The stage of Swiss car broker Lukas Hüni is one of the main attractions of Rétromobile. Every year, they find a new and exciting topic to present dozens of cars. Just for this show, their own stock is supplemented by external contributions to be showcased.
In 2018, they gathered an incredible set of Ferrari 250s, each could be the star of any classic car stage, they had at least half a dozen.
Last year, they stole the show from FCA with a selection of Lancias that excelled in style and numbers. The stage featured 8 specimens from the legendary Stratos alone. This year they find an even more elaborate subject for their 2020 thematic.
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Arguably the most important car anniversary of 2020 is the 110th birthday of the Alfa Romeo brand. It is becoming a major thematic throughout the year and around the world, as car shows boast thematic stages, and several museums announced Alfa Romeo exhibitions for 2020. A lot of things change now with the Coronavirus, but as of February, there were a lot of preparations from Autoworld to Sinsheim.
At this year’s Rétromobile, Lukas Hüni honoured Alfa Romeo, and their stage outshone the factory’s own.
They showcased about three dozen Alfas from all epochs from the pre-war period to last glory days before the Fiat takeover. In addition, cars from a few other brands were showcased. Of course, just the essentials 🙂 like a Bugatti, a two Ferraris, a Miura and two pre-war British nobilities.
I first thought the selection of cars were showcased with the objective to sell them, but most of them were actually not for sale. Each vehicle was accompanied by a detailed description that the hosts were so kind to share. Much of the insight about the cars and their model history in this article stems from these info sheets.
The red Ferrari 250 GT SWB is one of the most iconic sports cars in the history of the automobile. This Berlinetta Passo Corto (Short Wheelbase) version was coach built by Pininfarina and was equipped with a 3-litre V12 250 GT engine with a notable racing history. This specimen was sold to Scuderia Serenissima, finishing third in the 1961 Tour de France.
The other Ferrari was a 212 with a body designed by Vignale,
The orange Miura P400 SV is a late model from 1972.
The green Bentley 4 1/4 MR Vanden Plas Drophead coupé was from 1938 and participated in the RAC Rally in 1939.
Two very Rolls Royces occupied a podium in the centre of the stage. A Silver Ghost from 1912, and another Silver Ghost from 1911 that was an experimental London-Edinburgh and Brooklands Record Car.
The vast majority of the Lukas Hüni stage was occupied by Alfa Romeo models, and here are my favourites from their show.
The smaller Alfa podium is occupied by an Alfa 2000 Sportiva from 1954, one of the two berlinettas designed by Franco Scaglione for Bertone. In the ’50s, Alfa Romeo planned a limited series of luxurious high-speed cars, that would equally be suitable for road use as for the track. Following the spectacular Disco Volante, Alfa Romeo engaged Bertone to design a Spider and a Berlinetta based on the 1900 model.
Sophisticated technology with space frame guaranteed stability and a competitive weight (only 915 kg), and designer Franco Scaglione combined efficient aerodynamics with uniquely beautiful lines. Alfa Romeo planned to build 100 cars, but this was abandoned in the context of launching the new Giulietta model in 1954/1955.
The second Alfa car of this podium was an Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 TT 3, racing with the factory Autodelta team. The Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 was a pure race car developed by the Alfa Motorsports department Autodelta for the prototype sportscar class. This TT3 specimen was also the last Alfa Romeo that entered Le Mans in 1972, finishing fourth in the end.
The Zagato podium
The main podium was hosting four magnificent Zagato models. 2019 marked the 100th anniversary of the Italian coachbuilder Zagato, renown for a century of ground-breaking lightweight designs and its close cooperation with Alfa Romeo.
I recommend revisiting Autoworld’s temporary exhibition paying tribute to Zagato with quite a few Alfas. The podium at Lukas Hüni showcased the evolution of the Alfa Zagatos from Tubolare Zagato to Coda Tonda.
The odd one out was the white Giulia Tubolare Zagato (TZ) from 1964. The development for the Giulia TZ started already in 1959, well before the presentation of the new Giulia production model.
