The show, now in its 29th year, is one of the most prestigious antique-car events in North America
- A 1938 Alfa Romeo and 1967 Lotus F1 car have taken top honours at the Amelia Concours d’Elegance in Florida
- The Alfa Romeo is believed to carry a one-of-one body and was a factory racer
- The Lotus F1 will be competing in a 75th-anniversary vintage F1 race at Laguna Seca this summer
The winning Alfa Romeo belonged to collector Arturo Keller, who died last year; the car was shown at Amelia by his grandson Alejandro Tonda Keller.
The car has chassis number 412028 and a 2.9L inline-eight engine with twin superchargers, and was restored 25 years ago. It was common for top-end automakers to produce the chassis and then for either the factory or the buyer to send it to a coachbuilder to make the body. This one is believed to be the only car of its type with a body by Stabilimenti Farina of Turin, Italy; and it features stingray-skin upholstery and hood louvres. Alfa Romeo 8C 2900s have sold for as much as US$19.8 million at auction.
The Best in Show example was a factory race car and is believed to have been a prototype for the 1938 Mille Miglia race—and in that event, two Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Spiders placed first and second. The automaker also took third place with an 8C 2300A; and sixth with an 8C 2300 Monza.
The Concours de Sport winner is owned by Chris MacAllister, who reportedly didn’t expect to get that far in the judging. The car won the Dutch Grand Prix F1 in 1967, driven by Jim Clark; and from there it also took the British Grand Prix and the U.S. Grand Prix, and was on course to win the Italian Grand Prix when, on the last lap, its fuel tank went dry.
The car had undergone modifications over the years, and in 2010 was restored to its 1967 configuration by Classic Team Lotus. MacAllister’s plan is to run it in against other vintage F1 cars in the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion at Laguna Seca in August, marking the 75th anniversary of Formula One.
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