Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS Villa d’Este Coupé by Touring 1951 - World Of Classic Cars -

Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS Villa d’Este Coupé by Touring 1951

When it was introduced in 1939, the 6C 2500 was a landmark car as the first road-going Alfa Romeo capable of reaching 160 km/h. Thanks to four-wheel independent suspension, with parallel trailing arms and coil springs in the front and swing axles with torsion bars at the rear, the Italian manufacturer was able to offer advanced handling characteristics to match its considerable performance. Powered by the legendary Vittorio Jano–designed straight-six engine, Alfa Romeo continued its tradition of offering several levels of tuning, starting with the 87-horsepower Turismo, moving up to the 110-horsepower Super Sport, or SS, and culminating in the track-ready Tipo 256 with 120 horsepower.

Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS Villa d’Este Coupé by Touring 1951

The outbreak of war in Europe would limit production of the 6C 2500 to only a few hundred examples during the years of conflict, however, at the end of the war, the 6C 2500 offered Alfa Romeo the opportunity to re-launch its manufacturing efforts by returning to its advanced pre-war design. The first project created after war’s end was the 6C 2500 Freccia d’Oro, which had essentially the same running gear as the pre-war 6C 2500s. Three years later, in 1949, Alfa Romeo introduced the Villa d’Este Berlinetta Coupés with Superleggera coachwork by Touring of Milan. Alfa Romeo chose the name Villa d’Este after this design won the Concorso d’Eleganza, which was held at the historic resort on Lake Como in northern Italy.

Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS Villa d’Este Coupé by Touring 1951

Between 1949 and 1952, 130 Villa d’Este coupés were produced, with 36 examples bodied by Carrozzeria Touring in Milan. The result was one of the most elegant coachbuilt sports cars of the immediate post-war era. The 6C 2500 represented a turning point for Alfa Romeo and car manufacture as a whole as the last of the coachbuilt Alfa Romeos before mass-produced bodies became the norm. Fascinatingly, as a handmade coachbuilt car, no two examples are precisely the same, with numerous subtle differences evident between examples. The body on chassis number 915910 is an excellent example of the type, incorporating elegantly integrated aluminium front bumpers, a steeply raked windscreen, and perfectly sculpted tail.

Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS Villa d’Este Coupé by Touring 1951

This beautiful 2500 SS left the factory in 1951 before being delivered to Carrozzeria Touring. On 27 April, the car was sold new to its first owner in Milan with delivery to a company in the city, Tubettificio Lombardo S.p.A. While little is currently known of its subsequent history, the car resurfaced in the late-1990s in a private collection in Italy. In 2008, the car was acquired by the current consignor and then subject to an extensive, high-quality restoration in Germany and Italy.