AWARDS
1. Second in Class. Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, California, 1994.
1931 LE MANS 24 HOUR RACE RECORD
— 1st place overall, Le Mans 24 hour. Team; Lord Howe. Drivers; Sir Henry “Tim” Birkin and Lord Howe.
— 1st in 3 litre class, Le Mans 24 hour. Team; Lord Howe. Drivers; Sir Henry “Tim” Birkin and Lord Howe.
In second place, 7 laps behind was the Ivanowski team driving a 7.1L Supercharged Mercedes Benz SSK.
MECHANICAL NOTES
Aspiration via Roots-Type Supercharger.
SPECIFIC HISTORY OF THIS CAR
This Alfa Romeo 8C won the Le Mans 24-hour classic in 1931 with distinction in the hands of English drivers Tim Birkin and Lord Howe. Tim Birkin even received a telegram from Mussolini congratulating him on his “win for Italy”.
This was the first of four consecutive wins for Alfa Romeo in that event and brought to an end the run of four consecutive wins by Bentleys.
Post 1931 the car spent several years in New Zealand where it was raced by Don Ransley and Bruce Webster, among others, eventually being sold to a new owner overseas.
The 8C returned here in the early nineties so that Auto Restorations could do a full restoration to Le Mans-winning specification. It then competed at the Laguna Seca Historics in 1994 and took second in class at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance the following day.
MODEL HISTORY
To continue the success of the 6C 1500 Super Sport and 6C 1750 Grand Sport, Alfa Romeo had Vittorio Jano design an eight cylinder engine with the same features as the 6C models. This 2336 cc engine was mounted on both the short and long wheelbase chassis, to dominate an array of motor sport events. This restoration is the long wheel-base chassis.
The all-alloy straight eight was made from two four-cylinder blocks with detachable heads that were bolted together with a gear train in the centre to drive the twin overhead camshafts, the Roots-type supercharger and ancillaries.
The 2300 was made in three different lengths having wheelbases of 2640, 2740 and 3100mm. The shortest of these, called the Monza, was used for Grand Prix racing, while the longest complied with the AIACR regulations for events such as Le Mans.
After an unsuccessful debut at the Mille Miglia in 1931, the car won the Targa Florio and went on to upset Bentley’s supremacy at Le Mans.
From 1931 to 1934 Alfa would claim four victories at Le Mans as well as similar serial victories at the Mille Miglia.
Many of the 188 2300s featured graceful bodies from styling houses such as Zagato and Touring which gave them their signature sporting stance and potent appearance.