In time for the retrospective at the 2010 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, I've compiled a stout tribute with my own special "class" of pre-War Alfa Romeo cars. With just a few years of honest work a nice stable has emerged, and this month I've completed every pre-War Alfa Romeo collected so far. These cars represent superlative examples of the marque, as well as unique specials, and every feature is annotated with design evaluations and history.

Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Grand Sport Spyder by Zagato, 1930: Our walk through the world of Alfa Romeo begins with the firm's Zagato collaboration, the first of two major partnerships the Milanese company kept with local coachbuilders in the classic era. Early Zagato cars were thin aluminum creations stretched over tubular frames. These formed the base for a modern two-seat sports car—the next evolution from the Bentley and Bugatti cars of the twenties.

Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Spyder by Zagato, 1931: Comfortable in its new clothes, the combination of Alfa engineering and Zagato looks created a formula for success by opening up a new market for sporting enthusiasts. Comprising the era's preeminent sports car marque, Alfa proved the value of developing a good design over successively improved series. In this piece we'll note how the blueprint is actually prescient of Porsche, a point often overlooked for the firm's unavoidable connection to Ferrari.

Alfa Romeo 6C 1500 Grand Sport Testa Fissa, 1933

Alfa Romeo 6C 1500 Grand Sport Testa Fissa, La Marocchina, 1933: This is one of the very last 1,497cc motors ever employed by the factory, fitted to a 1750 chassis and raced by one of the classic era's most beloved female racing drivers. The team for whom Anna Maria Peduzzi raced was noneother than Scuderia Ferrari, and in this car she won her class at the 1933 Mille Miglia. This is truly a remarkable car whose history is filled with significant achievements and connections.

Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Monza, Zagato Body, 1933: The first of Vittorio Jano's great triumvirate of 8C racing Alfas, the Monza was one of the last bi-place sporting cars to succeed in both Grand Prix and endurance racing. Henceforth, the monoposto will divide duties, further demarcating the lines between sports cars of various ambition. This particular Monza, part of the Simeone Foundation Museum collection, was second place overall in the 1933 Mille Miglia, driven by Franco Cortese and Carlo Castelbarco.

Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Cabriolet Lungo by Figoni, 1933: This rare French-bodied touring car is one of a handful in North America. Easily perceived as a Castagna-bodied 2300, the Figoni car is conventionally elegant. Straight lines and heavy coachwork impart a luxurious disposition; this is a decent step above the 1750 Spyder, something aimed squarely at an affluent motorist. As far as I've seen, this is the only place on the internet to feature a Figoni-bodied 8C Alfa.

Alfa Romeo 6C 2300-B Pescara Berlinetta by Pinin Farina, 1937: The Pescara was an exclusive series of about sixty touring cars. Of those, less than a half-dozen cars wore closed bodies. This special berlinetta is a unique example still at home in its native Italy. The shape is unremarkable compared to contemporary efforts by Touring, but the ornamental detail surely is spiffy. This is a fantastic car with a fittingly sharp photo-feature, definitely worth a look and a read.

Alfa Romeo 8C 2900-A Mille Miglia Spyder, Nino Farina, 1937: One of the most remarkable pre-War cars I've stumbled across, this chassis was displayed at the Paris Motor Show, then fitted for racing in the Mille Miglia where it placed second overall with Giuseppe "Nino" Farina. Following the race, its motor show body was re-fitted and the car was sold. A precursor to the road-going 2900-B Spyder, the design is largely influenced by Touring but was actually completed by the factory. Only three were built.

Alfa Romeo 8C 2900-B Touring Spyder, 1938

Alfa Romeo 8C 2900-B Touring Spyder, A-Specification, 1938: Widely regarded as the apogee of pre-War sports cars, the 2900-B stands up to the praise—nothing so classically inspired was so wonderfully powerful. The fantastic Delahaye 135 MS, the great Duesenberg, and even the Bugatti Type 57 SC fell short of Alfa Romeo's complete package. As a matter of course, very few were produced, and of those a very small number were fitted with a competition head from the 2900-A, including this one.

Alfa Romeo 6C Monoposto by Conrado Volpi, 1938

Alfa Romeo 6C Monoposto by Conrado Volpi, Juan Manuel Fangio, 1938: In the history of South American racing, home-grown machines and drivers excercised a large effect on the motorsport world. Conrado Volpi built a number of specials for Juan Manuel Fangio; this was arguably the most successful. The car is a baby Alfetta powered by a supercharged 6-cylinder—likely the later 2.5 litre as seen in the Tipo 256—and was a national champion on home turf.

Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS Tipo 256 Touring Competition Berlinetta, 1939: The Tipo 256 is significant for linking the classic era to the post-War era. In addition, coachwork on these late classics anticipated the closed ala spessa designs that would sound a major maturation for the automotive form. Most competition Tipo 256 cars were open spyders with these closed berlinetta representing experimental efforts. No original coachwork is known to exist for these special cars.

Museo Stradale