In the 1930s, Alfa Romeo launched a series of road and sports cars designated as 8C, in reference to their original straight-8 cylinder engines design. In 1935, the 8C-35 Tipo C Monoposto was born, and used a 3.8-litre straight-eight developing 330hp!
The engine was designed by Vittorio Jano and was used for racing purposes from 1931 to 1939, and in 1932, Alfa Romeo released the very first single-seater “Monoposto” Grand Prix race car named Tipo B. Needless to say this is a very impressive figure for the era. Eight different engines were built to be raced by the Scuderia Ferrari. However, the Alfas struggled to compete against the Auto Union and Mercedes on fast tracks but had a serious advantage on smaller tighter courses.
In 2013, the very unique last example remaining driven by Tazio Nuvolari sold for the record sum of £5.9M by @bonhamsmotoring at @goodwoodrevival making it the most expensive Alfa sold at an auction. Alfa Romeo released a new version of the 8C in 2007 named the 8C Competizione and limited to 500 units. The new 8C is following its heritage by offering a Maserati derived, and Ferrari assembled V8 engine.
