The last 12 months has been spectacular for the Alfa Romeo marque, re-entering the World Formula One Championship it won twice in the 1950s and reclaiming some of its formidable racing heritage, topping the prestigious Retromobile auction cluster when a 1939 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900 B Touring Berlinetta sold for €16,745,600 ($18,968,675), winning the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, the Peninsula Classics Best of the Best award, and now winning the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este.
Remarkably, three of those five major triumphs have been due to one car – David Sydorick's 1937 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Touring Berlinetta.
In taking out the most prestigious concours events in both America and Europe, plus the Peninsula Classics Best of the Best award in Paris in February (2019), the car has achieved the equivalent of a Tennis Grand Slam – the only difference is that the tennis feat has been achieved many times, and never before has a car won so many globally prestigious concours events.
Just to emphasize the visually arresting nature of the Touring-styled Alfa Romeo Berlinetta, the car was voted Best in Show by the public last Saturday, and then voted Best in Show by the judges on Sunday, completing a clean sweep.
The owner of the Alfa Romeo is no stranger to Villa d'Este, having won the Best in Show award in 2015 with another Alfa Romeo from his collection.
"I have won a lot of prizes with my automobiles, but this vehicle really fulfils all my desires. The Best of Show here at Villa d'Este is like receiving a knighthood," said the delighted winner at the award ceremony. "My wife and I would like to express our heartfelt thanks for this award."
The chassis of the immensely successful racing cars run by Scuderia Ferrari in the pre-WW2 period provided the platform for this car, and it is one of just five cars built on a long wheelbase and clothed in Superleggera coachwork by Carrozzeria Touring.
Similarly, the inline all-alloy eight-cylinder engine was derived from the racing engines.
Fitted with double overhead camshafts and twin superchargers, the car produces 180 hp and was one of the fastest cars in the world prior to WW2.
We'll have a full pictorial of the world's most traditional heritage beauty contest for historic vehicles tomorrow, this year held under the motto "The Symphony of Engines – 90 Years of the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este & BMW Automobiles".