is often difficult to prove originality, the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum believes #2211072 to be largely original. The car has perhaps not been repainted since construction. Its motor was rebuilt once in the United Kingdom, but otherwise #2211072 remains unrestored.
Motor: 2,336 cc bored out to 2.6 litres, straight 8-cylinder, alloy block, aluminum hemi-head | motor #2211072
Vittorio Jano's race-prepared 8C motor uses a magnesium crankcase with aluminum main caps. On the case sit two aluminum cylinder blocks with iron liners, topped by a separate cylinder head formed in two 4-cylinder sections.
Valvetrain: DOHC, 2 valves per cylinder, modified Monza-spec cam, gear-driven via a central mechanism
The center of the crankshaft uses a sprung gear hub to control tolerance between both halves. Each camshaft is two pieces joined at the cam gear in the middle.
Aspiration: Memini S152 carburetor, Monza-spec Roots-type supercharger
Power: 165 bhp at 5,000 rpm
Drivetrain: 4-speed gearbox, rear-wheel drive
Front Suspension: beam axle, semi-elliptic leaf springs, friction dampers
Rear Suspension: live axle, semi-elliptic leaf springs, friction dampers
Architecture: pressed steel chassis with aluminum coachwork by Castagna of Milan
Kerb Weight: 1,000 kg (2,205 lbs)
Wheelbase: 2,750 mm (108.3 inches)
0-60: about 6.5 seconds
Top Speed: 217 km/h (135 mph)
Etymology:
'8C 2300' refers to the motor configuration, a straight 8-cylinder of about 2.3 litres displacement. The term 'spider' descends from the carriage trade, which in motorcar parlance came to refer to open sports cars. 'Castagna' calls out the Milanese coachbuilder responsible for the bodywork.
Figures:
Various reports cite that Alfa Romeo built anywhere between 188 and 195 8C 2300 cars; these comprised all manner of racing device—short and long chassis, Monza included—many of which targeted specific international events. Alfa built the cars in three series, with an additional group provided specially for Scuderia Ferrari. Of all those produced, Castagna bodied few cars, and of those, hardly any were racing spiders. This particular example is perhaps unique in its configuration, to say nothing of its own little peculiarities.
Castagna Style: The Rare Castagna Race Car
The Castagna take on a short-chassis Alfa Romeo identifies itself perhaps only in the odd crease that moves diagonally across the bonnet and drops along the doors into a small embossed circle. Apart from being a rather peculiar element to begin with, the placement of this circle is itself odd. Perhaps the panelcrafters had not factored the leather hides that cover the door sills, because the overlap nearly touches the edge of the circle, making the circle look a bit out of place. Similarly peculiar, the dumb irons out front are topped with heavy chrome accents, each pinned by two large screwcaps. Why Castagna chose such large accents—where Zagato or Touring would use lithe speed strakes—to say nothing of the choice of ornamenting the tops of the dumb irons, could underline the infrequency with which Castagna approached racing cars.
Factory Additives: Originality and Patina on the 8C 2300 MM Castagna
Much as the motor received Monza-specification improvements, so is the grille shroud taken from an 8C 2300 Monza. The piece is made of cast bronze. At some point the paint was stripped from the shroud, and to date has not been replaced. To the owner's belief, all of the paint on the car is original, so what history has removed has been left as-is. I like the pieced-together look, the raw materials and old paint. In many ways, the creases and pits looks much more interesting than a mirror finish, particularly on a car built to be the fastest sports car of its day.
Many would say that the grille shroud with its kidney-shaped vents is a work of art; in bare bronze, it looks positively medieval. The riveted plates connecting the light rack to the fenders also draws attention. These elements feint toward period bolt-ons, pretensions of high-performance backed up by true Grand Prix pedigree.
Last Updated: Mar 18, 2024
