Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 GS Mille Miglia #84 Tazio Nuvolari CMC M-141

Alfa Romeo 6C 1750

Gran Sport, 1930 Mille Miglia 

Scale 1:18

By the beginning of the 1930s, Alfa Romeo had become a standard bearer in automotive racing. It sent four racing teams, each with a 6C 1750 GS (Gran Sport), to the endurance race of the 1930 Mille Miglia. Today this race is remembered by the fierce competition that was put up by Tazio Nuvolari and his co-pilot Guidotti against arch-rival Achille Varzi. Eventually it was Nuvolari who won out to celebrate his first Mille Miglia victory. 

CMC has built an authentic replica of this legendary winning car with starting number 84 -- a meticulously-detailed edition limited to 2,000 pieces only world wide. The replica is hand built from some 1,800 parts, featuring an extensive use of sheet metals in addition to block metals. What you are looking at is a miniature of impressive charm and sporty elegance that should not be missing from any collection. 

The 6C 1750 GS was designed as a racing car, and it proved to be a cut above its contemporaneous rivals primarily because of its excellent acceleration on top of a simple chassis design and the reliability of mechanical components. Another contributing factor was the exceptional throttle response and revving of the engine. The well-tuned suspension, which was stiff but not too hard, enabled an energy-effective driving style. With a curb weight of 920 kg and an output of 85 hp at 4500/min, the Gran Sport reached 145 km/hr, an amazing speed for a 1930 car that was well below two liters of displacement. For most challenging races, Alfa Romeo equipped its official GS racing cars with fused cylinder heads and an eight-bearing crankshaft to muster 102 hp at 5000/min. Later on, as its curb weight was reduced to 840 kg, the 1930 GS was capable of reaching a top speed up to 170 km/hr.

Apparently, such technological improvements gave Tazio Nuvolari and his co-pilot Guidotti an advantage as they raced their 6C 1750 GS with starting no. 84 in the 1930 Mille Miglia endurance race. But their arch rival Achille Varzi was also driving a 6C 1750 GS, so a heated competition unfolded between them. Drivers of both cars exerted their skills to the utmost and even employed tricky maneuvers. Legend has it that under the cover of a nightfall, Nuvolari turned off the headlights as his car drew closer and closer to Varzi from behind. When he was right behind his opponent, Nuvolari suddenly switched on the three glaring headlights and surpassed a bedazzled Varzi at full speed to win the race.

Since then, the three headlights capped with red plastic covers have been one of the most distinctive features for identifying the pre-war racing models made by Alfa Romeo.

It should be mentioned that at the 1930 Mille Miglia, the first four places in the overall standings were all taken by Alfa factory cars, with the winner Tazio Nuvolari scoring an average speed of over 100 km/hour.