Beschreibung:

* In the esteemed collection of Alfredo Celli for many years * Restored in the 1990s by Dino Cognolato and Gianni Trelli * Former Louis Vuitton Concours Class Winner/Concours entrant Hampton Court UK * Usable, sporting and practical fast touring, even rally car. Successful MM model in period. * Matching numbers, original coachwork/all correct mechanicals Previewing at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, California by appointment. Please contact motors.us@bonhams.com for scheduling. "'The lesser-known 1750 Gran Turismo con Compressore (GTC) of 1931 had chassis characteristics more in common with the eight cylinder 2.3 than the 6C 1750. Outrigged rear springs were also fitted which was a feature of the 8 cyl. Cars". Peter Hull & Roy Slater "Alfa Romeo - A History" (Cassell & Co - 1964) THE ALFA ROMEO 1750 GTC It was in 1923 that Enzo Ferrari, no less, persuaded Vittorio Jano to leave FIAT's racing department and join him at Alfa Romeo. A most gifted and influential automobile engineer, Jano would not only supervise Alfa Romeo's Grand Prix racing program but also design its road cars. This happy state of affairs resulted in the latter emerging as some of the most exciting and effective of their day, establishing the Milanese marque's reputation for producing sporting driver's cars second to none. Logical derivative of the Tipo 6C 1500, itself directly descended from Jano's all-conquering P2 that had won the World Championship in 1925, the Tipo 6C 1750 arrived in 1929 boasting a derivative of the 1500's six-cylinder engine enlarged to 1,752cc. The 6C 1750 was an exciting fast touring car combining light weight with sparkling performance. The supercharged 'SS' version, which later evolved into the 'GS' often with iconic Zagato or Touring coachwork, enjoyed numerous racing successes. From 1931 Alfa Romeo offered the 6C 1750 GTC the chassis, axles, suspension, brakes, steering, wheels, half-shafts and gearbox of which were all different to the earlier 6c1750s, and were akin to the contemporary 8C 2300, making the 6C1750 GTC virtually an 8C with a 1750 supercharged engine! Not surprisingly as a result, some of the total production of 159 6C 1750 GTCs that survived have been converted later into 8C 2300 cars - usually with chassis shortened and replica coachwork. There are VERY few matching-numbers original survivors of the model, still with original coachwork. The 6C 1750 GTC model's sporting career, included a win in the saloon class in the 1931 Mille Miglia (Minoia). Their mechanical longevity has extended far beyond production, which ceased in 1933. THE MOTORCAR OFFERED Throughout the 1920s and 1930s there were two coachbuilders with whom Alfa Romeo shared the closest ties, Zagato and Touring both of Milan. As the brand developed, it was these companies that could interpret the chassis best, and in this period clothed the cars that left the nearby works with the most beautiful coachwork, akin to art forms of elegance. Touring executed very few "Coupe Royale" bodies on the 6c1750 GTC chassis of which this is possibly the only original survivor - with history known since 1949. Chassis 101014832 is a 5th Series car which as the 32nd car built was delivered in 1931 and was one of only 66 examples supplied that year, in a three-year production run that amounted to 159 units. It is understood to have been sold new in its home country where it survived the war years and first surfaces in collector circles in October 1949 when imported to the UK and registered KXO 590. An old advertisement on file shows it in substantially the same form as today, to have been offered for sale through Character Cars of Wimbledon for the princely sum of £625 towards the end of 1950, a very high price for the period. The sales pitch notes it to have recently been "repainted, reupholstered and the brightwork replated". Interestingly, that 1950 advertisement shows the car fitted with a rearwards-sloping 8c style radiator, as now fitted. A chain of Br