Although carefully tucked away at the back of the Fine Automobiles stand at Retromobile, the Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Touring Berlinetta was one of the most impressive cars on display this year. This has prompted us to take a look through our archive and read up on each of the five examples we have seen over the years. Fitted with a slippery and very light bodywork by Touring and built on Grand Prix racer inspired underpinnings, these cars rank among the very first super cars. They were so good, that one example managed to win the 1947 Mille Miglia outright even though the rules had forced the entrant to remove the supercharger. Today, these cars are among the most sought after and valuable in the world, and in 2008 one was awarded 'Best of Show' at Pebble Beach. Each of the mentioned examples is pictured in our 77-shot gallery.
After the war, Alfa Romeo abandoned the eight-cylinder engine and instead focused solely on the 2.5-litre straight six both in the road and competition cars. The first of the new racing cars to emerge from the Milan-based factory was this 6C 2500 Competizione. It was built on a short chassis and boasted a tuned engine and very slippery body. A pair of these were built for the 1948 season and a third was built in 1950 using a slightly larger three-litre engine. Although not quite as successful as its predecessors, the cars featured strongly in the first post-war editions of the Mille Miglia and Targa Florio. The featured example is the sole survivor and was displayed by Fiskens at Retromobile last week.

Enjoy the links:

1948 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Competizione - Images, Specifications and Information

1937 - 1939 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Lungo Touring Berlinetta - Images, Specifications and Information