In order to make the Giulia TZ with its small 4-cylinder engine match the much more powerful competitors, the TZ needed to have extremely low weight and excellent aerodynamics. Zagato, therefore, decided to build a tubular spaceframe chassis (hence the name TZ for Tubolare Zagato) with a streamlined body from extremely thin aluminium. The space frame alone only weighed 62kg, and the total curb weight of the car was a mere 660kg. This featherweight made the TZ a hugely successful racing car.
In order to homologate the Giulia TZ in the GT racing class, at least 100 units had to be produced. Eventually, 112 vehicles were made between 1964 – 1965. This particular Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ is from 1964. It was prepared by the North American Racing Team (N.A.R.T. – famous for their racing successes with Ferrari). The first race entered was the 500 Kilometres of Bridgehampton where the car finished 1st in Class and 3rd Overall. The race car continued to build a most impressive Palmares for the 1964 and 1965 racing season in North America.
The line-up of red Zagatos was opened by a Giulietta Sprint Veloce Zagato (SVZ) from 1957. The origins of the model date back to 1956, when the Carrozzeria Zagato was asked to rebody a client’s severely damaged Giulietta Sprit Veloce Coupé. Hence was created the Sprint Veloce Zagato, in short SVZ, featuring a sporting all-aluminium lightweight Berlinetta with a total weight of only 770 kg, nearly 100 kilograms lighter than anything before.
The next car was a modification of the SZ, the 1961 SZ Coda Tonda. Instant success by the SVZ on the racetracks, with a top speed of nearly 200 km/h, demonstrated the superiority of this variant over the standard production cars. A fact that was not ignored by Alfa Romeo, so they introduced the Zagato as an official model in 1961. They called it the Sprint Zagato (SZ) Coda Tonda, a slightly modified version of the SVZ.
The last Zagato of the podium was a Giulietta Sprint Zagato (SZ) Coda Tronca from 1962. With this version, Elio Zagato was again upping stakes, making the SZ 4 cm lower and 14 cm longer combined with a square tail rear arrangement. These changes led to a top speed of 225 km/hour, and victory in the 1961 Grand Prix at Monza. Hence was born the Sprint Zagato (SZ) Coda Tronca which replaced the Coda Tonda variant.
Legendary 6Cs
When the 6C 1750 was launched in 1929, it burst onto the competition scene in truly triumphant fashion. This masterpiece demonstrated chief engineer Vittorio Jano’s genius by winning every race in which it was entered that year. The list of trophies included the Grand Prix of Belgium, Ireland, Spain, Tunis, Rome and Monza, the Brooklands 24 Hours, the Ulster T.T. and the Mille Miglia.
The stage featured several impressive 6Cs, some of them were familiar from previous shows, like the while one with the three read headlights.
An actual line-up of several (!!!) Alfa 8Cs
Last year’s Artcurial Auction made headlines with the distinctive Alfa 8C reaching as high as 16,5 million euros.
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The Lucas Hüni stage featured half a dozen specimen of various versions. The 8C 2300 is considered by many to be the greatest sports and racing car of all times, given its dominance in racing and in the parking lots of the rich and famous.
Alfa Romeo made four different basic models of the 8C 2300: the 8C 2300 Le Mans Long Chassis (in the early years 4 seats were mandatory to race at Le Mans, alternatively with Zagato or Touring coachwork), the 8C 2300 Long Chassis touring car (with a variety of different coachwork options), the 8C 2300 Short Chassis (mainly Spider version with Zagato or Touring coachwork alternatively), and the 8C 2300 Monza – the ultimate race version of the 8C 2300.
The first 8C on the left is a dark grey 8C 2300 Le Mans with Touring coachwork with the original specifications.
The grey 8C 2300 Touring Spider from 1933, raced at the 1933 Spa 24 Hour race, painted in the Swiss racing colours of Red and White. It was later redesigned with a new chassis.
