1932 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Viotti Coupe
| April 27, 2008
The streamlined body of this 1932 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Viotti looks as if it were shaped by the wind itself. It hovers low to the ground and glides down the road with scant inches between the pavement and its handformed bodywork.
Alfa Romeo was founded in 1910 as A.L.F.A., or Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica di Automobili, and it became Alfa Romeo when Nicola Romeo took over the company in 1915. The 8C 2300 gained renown as a racer and road car. The dual-overhead-cam, eight-cylinder engine, designed by Vittorio Jano, is essentially two cylinder blocks joined in the middle. Variations of this supercharged engine carried Alfas to multiple victories at the 24 Hours of LeMans in ‘31, ’32, ’33 and ’34.
This car was originally built as a LeMans racer in 1932, and it took third place in 1933. In 1934, Vittorini Viotti crafted this lovely coupe to replace the racing body. The Viotti coupe then spent many years in Africa before making its way back to England. About ten years ago it was imported to the United States where it underwent a full and accurate restoration.