– New work by Hans-Jürgen Döhren describes two luxury models of Alfa Romeo from the 1930s to the 1950s. – Limited to 915 copies, this color volume shows around 60 Alfa Romeo 6C 2300 and Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 from German-speaking countries in detailed texts and over 500, largely previously unpublished photos. – Unique overview of designs by the most famous coachbuilders of the era.
His award-winning compendium "Millenove" has long been considered the standard work on the Alfa Romeo 1900. In his new book "La Passione 6C 2300-6C 2500", Hans-Jürgen Döhren deals with two other important models from the history of Alfa Romeo - the types 6C 2300 and 6C 2500 from 1934 to 1953.
The color volume shows the detailed history of both models on around 360 pages and provides an incomparable overview of the work of the famous coachbuilders of the era. The author was given access to private collections and museums in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. This means he can show around 60 Alfa Romeo 6C 2300 and Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 with unique bodies from stars of the scene such as Pinin Farina, Touring and Ghia, but also from smaller studios such as Worblaufen, Graber or Castagna. For some vehicles, the owners themselves provide the background to their acquisition and restoration - unique contemporary witness accounts.
Döhren's new book is supplemented by summaries of the type's history, descriptions of the most important model versions, contemporary documents such as sales brochures and tables with technical data, as well as details of vehicles with a known chassis number. "La Passione 6C 2300-6C 2500" is limited to 915 copies, the number corresponds to the internal series number of most Alfa Romeo 6C 2500s.
The Tipo 6C is one of the most important models in Alfa Romeo's history. The 6C 2300 series achieved astonishing numbers for a manufacturer of luxury cars. The 6C 2500 was the first model with which Alfa Romeo returned to the market after the end of the Second World War and took the first steps on the way to becoming a mass-produced manufacturer.
The six-cylinder in-line engine of both models – hence the name 6C for the Italian “sei cilindri” – goes back to a design by the legendary engineer Vittorio Jano. Initially built with 1925 cubic centimeters from 1.500, the displacement gradually increased to 1.750 cubic centimeters (1929) and 1.900 cubic centimeters (1933) to 2.300 cubic centimeters (1934) and finally 2.500 cubic centimeters (1939).
With a cylinder head made of light alloy, two overhead camshafts and hemispherical combustion chambers, the six-cylinder engine was clearly influenced by Alfa Romeo's racing engines. In the production version, the 2,5-liter engine produced up to 77 kW (105 hp). In the Competizione variants, which Alfa Romeo used in the famous Mille Miglia endurance race, among other events, up to 107 kW (145 hp) were achieved.
As was common at the time, Alfa Romeo not only sold complete vehicles of the 6C 2300 and 6C 2500 models - for example the Freccia d'Oro model - but also delivered rolling chassis without a body. This was made possible by the construction with a box frame - available in three wheelbases - on which the chassis and engine are mounted in different power levels.
In these cases, customers turned to independent carrozzerias in Italy, France, Switzerland or Germany for the bodywork, which also took over the final assembly of the vehicle. Alfa Romeo built 6 complete vehicles and 2300 chassis of the Tipo 1934C 1939 at the Portello plant between 1.418 and 188. A total of 6 Alfa Romeo 2500C 2.594s are documented, produced between 1939 and 1953. Around 640 of both models are still known to exist today.
The fact that almost a tenth of this is described in a book shows the amount of research Hans-Jürgen Döhren put into “La Passione 6C 2300-6C 2500”. The author has been driving an Alfa Romeo since 1971 and is now one of the most profound experts on the brand's historic models in the German-speaking world. His book “Millenove” about the Alfa Romeo 1900 was awarded the “ADAC Motorwelt Autobuch Prize” in 2013.
“La Passione 6C 2300-6C 2500 / 1934-1953” Author: Hans-Jürgen Döhren Publisher: Alfapoint Size: 360 pages with around 550 photos, limited to 915 copies Languages: German and English parallel ISBN-10: 3000631844 ISBN-13: 978-3000631849 Purchase: Bookstores or www.millenove.de
