6C 2500 Super Sport Villa d’Este

1950 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Super Sport Villa d’Este Coupe by Touring

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Phoenix, Arizona | January 2024

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Alfa’s 6C model was around for over 25 years, debuting in 1500 form in 1927 and bowing out with double the displacement after 1954. While the handful of 6C 3000s built were mostly race cars, it was the 6C 2500 that was really the final evolution of the model.

The Super Sport variant debuted in 1939 with triple carburetors on the 2.5-liter inline-six, which was good for 110 horsepower. A few different body styles were offered on this chassis, including the Touring-penned Villa d’Este coupe, of which just 36 were built.

Delivered new in Switzerland, the car eventually made its way to Texas. It was restored in Milan, though the catalog doesn’t quite make it clear when. Sometimes in the ’80s or ’90s apparently. This car is pretty fantastic, and it has an estimate of $450,000-$550,000. Click here for more info.

TVR 2500

1971 TVR 2500 Coupe

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | December 6, 2017

Photo – Bonhams

The TVR Vixen of 1967 was an evolution of the Grantura that dated back another five years (the first Granturas go back to 1958, but the styling of the Series III cars is mostly represented here). While the styling may have been a carryover, the drivetrain underneath was the real news.

The first Vixens were powered by a 1.6-liter Ford unit. But the same year the Vixen was introduced, TVR also launched the Tuscan, which had a V-8 or V-6. Unfortunately neither of these engines met U.S. emissions standards so TVR built a best-of-both-worlds car: the 2500 (or as it was called in the U.S., the Vixen 2500).

Built in 1971 and 1972 only, the 2500 was powered by a 2.5-liter Triumph straight-six that made a modest 105 horsepower. This made it the most powerful Vixen model, but it lacked power when compared to its competition.

Fortunately, a recent owner of this particular example had this car restored in the 1990s. In the process, they hopped up the engine a little bit, making it more of a performer. Only 289 of these were built (though an extra 96 cars were constructed with a different chassis from the M Series… of which there was a “2500M” model that is unrelated to the car pictured above and the 96 “2500”s built on their shared chassis. Confused yet?).

This car should bring between $29,000-$34,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $33,845.

Post-War Alfa 6C 2500

1947 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Sport Cabriolet by Pinin Farina

Offered by Bonhams | Francorchamps, Belgium | May 25, 2013

1947 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Sport Cabriolet by Pinin Farina

You know what I love about this car? Its simplicity. While it has attractive coachwork by Pinin Farina, it isn’t overly extravagant and ridiculous. It’s subtle and restrained. It also looks like a big car and like a car that, if you owned it, you would want to drive.

The post-war 6C 2500 was a carryover of the model introduced by Alfa Romeo in 1938. Production restarted in 1946 after serious effort to get their ravaged factory back to operational status. As you can see, there was a restraint with post-war designs that came from a more subdued Europe that had spent too long in the throes of war. The engine was also carried over, the 2.5-liter straight six, which, in Sport trim, made 90 horsepower.

This is one of three Pinin Farina-bodied aluminium (with steel doors) Cabriolets built as a 6C 2500 Sport. It has been in the same family since 1975 and used “sparingly” as it is all-original. It’s a very wonderful car and should sell for between $280,000-$340,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Bonhams’ auction lineup.

Update: Did not sell.

Diamante-bodied Alfa 6C

1942 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Series III Sport by Diamante

Offered by Bonhams | Francorchamps, Belgium | May 25, 2013

1942 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Series III Sport by Diamante

The Alfa Romeo 6C line entered production in 1925 but the 2500 model you see here didn’t come along until the end of 1938. Production ramped up in the face of war, which would seize Europe and disrupt automotive production and design – setting both back by nearly a decade.

But this car is tastefully appointed and used Alfa’s race-bred 2.5-liter straight-six. It wasn’t some last-minute car cobbled together in a warehouse. These were wonderful, well-engineered cars. Power output was 95 horsepower in the Sport model. The cars were bodied by many famed design houses and sold to royalty the world over. Alfa managed to build a few hundred of these before war broke out, with production continuing afterward and ending in 1952.

This chassis originally sported a cabriolet body by Touring but when it was rediscovered in 1998 the body had already been replaced by this sporty roadster body by Diamante (a coachbuilder I know almost nothing about). It was acquired by the most recent owner in 2008 who had it restored further than what was carried out ten years prior. It has competed in a number of historic events and is eligible for even more. It should sell for between $490,000-$690,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Did not sell.

RM London 2012 Highlights

RM Auctions’ 2012 London sale was held earlier this week. Our featured Ferrari 250 Tour de France was the top seller at $3.1 million. The Alloy Mercedes 300SL failed to sell, but was bid far beyond the Ferrari. As far as very early cars go, there was only one – this 1904 Cadillac Model F Four-Passenger Touring that sold for $90,000.

1904 Cadillac Model F Four-Passenger Touring

We featured a pair of supercars: a Maserati MC12 (that didn’t meet its reserve) and a Koenigsegg CCX that did, selling for $397,000. Other interesting cars included this 1970 Astra RNR2 FVC race car powered by a Ford-Cosworth engine that sold for $72,000.

1970 Astra RNR2 FVC - Ford Cosworth

How about these two little Italian cars, first a 1964 ASA 1000 GT (first below) sold for $58,702. The second car below is a 1963 OSCA 1600 GT. It sold for substantially more at $261,900.

1964 ASA 1000GT Ferrariana by Bertone

And speaking of little, I really liked this 1974 DAF 33 Variomatic. And it was affordable too, coming in at an auction low of $11,750.

This sale had a couple of really awesome Alfa Romeo 6Cs. First, this 1930 6C 1750 GS Testa Fissa is gorgeous and sold for $1,265,000.

1930 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 GS Testa Fissa

Then there is this 1934 Alfa Romeo 6C 2300 that sold for $451,500.

And finally, this post-war Alfa 6C – a 1948 6C 2500 S Cabriolet by Pinin Farina. It sold for $298,000, which, for whatever reason, seems like a good deal.

1948 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 S Cabriolet by Pinin Farina

Another Italian car (kind of a trend here) is this 1956 Fiat Abarth 750 GT Double Bubble coupe by Zagato. It sold for $126,000. A car along similar lines (that is: “tiny”) was our featured Ogle SX1000 GT. It sold for $23,400.

Two more cars to show you: first a 1937 Bentley 4.25-Litre Saloon by Mann Egerton sold for the “wow, that’s all it costs for a Bentley?” price of $36,000.

1937 Bentley 4.25-Litre Saloon by Mann Egerton

And finally, this 1937 Bugatti Type 57C Stelvio Cabriolet by Gangloff sold for the “yeah, Bugattis ain’t cheap” price of $993,000.

Our featured (and super awesome) Aston Martin DB6 Shooting Brake failed to sell. Complete results can be found here.