We love cars as well as watches here at The Northern Watch Co, so it’s always good to see watch brands supporting classic car events. It will be fantastic at attend a classic event at some point later this year! Or visit a watch shop. Stay safe everyone 😉
The Concours of Elegance, presented by German luxury watch manufacturer A. Lange & Söhne, has revealed two very special members of its 2020 Main Concours display: a pair of unique Alfa Romeo 6Cs, showcasing the best in contemporary engineering and hand-crafted design
The Alfa Romeo 6C 2300B and 2500 were among the most expensive cars in the world during the ’30s and ‘40s, featuring engines designed by one of the great automotive designers of all time; Vittorio Jano. The 6C’s mixture of dual overhead cam power, independent suspension and hydraulic brakes helped the 6C 2300 and 2500 to amass a number of impressive race victories. They finished 1st and 2nd in their class at the 1937 Mille Miglia, 1st, 2nd and 3rd at the 1937 Targa Abruzzo in Pescara, took victory again at Pescara in 1938 and won the Targa Florio in 1950.
Aside from their racing successes, both the 2300 and 2500 are responsible for some of the most beautiful and intricate coachbuilding of all time. An Alfa Romeo 6C 2300B appearing at Concours of Elegance this September features a body designed by Swiss coachbuilder, Graber.
The lightweight but sturdy tubular chassis, likely built in 1950, was a technological masterpiece compared with the steel ladderframe chassis that most 6C 2500s were equipped with. The running gear, suspension, and brakes are all period Alfa Romeo 6C components which appear to date primarily from 1948.
Watch some engineering beauty at the A Lange & Sohne YT channel;
Originally ordered by SIRCA, the dealer in Milan that served as Carrozzeria Ghia’s representative for the region of Lombardy, this car eventually found its way to the UK in 1959. By 1961 is was up for sale again at just £895 (just under £25,000 today), remained in the UK for a few more years and then found its way to America in 2016 via Austria and the Netherlands, with a full nut and bolt restoration along the way. Its current owners, underwent another full restoration with the car in 2016 to take it back to its original specification, which took over 2.5 years.
Andrew Evans, Concours of Elegance Director, said: “Although our event has grown enormously since its award-winning debut in 2012, we always retain a central collection of around 70 painstakingly curated vehicles for our main concours d’elegance display. Our Steering Committee of motoring experts scours the globe for the finest examples of automotive design, innovation or rarity, and these unique Alfa Romeos are arguably the perfect blend of all three. We can’t wait for our guests to see them in the Fountain Gardens of Hampton Court Palace this September”.
Outside of the main concours d’elegance competition around 1,000 other rare and significant vehicles are curated into special features and displays over the course of the event. This year’s flagship Centrepiece Display is dedicated to McLaren’s victory at Le Mans in 1995. A collection of the McLaren F1 GTRs that finished 1st, 3rd, 4th and 5th at Le Mans 24 Hours 25 years ago will take pride of place over the course of the event, from 4th-6th September.
The 2020 event will cement Concours of Elegance’s global reputation for gathering the finest cars in the world in one of the UK’s most stunning settings; the Fountain Gardens of Hampton Court Palace. With the gracious support of Concours of Elegance patron, His Royal Highness Prince Michael of Kent, no other UK motoring event offers the same prestige.
Tickets to the Concours of Elegance are available to buy now from www.concoursofelegance.co.uk/tickets