Part I of our review of “Alfa Romeo Argentina” discussed how authors Cristián Bertschi and Estanislao Iacona discovered a wealth of material in reference to a variety of pre-war Alfas, and how an Alfa Romeo dealership was established in 1924, and again from 1925-1930.
Giovanni Roccatagliata stopped importing Alfas in 1930, and it would not be until the early 1950s that Alfa Romeo would establish a network of Alfa showrooms. That didn’t stop would be race drivers from bringing in Tipo Bs, several 8c2900s, and four 308 Grand Prix cars. The war put an end to racing until 1945, and Argentina, though neutral in the conflict, would emerge in the post war era under the control of one of the most charismatic leaders in Argentine’s history, Juan Peron.
In 1939-40, Peron, then a young army officer, was sent to Europe, where he spent over a year driving through Italy in a “tiny” Fiat. His primary duty was to learn about the Italian Alpine army units, but he spent much of his time in Merano, Turin, Milan and Rome. After gaining power in 1946, he backed efforts to bring Grand Prix racing to Argentina. By assisting potential champion drivers, Peron would also influence the course of racing both in and out of Argentina.
Saga of the 308s
Spanning the pre war and post war years in Argentina was a series of rare Alfa Romeo Grand Prix cars, and for the first time their fate has been documented and illustrated. Again, the authors filled their book with dozens of excellent photos never seen elsewhere, at least in the English speaking world.
Of the four 308 Alfa GP cars produced for the 1938 3 liter Formula, three ended their lives in South America. (The fourth is in the Indianapolis Museum). The authors must have spent a great deal of time and effort to track and verify the history of all three cars--and have added significantly to our knowledge of pre-war Alfa race cars.
Only one serial number is known--note that Fusi, in “All Alfas from 1910”, does not list any of the chassis numbers of the 308s. Chassis 50017, was brought into Montevideo in 1938, equipped with an 8c3800 in place of the 3 liter, and raced successful from 1939 to 1941 in the hands of several drivers. Sold to Oscar Alfredo Galvez, the car continued to be raced from 1946 to 1950, when it was retired from action and purchased by Juan Manuel Fangio. 50017 is still in the Fangio Museum at Balcarce,in very original condition.
Chico Landi of Brazil raced another 308 in the post war Temporada series , and in the hands of the next owner, it suffered a serious accident in 1949.
Chico Landi, from Brazil, practicing in another Alfa 308. He would enter the car in the three part Temporada series in 1947.
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Photo, page 211
A third 308 was raced by the French team, Ecurie Naphtra Course, (Corse?) came in and out of South America several times, and was last seen in Brazil.
The 12C/316
An even more intriguing car, was also brought into South America after WWII. Reportedly assembled specifically for the Temporada series by Alfa, S/N 51204, a 316 with a V12 engine was raced by Achille Varzi during the 1947 season, and then sent back to Europe.
The ex-Varzi 12C/316 shortly after arriving in Argentina in 1949. This car would be owned by Clemar Bucci well into the 1980s.
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Varzi was killed at the Bremgarten circuit in Switzerland, and the car became the property of his father. Enter Argentinean driver Climar Bucci, who traveled to Italy to buy the Alfa hybrid. Bucci raced it until 1956, when he turned it into a sports race car, using all of the mechanicals of the 12C/ 316. From there, the story gets even more intriguing. but we are not going to give away the plot by telling you current whereabouts, or of the mysterious 51202.
Juan Peron
After World War II, having helped launch the Argentine Temporada series, Peron backed drivers Juan Fangio, Onofre Marimon and Froilan Gonzales (Bertschi and Iacona devote a chapter to Fangio, who drove for Alfa Romeo).
Sign of the times; Bucci with the 12C/316 before the start of the Gran Premio Juan Domingo Peron race in 1949. Note Evita's name on the hood.
