Location:
Elegance at Hershey, 2013
Owner: Robert & Sandra Bahre | Oxford, Maine
Prologue:
Image Source 1, 2, 6 and 8: Nikon D700 (12.1 MP)
Image Source 3, 4, 5, and 7 by E, Nikon D200 (10.2 MP), edited by the author.
In the Alfa Romeo Two-Nine piece that Peter Hull and Simon Moore wrote for Automobile Quarterly, this Corto Touring Spider appears at the top of page 179. And as the car has not been restored, chassis #412018 looks today just about the same as it did then, even in monochrome. The perspective here in the main image is also rather similar, shown from the same right-front quarter. In any case, I like the continuity in publication. So if you've got a stack of AQs from the 1970s sitting around, feel free to compare.
One of the few automobiles I photographed with a D700—as in 2013 I hopped to a D800, then to a D600, and then back to a D800 again—this combination of an old sensor, a weak strobe, and fizzle-grey light creates a strange atmosphere for the car. At Hershey, we also brought along the much older D200, which here provides supporting perspectives. Dramatic editing might suggest style over substance in this case, which is ill-fit for an automobile that survives in its original condition. But somehow the cherry-grape snowball studio works alright. And that is what the colors represent in my mind, essentially red and purple syrup mixed in shaved ice. (I'd have added lime if I were a kid at the corner stand.) But the camera did the job. The main issue is that, being a preservation car, one cannot edit heavily without losing the patina, and this makes bringing an illustration together somewhat tricky.
References:
- Automobile Quarterly, Volume 11, Number 2, Second Quarter 1973, "The Immortal Alfa Romeo Two-Nine" by Peter Hull and Simon Moore, The Kutztown Publishing Company, Inc. Kutztown, PA, pages 179, 181
- Hemmings Motor News: Unrestored 1938 Alfa Romeo 8C Wins Top Honors at Elegance at Hershey, by Kurt Ernst, June 20, 2013
- JalopyJournal.com: The Story of Tommy Lee, by Ron Kellogg, January 13, 2010
- Chromoclassico.com: Alfa 8C 2900B. Note that chassis #412018 is referenced as a long wheelbase car.
- Supercars.net: 1937-1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Corto Spider, by Richard Michael Owen
- Ultimatecarpage.com: 1937-1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Corto Touring Spider, by Wouter Melissen
Desirable automobiles of great historical merit are seldom spared a cost-no-object restoration. This Alfa Romeo—for all intents and purposes the apogee of pre-War grand touring sports cars—has done just that. Chassis #412018 was last painted in 1950, and still wears the scrapes and scars from many a hard drive.
With a supercharged racing motor, all-independent suspension, and transaxle gearbox, the 8C 2900B provides the blueprint for a modern sports car, albeit clothed in classic lines that are both alluring and endearing.
Delivered to a customer in Switzerland, we know little about #412018's history before the War.
From the post-War era, this 8C Alfa surfaced in California, where it was purchased by the young business magnate, Tommy Lee. Known for his stable of European racing machinery, Lee's enthusiasm turned his new acquisition into something of a local hot rod. At one point, Lee swapped in the motor from his Alfa Romeo Tipo B Grand Prix car, and in the early 1950s this example competed at the very first road race held at Watkins Glen in New York, driven by Lee's mechanic, Mal Ord.
In addition to chassis #412018, Tommy Lee also owned #412030, the works racing spider that placed second at the 1938 Mille Miglia. That particular car passed from Lee to Formula 1 World Champion Phil Hill, who raced it locally in California, and it now lives in the well known collection of Ralph Lauren.
The correct 8C motor having been replaced since Lee's ownership, never straying far from its home chassis, this car returned to remarkably original condition. Today, #412018 is one of the few classic automobiles to win Best of Show at a major concours without having been restored, doing so at the 2013 Elegance at Hershey.
Motor: 2,905 cc straight 8-cylinder, alloy block, fixed aluminum hemi-head
Valvetrain: DOHC, 2 valves per cylinder, gear-driven via a central mechanism between each 4-cylinder block
Aspiration: twin Weber carburetors with twin Roots-type superchargers, each feeding one 4-cylinder block
Power: 180 bhp at 5,200 rpm
Compared to the race-bred 2900A, the road-going B uses a tame 5.75:1 compression ratio, down from the sports-racer's 6.5:1.
Drivetrain: 4-speed gearbox in transaxle rear-wheel drive layout
Front Suspension: independent double-wishbone with coil springs over dampers
Rear Suspension: independent swing axle on transverse semi-elliptic leaf springs with radius arms for location and both hydraulic and friction dampers
Architecture: steel ladder-frame chassis with Superleggera aluminum coachwork by Touring of Milan
Kerb Weight: 1,280 kg (2,822 lbs)
Wheelbase: 2,800 mm (110.2 inches)
0-60: about 9.4 seconds
Top Speed: 180 km/h (about 112 mph)
Alfa Romeo provided an estimate of 115 mph at the time of motoring journalist reviews, notably The Autocar's test at Brooklands in 1937, which yielded 111.8 mph. The same test yielded the 0-60 time printed above.
Etymology:
'8C 2900' refers to the motor, an 8-cylinder of 2.9 litre displacement. The 'B' designation refers to the second version of the 2900's development program, which began in 1935 with the 2900A. 'Corto' indicates this example is one of the rarer short wheelbase versions, or passo corto, of the 8C 2900. 'Touring Spider' indicates the coachbuilder Touring of Milan built this sporting, open two-seater body.
Figures:
Alfa Romeo built no fewer than 22 examples of the 8C 2900B, probably closer to 30 in total. Touring of Milan bodied most of the road-going cars, among which there are between 10 and 12 open spiders; about half are the short wheelbase version, of which 4 or 5 survive. A scant number of black and white photographs depict another short wheelbase spider, bodied by Zagato.
French Dip: French Styling in the Short Chassis 8C 2900B
Corto and lungo variants differ primarily in the shoulders, which on the short chassis cut down aft of the cockpit. The doors slant on a gentle angle, accentuated by a French sweep in chrome and contrasting paint, which hits a sharp checkpoint just before the rear arches. In comparison, the lungo is more linear, with a set of trailing chrome pieces that break farther apart and terminate at different points, the lower piece against the rear arch and the upper piece all the way down at the tail. The difference in chrome accents lends distinct character to each of the short and long-chassis Touring Spiders, though the difference is not absolute. Corto chassis #412016, for instance, uses the lungo style, and at least one lungo chassis appears to use the corto style.
Teardrop Vents: Slatted Wheel Skirts on the 8C 2900B
Best viewed from the tail perspective, each of the rear skirts bears a slatted, removable cover for accessing the wheels. The teardrop shape of the opening is beautifully fashioned, though the chrome that accents each slat detracts somewhat from this otherwise modest, and peculiarly saddened eyelet. This three-slat skirt pattern appears more prevalent on the short-chassis version of the 8C 2900B Touring Spider, though some of the corto examples use plain covers instead.
Smooth Tail: The Sole 8C 2900B with Integrated Tail Lights
Of all known 8C 2900B Touring Spiders, whether corto or lungo chassis, #412018 is the only one whose tail lights are integrated into the coachwork. Most 8C 2900B examples use a separate tri-light attachment above the license plate. This car takes similarly sized lenses and creates an improvised marker light arrangement mid-way down the boot lid.
Last Updated: Mar 18, 2024
