A real highlight of the Bonhams Gstaad auction will be, Lot No 208, an Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Super Sport Cabriolet with coachwork by Stabilimenti Farina, and which has a fabulous history.

A real highlight of the Bonhams Gstaad auction will be, Lot No 208, an Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Super Sport Cabriolet with coachwork by Stabilimenti Farina, and which has a fabulous history. With just 19,000 kms on the clock it has recently emerged after nearly half a century of being garaged in the family castle of its last owner, Marchese Pietro de Cordova.

Details: 19,733 kilometres from new, same owner from 1955 - 2004; 1950 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Super Sport Cabriolet; Coachwork by Stabilimenti Farina; Chassis no. 915870; Engine no. 928181

‘The current Alfa Romeo conceals as beautiful a chassis as ever with four-wheel independent suspension and a six-cylinder twin overhead camshaft unsupercharged engine…’ - The Autocar, July 11th 1947.

Its Portello factory devastated by wartime bombing, Alfa Romeo did not resume car production until 1946 with, inevitably, a pre-war carry-over, the 6C 2500 in a variety of new guises forming the basis of the Milanese marque’s post-war recovery. Destined to be the last of the separate-chassis Alfas, the 2500 had debuted in 1939 and was a development of the preceding 2300. Styled in-house, but strongly influenced by Touring, the streamlined five-seater Freccia d’Oro (Golden Arrow) sports saloon was built alongside coupé and cabriolet versions featuring bodies by the likes of Pinin Farina, Touring and Ghia, plus a six/seven-seater berlina on a longer wheelbase.

The engine was, of course, the latest version of Alfa’s race-developed double-overhead-camshaft ‘six’, its 2,443cc displacement having been arrived at by enlarging the bore of the 2300. Introduced in 1934, the latter had been designed by the legendary Vittorio Jano and was later developed by Bruno Treviso, becoming the 2500 in 1939. Maximum power ranged from 90bhp in single-carburettor Sport guise to 105bhp in the triple-carb Super Sport (SS) version.

The Alfa Romeo tradition of building driver’s cars par excellence was upheld by the 2500, for although the box-section chassis was no longer state-of-the-art, it nevertheless boasted all-independent suspension, generously-sized brakes, fast-geared steering and an unusually slick, column-mounted gearchange. The latter enabled Alfa to claim the model was a full five-seater, with three passengers accommodated in the front and two - three at a pinch - in the rear. The inevitable weight gain over its pre-war predecessor was offset by the increase in engine capacity and superior aerodynamics, the two models’ top speed being an identical 97mph. For all its race-bred charm, the 6C 2500 represented Alfa Romeo’s past rather than its future, nevertheless standing the company in good stead until the arrival of the thoroughly modern 1900 model in 1950. 2500 production continued until 1953, by which time a little fewer than 2,200 of these handsome automobiles had been made.

This Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Super Sport - one of only 458 ‘SS’ models built between 1939 and 1951 - wears two-seater cabriolet coachwork by Stabilimenti Farina, of Turin, the family firm that Battista ‘Pinin’ Farina had left in 1930 to set up his own Carrozzeria Pinin Farina (the contraction to ‘Pininfarina’ came after WW2). One of Italy’s oldest carrozzeria, Stabilimenti Farina had been founded by Battista’s elder brother Giovanni in 1905 and would provide the training ground for many talented designers including Giovanni Michelotti, Mario Boano and, of course, ‘Pinin’ himself.

Costing 4.5 million lire, the car was delivered new to its first owner, Enrico Mazzarella, in Palermo, Sicily in June 1950. Signor Mazzarella kept the Alfa until 1955 when it passed into the ownership of the Marchese Pietro de Cordova, also of Palermo, who used it until his death in 1960. The Alfa subsequently remained garaged at the family’s castle until it was rediscovered in 2003 – with only 19,000 kilometres recorded – and sold to the current owner, whose amazement and delight at finding this untouched ‘time warp’ car can only be imagined. The vendor advises us that the only work carried out since acquisition has been an overhaul of the brakes, and that the car now starts and runs perfectly.

The peculiar circumstances of its history have preserved this remarkable motor car in breathtakingly original condition; the paintwork, Burgundy leather interior and matching soft top have not been touched since the car left the factory, while included with it are the original Italian libretto, tonneau cover, keys, jack, tool kit, Palermo registration plates and even an Alfa Romeo map of Italy! The odometer currently registers only 19,733 kilometres. Alfa Romeo 6C 2500s are rare, cabriolet versions even more so, and this unique Super Sport represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to acquire one of these historically important cars preserved in perfectly original condition.

Estimate: CHF360,000 - 480,000

Text & Photos: Bonhams