Review by Pete Vack
La Passione 6C2300-6C2500 Alfa Romeo 1934-1953
Hardbound, 357 pages, 550 color photos 11 x 9.5 inches
Author: H.-J.Döhren
English and German
ISBN 978-3-00-063184-9
Alfa Point 2019
From Europe, order here:https://www.millenove.de/buecher-bestellen
From U.S. order from don@bugattibooks.com at 941-727-8667
Oh, those big ugly monsters we used to hate. We were never quite sure of what they were, this or that, somewhere between the superlative 8Cs and the diminutive Giuliettas and yet not quite 1900s. And in fact the 6C2300/2500 cars which are the focus of H.-J. Döhren’s latest book, were not made for young middle class post war car enthusiasts, but as one of the most expensive cars on the market, they were boulevardiers designed for the classiest and richest of clients who could appreciate the coachwork, revel in the size and luxury, and own the latest in automotive technology from DOHC engines to full four wheel independent suspension. No fools they.
On the other hand, many, in fact most, of both series were overweight, huge, and, with nominally only 110 hp on tap, relatively slow. Even the new owner of a post war Ville d’Este sold it quickly, saying that it lacked the racing characteristic expected in an Alfa Romeo.
The majority of the cars – in the case of the 2500 – were in-house designs like the Freccia d’ Oro, which is not exactly ugly, but then no one minded when a nice example was blown to smithereens for the Godfather movie in 1972. (But was it really blown up? Readers?)
But perhaps we young enthusiasts missed the boat. Today, any 6C Alfa is worth a small fortune, and can be appreciated for what is was intended to be, not derided for what it is not. The custom coachwork is largely of the immediate post war period, an age of freedom and experimentation, and the results varied from the hideous to the gorgeous, from plain jane berlinas to sensuous berlinettas and copious cabriolets.
Alfa Romeo La Passione 6C2300-6C2500 is H.-J.Döhren’s second Alfa book, and perhaps even better than his previous Alfa Romeo 1900 Millenova, which captured the 1900 series from every imaginable angle and model. But in doing a one series book, one must set parameters or the work would be unmanageable and huge, as big as, for example a Freccia d’Oro. So he decided to seek out just the 6C 2300s and 2500s in German speaking countries, where there are nonetheless large collections of the cars. Then, whenever possible, he asked the owners to write about their Alfas, which makes the text interesting. La Passione, like Millenove, is printed on heavy stock paper, has a sturdy binding, the photos are excellent, and throughout the book there are factory diagrams, color brochures and ads related to the 6C series.
The 6C2300
Though the book only covers two models, the sub-categories are manifold and organizing the material, however finely focused, is not an easy task. He takes on the 2300, describing the car and models, then gets into a detailed technical development of various models and wheelbases, and series types. A very handy chart lists the years, number of cars/chassis combinations, and the number of chassis by type, i.e., Turismo, Grand Turismo, Pescara, built from 1934 to 1939. The grand total comes to 1,606 cars. Or at least as best can be determined, so nothing is engraved in stone. The next section holds the individual information on nine select 6C 2300s, with color photos of the cars are they appear today.

Chassis 813.852 The Berlinas were the most common but perhaps the ones most likely to end up scrapped. So to see a very early 2300 Pescara Berlina restored to perfection is heartwarming. According to Döhren, the owner restored it himself over a long number of years, and got all the details right.

Chassis 813.869 Another Pescara but with a totally different body was this Mille Miglia Touring Berlinetta, which is probably the image that comes to mind when one thinks of the 2300 B Pescaras. Found in Argentina, this has the Corto chassis with a Pescara tuned engine and now owned by the Dauphin Speed Event Collection.

Chassis 814.236 This Alfa owner was called upon to let his huge Castagna bodied Lungo Cabriolet be a part of a movie being filmed in Merano. The problem was that the car was far too perfect. They put the car through ‘make up’ to look scruffy and worn out. All that restoration work for nothing! Actor Tobias Moretti stands by the Castagna after make up.
6C 2500
The author treats the even more complex model range of the 6C2500 in a similar fashion, describing the technical developments between 1939 and 1953. But in this case Döhren further separates the Ville d’Este and the Freccia d’Oro into their own chapters.

Chassis 915.169 After the war, Pinin Farina was ready for the 1946 Paris Auto show but there was still a ban on WWII belligerents and wasn’t welcome. So he parked this Alfa 6C2300 in front of the show and had his own ‘anti-salon’ and got a lot of publicity. It then spent time in the States, and was restored only a few years ago it is now in the Thomas Sommer Collection.

Chassis 915.823
If it looks like a Ville d’Este and drives like a Ville d’Este, why is it not? Because it is a Coupe AeroLux built for a German customer in 1949. Touring yes, but the details are different, and the Aerolux glass sliding roof made it a class of its own.

Chassis 920.002 One of three Competition Berlinettas, this 6C 2500 weighed about half of a normal model and one third more horsepower. Franco Rol ran it in the 1949 Mille Miglia and placed third overall. Once part of the fabled Sleeping Beauty collection, it was restored and is now with the Thomas Sommer collection.
Döhren’s book also lists all the known existing cars with notes, has a short but interesting section about other 6Cs not in Germany, and a chapter on the various coachbuilders. It was a book we did not like to finish reading, despite the odd hiccup here and there. It was 357 pages of pleasure.
There are two other books about the 6C series. I allude to these because you can purchase a copy of Alfa Passione by Mr. Döhren from Don Toms for only $120 post paid! new and in Europe for 86 € plus shipping. One of the other choices is Alfa Romeo 6C2500 Anselmi,1993, Editoriale Domus ISBN-13: 9788872121122 softbound and can be found for only $714 on Alibris. This is a magnificent book, and ironically, the book today, used, is worth more than the car itself back in the 1960s and 70s. I have a friend who bought three for less than $1000 back then! But I can’t recommend this book too highly, for the photos of the 6C 2500 cars as new are absolutely priceless. As far as I know, it was published only in Italian.
The other book, recommended by H.-J. himself, is the three-volume set which covers both the 6C 2300 and 2500. Alfa Romeo 6C 2300, 6C 2500 (Multilingual), Fucina, 2014 by Fabio Morlacchi and Stefano Salvetti can be found for $335 on Amazon. I don’t have a copy myself, but it looks very comprehensive and one volume includes all factory brochures and ads. Given those circumstances, Alfa Passione is a very good deal indeed.

Don Toms has just offered a super deal on the new Alfa 6C book. Get the Alfa Millenove book and Alfa Romeo La Passione for one price of only $265 for U.S. Domestic customers! Individually, the Millenove is $135, La Passione $150, and bundle for $265, all ppd. Contact don@bugattibooks.com at 941-727-8667
It is first class. I should make a couple of points on your intro.
“own the latest in automotive technology from all-aluminium DOHC engines”
Try saying that to someone who has tried to lift one out. No way is the block aluminium!
“a nice example was blown to smithereens for the Godfather movie in 1972”
A good question. Alas the records of the licence plates issued in that area, of which one was on the car, were destroyed in severe floods. The only possible way is to find someone with a good contact in the film industry. I am sure that would be welcomed here also.
Peter
It is always a pleasure to see your fantastic photos.
Even more when it comes to our Italian productions.
Looking at the photo of the Alfa Romeo Pescara chassis 813.852
I was reminded of that license plate PA 9270, a 2300 SS of the same
Color of the published one.
This car was part of a collection of historic cars owned by the architect
Edoardo Vetri, organizer of the Giro di Sicilia classic, who died years ago.
His Pescara was sold in an auction last summer.