The British connection is easy to guess from the colour of the green Alfa Romeo 8 C 2300 Monza (also known as 2-seater Corsa), that won at Brooklands in 1933 and 1935.
The first red car in the 8C line-up is a Tipo B, a Monoposto with a straight-eight engine. Its layout is similar to the Monza, but instead of the single supercharger on the right of the engine, the Tipo B had twin Roots superchargers (one for each block of 4 cylinders).
The Tipo B obliterated its competition in a way only Mercedes-Benz could repeat often occupying the full podium. The period of the Tipo B saw the rise of Enzo Ferrari, who convinced Alfa Romeo to let him privately enter the Tipo B cars under his Scuderia Ferrari team.
The second 8C with the prancing horse is an Alfa Romeo 8C2600 Monza with a Brianza coachwork racing for Scuderia Ferrari in 1934. This car finished 3rd in the 1934 Mille Miglia, driven by Louis Chiron with at his very first Mille Miglia race.
The next red 8c is accompanied by another remarkable history on the info sheet. The 8C 2300 Zagato Spider was the homologation car and it was exhibited at the 1931 Paris Salon before Raymond Sommer purchased it with plans to enter the 1932 Le Mans 24 Hours.
Aware of the competition by the Alfa Romeo works cars, with some of the best drivers and with the more potent Monza engines, Sommer had his friend Figoni modify the vehicle with ultra-light coachwork and aerodynamic wings. So equipped, Sommer achieved the incredible victory at the 1932 Le Mans 24 Hours.
My favourite 8C was the blue Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Long Chassis Pinin Farina Cabriolet from 1933. featuring a streamlined aerodynamic design typical of the late Thirties. Many owners had the desire to go with the newest fashion and commissioned coachbuilders to modify their cars to the latest design.
The Scuderia Ferrari Alfa Romeo SF48 Bimotore 1935 the baddest beast of the pre-war era
Arguably the biggest badass of the stage was the 1935 Bimotore, one of the most spectacular race car of the pre-war period (or pretty much ever), even if born out of sheer desperation. These years marked the domination of Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union Grand Prix cars, made possible by the unlimited state financing.
Alfa Romeo assigned Scuderia Ferrari to build their own Super Car under the new Formula Libre – effectively lifting all weight and power restrictions. Long-time Ferrari Technical Director Luigi Bazzi was not known for half measures. The Bimotore was based on the Tipo B, but featuring 2 Tipo B engines of 3165 cc that were placed in front and behind the driver with the rear engine facing towards the rear.
The performance with 540 HP from the two engines was enormous and surpassed both the Mercedes-Benz and the Auto Union at 430 HP and 375 HP respectively. Two cars were built in total.
The Bimotore was intended for the fast tracks of the Formula Libre calendar, and two Bimotore were entered for the 1935 Tripoli Grand Prix with Nuvolari and Chiron behind the steering wheel. In the end, Nuvolari could claim fourth followed by Chiron in a race won by Caracciola.
Two weeks later at the Avus Race in Berlin, Chiron conquered second place after Nuvolari did not finish due to constant shredding of his tires. In June 1935 Nuvolari set a land speed record on the Firenze-Lucca highway, his top speed on the second run exceeding 362 kilometres per hour.
Ultimately, the Bimotore concept did not prove to be successful, as the breath-taking performance in a straight line came at the high price of high weight (1300 kg), delicate handling with tire-shredding. This latter took its tolls in frequent pit stops, as well as high fuel consumption. One of the two Bimotores was scrapped, the only remaining one was showcased at Lukas Hüni’s stage.
Although the info sheet mentioned a private owner, I do recall another a Bimotore from my visit to the Alfa Romeo Museum.
Three elegant revenants of from the glorious 60s
On the right side of the stand, three road cars from the sixties recalled the last successful models before the FIAT takeover.
These included a sporty 1961 Giulietta Sprint Veloce Tipo 101, a sublime 1959 Giulietta Spider Veloce Tipo 750F and a 1965 Giulia Spider Veloce Tipo 101.
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