Museo Stradale

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Dominic's Auto Museum
One man's passionate quest to survey finest motorcars in the world

#0037 - Alfa Romeo 8C 2900-B Touring Spyder, 1938

We are featuring a photo of this car as a desktop background image.

Photographed: Saint Michael's Concours d'Elegance, 2008.

Truth Be Told: I've been avoiding this entry for a long time—ever since I haggled with the sun only to spend my evenings reconciling the lack of decent lighting on this tremendous car, I've wondered what would be worth-while. The 8C 2900 lends itself to hyperbole, and while I spent some effort going through the history of the Alfa 8C 2900-A Mille Miglia Spyder, that is due both to its worth as an historical piece, as well as its lack of recognition relative to the 2900-B.

No doubt plenty of people have stopped by this feature and, to date, taken nothing particularly interesting or informative away. More than likely, those who seek the 2900-B already know what it is... the first great supercar, grand prix technology in a road-going luxury tourer, perennial winner of the world's top concours events, one of the most beautiful cars of the classic era, and in many ways far superior to all comers including the great Bugatti Type 57. Had enough?

In spite of the praise, the 2900-B is also understated in a way only Touring procured so well. The elegance is classically defined, a conservative posture brought out in its highest form by merging competition cues with those of luxurious pretention. The grille shroud, for instance, contains elongated kidney-shaped vents following along the top and sides as seen on the Monza and 8C 2300 Le Mans cars, while the coachwork is the ultimate evolution of Italian design leading up to the ala spessa movement that will pull individual panels into one cohesive form.

So let us leave the matter thusly: The 2900-B is the academic's choice for eminent pre-War motor car. It recalls the names of Vittorio Jano, Carlo Pintacuda, Enzo Ferrari, and latterly Phil Hill and Ralph Lauren for reasons of racing and preservation. Describing this sort of significance to someone not quite so deep into the classic motoring swill will result in breathless gasps of under-stimulation, and maybe even a disinterested grunt. Yes, that's quite enough for now.

The Oscar Davis Car: Now tucked away (unfortunately) in a small New Jersey hamlet, this particular 2900-B is perhaps more understated than most. Deep paint with matching wheels downplays the elegant curves of the body, while the gently bending trim is rather simple compared to the two-tone Bugatti sweeps or French Curve motifs seen on the comtemporary Delahaye 135. However, up close, the patina is gorgeous. This is not a meticulously restored car with glass-mirror finish, but a nice as-is example, albeit with a very high level of care evident. In as much as the car has been tucked away in a serious collection, it is refreshing to see the time-capsule state of preservation it espouses. This I admit is difficult to see in my photographs—again, the light was no good—but perhaps some future rendezvous will allow me the opportunity to bring that aspect to the fore.

At some point I have also picked up on a notion that this pretty, yet reserved Spyder is one of the rare 2900-B cars fitted with a more aggressive head from the 2900-A. Since I haven't been able to confirm as much, I haven't added this qualification to the feature title, (but would love to know one way or another). There could also be some modest racing history involved; that, too, would be good to hear about. Please drop me a line if any information is handy.

Sources

This piece remains largely editorial, largely due to the troves of reverence already available elsewhere in print and electronic media.

 

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