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RM Auctions: 1940 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Sport Cabriolet by Graber
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| Lot 482
Estimate : $325 000 - $400 000
Chassis no: 915089
95hp, 2,443cc dual overhead camshaft inline six-cylinder engine, Weber twin-choke carburetor, four-speed manual transmission, four-wheel independent suspension, four-wheel hydraulic drum brakes. Wheelbase: 118?
Vittorio Jano’s 1927 6C 1500 provided the foundation for a series of engines that defined Alfa Romeo’s great pre-war reputation. Expanded to 1,752 cc it became the 6C 1750 which, in various guises and states of tune, was the backbone of Alfa Romeo production from 1929 to 1933. With two added cylinders, the basic 6C 1750 design became the 8C 2300, and was ultimately adapted to the famed 8C 2900 sports cars.
In 1934, Jano created a new generation of Alfa Romeo powerplants: the dual overhead camshaft 6C 2300. At 70mm bore and 100mm stroke, the 6C 2300 continued the long stroke that gave Alfa’s engines high torque for drivability while adopting an improved light alloy cylinder head with chain-driven camshafts. Reliability was a priority in its design and Jano gave it hollow camshafts for superior lubrication, seven main bearings for rigidity, single-piece block and head castings, plus an innovative dual-level sump that acted as an efficient oil cooler. In 1939, the bore was increased to 72mm, creating the 6C 2500 with 2,443 cc displacement.
The new 6C series engine was complemented by a brilliant chassis reflecting all that Alfa had learned from its dominant GP and sports cars. A revised and stiffer frame rode on a four-wheel independent suspension with parallel trailing arms at the front and swing axles at the rear. Springing was by torsion bars at the rear and coil springs in hydraulic cylinders in the front.
Alfa had established its own coachworks in 1933 and clothed some of the 6C chassis itself, however most 6Cs were provided on special order to favored clients for custom coachwork, among them the example offered here, which was executed by the master coachbuilder Hermann Graber in the summer of 1940. Graber, who was born in Wichtrach, Switzerland, learned the trade from his father, becoming a well-respected coachbuilder of horse-drawn vehicles before making his first automobile body for a Fiat 508 in 1927. He achieved additional fame in St. Moritz two years later, as he won the Concours d’Elegance for his work on a Panhard-Levassor 20 CV – an achievement that undoubtedly expanded his international renown.
By the time Graber laid eyes on Alfa Romeo’s chassis 915089 he was in his mid-thirties, and regarded as Switzerland’s finest coachbuilder. In fact, his coach work on this car was the only work he performed on an Alfa Romeo 6C 2500, before World War II effectively halted Italian passenger car production. His work is simply stunning. Built over wood bucks made especially for this car, the car sported a long, sloping hood, integrated headlamps, sweeping front wings, a streamlined grille, and a graceful tapered rear with an enclosed spare wheel. The interior is equally impressive, upholstered in red leather with matching carpeting and featuring Veglia instrumentation and a floor-mounted shifter – a perfect blend of sporting elegance and grand touring luxury.
Equally notable, the car remained under single-family Swiss ownership until the early 1990s, when it was purchased by Al Guggisberg, having accumulated 30,000 kilometers from new and simply requiring cosmetic restoration, which he purportedly commissioned some time thereafter, finishing the car in a very attractive two-tone gray.
Despite the car’s originality, it was discovered that the engine in the car did not match the chassis plate, although it was a correct 1940 unit from the production series. It was impossible to determine the cause of this discrepancy from Alfa Romeo or Graber records, but it is likely that this engine change occurred very early in the car’s history. Furthermore, the proper steering wheel was also absent and had been replaced with a Nardi unit, which was in itself an option on post-war models and therefore may have been fitted early in the car’s history as well.
The Alfa Romeo was eventually exported to the United States in the late 1990s and went to Bill Jacobs of Chicago before being acquired by another owner in exchange for a race Ferrari. So it was that the Alfa Romeo found its way into a small private Vermont collection, where it received proper, regular maintenance and minor cosmetic work.
Subsequent showings included an outing in 2003 at the Rander Concours d’Elegance (Second in Show) and a showing in 2005 at Amelia Island, where the car was awarded the Spirit of Amelia Award. An older newspaper article also documents Best of Show honors awarded in 1987 at a show event in Switzerland held by the Tribune de Genève.
This particular Graber masterpiece is not only representative of the great six-cylinder Alfa Romeos of its period but is also the singular coachbuilt Graber 6C 2500 Sport Cabriolet. With less than 36,000 presumably original kilometers from new it remains in remarkable condition and is an elegant example of one of the most aesthetically innovative coachbuilding eras.
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