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Peron was an avid enthusiast, a trait perhaps picked up during his stay in Italy, and became the recipient of a number of fascinating cars. How many, of what types, is a question open to speculation. “Peron and his cars is a VERY complicated topic,” said Iacona. In addition to the famous 6C3000CM “Peron owned a 1900 Alfa by Touring, a Giulietta Sprint, A Ferrari 212 Inter, and many planes and motorcycles. But how many cars did he really owned, I cannot be sure.” The authors devoted a chapter to the 6C3000CM, and provide new insights into the Le Mans epic, when the car was driven by Fangio and Marimon, and again together at Spa. The car retired both times, but this chassis was selected by Busso to be the basis for the Boano bodied road car to be presented to Peron. Notably, this special Alfa was given to Peron by the most important labor federation in Argentina, the Confederacion General del Trabajo), which had helped put Peron in power.
Bergantin
Then, seemingly, from out of nowhere, the authors jolt us back to bread and butter reality, but with a twist. Following chapters on the most desirable or mysterious Alfas of all time, Bertschi and Iacona present us with a short history of the Bergantin. Oh, yes, of course, the ill fated Argentine Alfa. Didn‘t everyone know that?
Rare car, rare photo, rare event--a Bergantin participating in a three hour race in 1962. Note the grille, which is designed to cover the openings left by the parent car, the Alfa 1900 Berlina.
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In the 1950s, Kaiser, a US company, was making both Jeeps and cars (the old Kaiser Manhattan) under the name of Industrias Kaiser Argentina, and was looking for an inexpensive way to produce a newer, smaller sedan. In 1959, the Alfa 1900 sedan was no longer being produced in Italy, and Kaiser bought the dies, sent everything back to Argentina and put a proprietary 4 and 6 cylinder engine in the old Alfa 1900 unit body. Over eight thousand of these hybrids were made from 1960 to 1962, but were not particularly successful. But it was another chapter of Alfa in Argentina, and we are happy to see that someone finally shed some light on this subject!
Vianini
Alfa importer Giuseppe Vianini brought Conrero from Italy to prepare his team of Giulietta TIs.
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Importation of Alfas began again after WWII. The 1900 Berlina was a popular model and achieved successes in the Gran Premio Internacional de Turismo races. These were long distant rally/races which were very difficult and attracted a great deal of attention---importers knew that to succeed in the Argentine marketplace, their cars must have successes in these events.
By 1959, an Italian by the name of Giuseppe Vianini, after establishing a successful Italian motorcycle dealership, obtained the an exclusive Alfa Romeo franchise. For the next eight years, Vianini teams of Alfa Giuliettas and Giulias dominated their classes in the Argentine long distance races. Many were modified by Virgilio Conrero, and later Carluccio Facetti, both of home spend time in Argentina. It was a glorious time for Alfa, and the authors have fully documented the accomplishments of Giulietta and Giulia TIs. The racing successes ensured that Alfa Romeo sold a good many cars in Argentina in the 1960s.
Tipo 33s
Argentina’s premier sporting, the 1000 KM de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires, had been run from 1954 to 1960, but disappeared until 1970, when the government and state owned oil companies decided to once again promote their products via racing.
Alfas once again racing in Argentina; Carlo Facetti takes the 33/3 to a third place finish in the 1972 1000km of Buenos Aires.
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At the same time, Alfa Romeo was doing well with the Tipo 33/3 and 33/tt3, which were entered in all three years of the race, 1970,71 and 72. Wrapping up a long and most interesting book, the authors provide the results and photos of the Alfas in those events.
Conclusion
It is extremely refreshing to find a work about a much-beloved marque, so well covered by other books, (Alfa books for the Enthusiast) with so much new information and so many new and important photographs. It is tempting to compare “Alfa Romeo Argentina” with Simon Moore’s works, but they are apples and oranges, yet compliment each other very well. “Alfa Romeo Argentina” tells a very different story, in a different way. The price, at $175, is more than reasonable, considering that almost all truly good books today are published by small firms or in fact, as in the case of Alfa Argentina, published by the authors themselves and are high quality, low volume works.
We are eager to see what else will come from the prodigious research from the team of Cris Bertschi and Lao Iacona.
