Alfa Romeo 8C

Alfa Romeo 8C 2900 at a glance

From the 8C 2300 to the 2900

The 8C story began with Vittorio Jano's 8C 2300, with a 65 mm bore, 88 mm stroke and 2,336 cc. English Wikipedia's production table counts 188 cars from 1931 to 1934 in short and long wheelbase. The racing version gave Tazio Nuvolari the Targa Florio in 1931 and 1932, won the 1931 Italian Grand Prix at Monza, which gave the "Monza" name to the twin-seat Grand Prix car, and won the 24 Hours of Le Mans four years running from 1931 to 1934. German Wikipedia gives 104 kW (142 PS) for the standard car and 131 kW (178 PS) for the Monza.

For racing, the engine grew. The 8C 2600, with a 68 mm bore and 2,557 cc, went into the Tipo B and the Scuderia Ferrari Monzas from 1933 with an initial 160 kW (215 hp). English Wikipedia later gives the Tipo B displacement as 2,665 cc, so the figure is uncertain. For 1934 the race engines were enlarged to 2.9 litres. From 1933 Scuderia Ferrari ran Alfa Romeo's racing programme; in 1938 the factory's own Alfa Corse took it over. That chapter is covered in our history of Ferrari.

Engine and chassis

The 8C 2900 was based on the chassis of the 8C 35 Grand Prix car. Its 2,905 cc straight-eight had a 68 mm bore and a 100 mm stroke. Two Roots-type superchargers were fed by two updraught Weber carburettors. The output depended on the version and its compression ratio:

The suspension was fully independent, which was rare at the time. At the front, Dubonnet-type trailing arms worked with coil springs and hydraulic dampers. At the rear, swing axles were located by a transverse leaf spring. The 2900B rode on 19-inch rims with 432 mm (17 in) hydraulic drum brakes. German Wikipedia describes the front suspension as a crank-arm axle and gives a top speed of 185 km/h.

The difference between the racing and road engines is 30 kW, about 18% of the 2900B's output. Our power converter shows the same figures in PS and hp.

2900A and 2900B: the versions

The 2900B was softened for comfort and reliability. English Wikipedia's text gives 32 built (10 in 1937 and 22 in 1938), while its table shows 30 (10 and 20); one more was assembled from parts in 1941. German Wikipedia says 30 and mentions other sources with 43. Most cars were bodied by Carrozzeria Touring and a few by Pinin Farina. Other coachbuilders named for the 8C range include Zagato, Castagna, Brianza, Graber, Worblaufen, Tuscher and Figoni.

Racing: three Mille Miglia wins

For 1938 Alfa Corse, which had taken over the racing department from Scuderia Ferrari, prepared four 2900B roadsters on the short chassis with Touring Superleggera bodies for the Mille Miglia. Three had engines tuned to 168 kW (225 bhp), while Biondetti's car used the 220 kW (295 bhp) Tipo 308 Grand Prix engine and won. Pintacuda's second-placed car went on to win the Spa 24 Hours with Severi. In 1936 Scuderia Ferrari had entered three 2900A cars in the Mille Miglia and taken the first three places, a result repeated in part in 1937.

The 1938 Le Mans coupé had a streamlined Touring body. In a 1987 test its drag coefficient was measured at 0.42, falling to 0.37 with the air intakes closed, a reduction of about 12% from the intakes alone. Across the family, the step from the standard 8C 2300 with 104 kW to the 2900A with 164 kW meant about 58% more power from a 24% larger engine. Vittorio Jano had left Alfa Romeo at the end of the 1937 season, so the 1938 cars were among the last results of his design. The Museo Alfa Romeo has published a short film about the Le Mans coupé.

Legacy and collecting the 8C 2900

German Wikipedia describes the 8C 2900 as one of the most expensive classic cars on the market. The auction figures quoted by the sources are not in euros, so they are not given here. A later Alfa Romeo sports racer is described in our article on the Alfa Romeo 6C 3000 CM, and the 8C name returned in 2007 on the 8C Competizione.

• For racing history: a 2900A, the version that won the Mille Miglia in 1936 and 1937.
• For road use: a 2900B Lungo, with a lower-compression engine and a longer chassis for touring bodies.
• For design: a Touring Superleggera berlinetta or spider on the short 2900B chassis.
• Check the record: with 30–43 cars depending on the source, every chassis has a known history.

The rest of the company's story is in our history of Alfa Romeo, and other models are in the Alfa Romeo catalogue.

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