1929 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Super Sport
- Engine
- 1.75L supercharged inline-six, twin-cam, numbers-matching
- Colour
- Black
A 1929 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Super Sport, one of just 121 built that year, this chassis was delivered new to Genoese industrialist Alfredo Nasturzio and subsequently passed through several Italian hands before emigrating to South Africa in 1939. Dr. Hugh Gearing of Johannesburg owned it for roughly six decades, competing in local hillclimbs and rallies, and on one occasion in 1992 Juan Manuel Fangio drove the car at a Pirelli demonstration event at Kyalami. The car's distinctive doorless steel coachwork is attributed to an Italian coachbuilder, likely Carrozzeria Aprile of Savona, circa 1938. A full mechanical restoration was completed after 2012, and the car has since earned multiple concours awards.
Ownership
- —Auction saleSold US$692,500
- 1929-05-13 →Factory deliveryAlfredo Nasturziofull documentation
Purchased new through Genoese dealer Eraldo Diana for 75,000 lire; Alfredo was a prominent industrialist from Genoa and an early VIP client of Alfa Romeo.
- 1931 → 1932-09-15Private saleRosalino Arzanifull documentation
Based in Diano Marina on the Ligurian Coast; registered the car under Imperia provincial plate IM 2483.
- → 1931-06-01Private saleTito Nasturziofull documentation
Alfredo sold the car to his brother Tito roughly 17 months after original purchase; Tito sold it on by June 1931 when both brothers moved to newer Gran Sport models.
- 1931-06-01 → 1931Private saleGio Batta Barilaropartial documentation
Brief ownership; car passed onward before the end of 1931.
- 1932 → 1933-08-01Private saleAttilio Patronipartial documentation
Genoese resident who acquired the car within a month of Cavallino's purchase.
- 1932-09-15 → 1932Private saleGio Batta Cavallinofull documentation
Resident of Savona; registered the car as SV 2550 but held it for under a month.
- 1933-08-01 → 1936Private saleGiovanni Cavigliapartial documentation
Held the car for approximately three years.
- 1938-07-01 → 1939-01-30Private saleErcole Bonfigliofull documentation
Based in Savona; registered the car as SV 5122. Current coachwork is believed to have been fitted around this period, possibly by Carrozzeria Aprile of Savona.
- 1939-01-30 → 1950Private saleGianni Vallerofull documentation
Resident of Durban, South Africa; Italian export declaration issued May 1942, well after the car had already been shipped south. A 1939 photograph of the car in Durban was discovered in an Italian Consulate publication.
- 1950 →Private saleDr. Hugh Gearingpartial documentation
Johannesburg-based owner who kept the car for roughly six decades; regularly campaigned it in local hillclimbs and rallies, and the car was fully maintained throughout.
- 2012-11-01 →Private saleConsignorfull documentation
Acquired after the car left the Gearing estate; commissioned a thorough mechanical restoration at Automotive Restorations, Inc. in Connecticut, documented by invoices on file.
Competition
- 1992Pirelli demonstration event at Kyalami CircuitDriver: Juan Manuel Fangio
Car was loaned by Gearing to Fangio for a demonstration run; Fangio drove with evident enthusiasm and praised the car on exiting.
- 20152015 Elegance at Hershey ConcoursMost Elegant Sports and Racing Car
First major concours appearance following the post-2012 restoration; top award in the sports and racing category.
- 2017-09-012017 Lime Rock Park Historic ConcoursBest in Class — Pre-WWII Coachbuilt category
- 2017-09-012017 Boston CupBest in Italian Class
Awarded in the same month as the Lime Rock concours.
- —Local hillclimbs and rallies near JohannesburgDriver: Dr. Hugh Gearing
Gearing regularly entered the car in hillclimb and rally events on the challenging terrain around Johannesburg over the decades of his ownership.
Maintenance & restoration
- 1938BodyworkCarrozzeria Aprile
New coachwork believed to have been fitted by an Italian coachbuilder, tentatively identified as Carrozzeria Aprile of Savona. The resulting body is a doorless steel design intended for vigorous road use rather than sanctioned competition.
Attribution is presumed rather than documented; marque historian John de Boer noted the distinctive construction style.
- 2012Inspection
Pre-restoration assessment by marque historian John de Boer, which noted the presence of a later-series Memini carburetor and a period but later-series four-speed gearbox, believed to be early upgrades already on the car when Gearing acquired it.
Findings documented on file.
- 2013RestorationAutomotive Restorations, Inc.
Full mechanical restoration carried out to a thorough standard, covering all aspects of the car's mechanical requirements. A complete rebuild of the numbers-matching 1.75-litre engine was included in the scope of work.
Workshop is based in Stratford, Connecticut; work is documented by a comprehensive set of invoices on file.
- 2013Engine rebuildDavid L. George Historic Motorcars
The period supercharger was fully rebuilt by a specialist workshop commissioned separately from the main restoration contractor.
Workshop is based in Cochranville, Pennsylvania.
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