Alfa Romeo 6C 3000 CM Superflow coupè by Pinin Farina.
Story and Photos by Alessandro Gerelli
Click on photos to enlarge!
Just one week after the Mille Miglia is the traditional Concourse of Elegance for Historic Cars and Concept Cars and Prototypes held in Cernobbio on the Como Lake.
The last day of the event is open to the public and the cars are shown in the wonderful garden of Villa Erba, an exhibition center just nearby. It is better known as the Villa d’Este.
As usual the number of cars is very limited, but the quality is extremely high.
This year, the Ferrari presence was very important with models by Pininfarina, Vignale, Ghia, Scaglietti, and Bertone, while Maserati with Zagato, Pininfarina and Allemano.
Of course also Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Fiat, Cisitalia and other makes have been shown in the lawn near the lake, for the enthusiasm of the many visitors.
This year, the winner of the gold cup of the event was a white Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 GS spider Zagato of 1931, while the winners of the other categories were the Maserati 450 S of 1956 and among the prototypes, the Maserati Alfieri of 2014 just to celebrate the Maserati anniversary.
The poster of this year’s Villa d’Este Concourse of Elegance.
The winner of the Concourse was spotted in the city center of Cernobbio: Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 GS spider by Zagato
Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS berlinetta by Touring.
The Alfa engine.
Alfa Romeo 1900 C SS
Alfa Romeo 6C 3000 CM Superflow coupè by Pinin Farina.
Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS berlinetta by Touring in traffic.
Lancia Astura Type 233 of 1936 with Pinin Farina body.
Dashboard of the Lancia.
Lancia Aprilia Type 239 spider Pinin Farina of 1938.
Cisitalia 202B cabriolet by Vignale, 1950.
Cisitalia dash with unusual control knobs.
1972 Fiat 132 Aster coupè by Zagato.
Very simple 1970’s style of the Aster interior.
Fiat 8V berlinetta by Rapi of 1953 on the road.
The Fiat 8V engine.
1969 Fiat Abarth 2000 Scorpione coupè Pininfarina
The impressive engine of the Abarth.
Talbot Lago America coupè of 1957.
Bugatti Type 57 with body by Gangloff.
Engine of the Bugatti.
Concept Cars
Giugiaro Parcour is a concept car with a 10 cylinder Lamborghini engine.
The back of the car with the V10 engine and horizontal shock absorbers.
A couple of young boys ready to drive the Giugiaro.
The new Lamborghini 5-95 with a 10 cylinders engine and body by Zagato.
The elegant interior of the Lambo.
The Aston Martin DBS Centennial by Zagato.
The new Maserati Alfieri already seen at Geneva.
Frigerio Brothers Berlinetta SS with a 4 cylinder 2 liter engine.
Do you really believe Zagato was ever involved in the marsh-mallow “Winner of the Concourse” ?
Sig. Lopresto’s Alfa was originally a Zagato GS, but following an accident was redone by Carozzeria Aprile (new to me as well) in the late 1930’s. It was shown at Concours Amelia in 2013 and this picture does not do justice. It won the Coppa d’Oro at this year’s Villa d’Este, for the most popular classic. At this year’s Amelia, Lopresto brought his original Alfa Romeo 1900 SSZ, just as pulled from decades of storage and too original to be restored. The man understands where to draw the line between restoration and preserved originality.
Re the Alfa Romeo 6C 3000 CM Superflow coupè by Pinin Farina. I was wondering if anyone else ever heard that it is built upon the chassis of a one time race car , an open roadster, that was smashed by Juan Peron in a car accident and then rebodied as this coupe.
The website UniqueCarandParts.com.au says:
“This car, along with the original 1952 prototype, we believe to be located at the Alfa Romeo factory museum in Milan, Italy. Joakim Bonnier, at that time the main agent for Alfa in Sweden, purchased one of the coupes but found the head room inadequate for his 6-ft-plus height and had it re-bodied as a roadster by Zagato. Bonnier raced this Disco coupe extensively in Europe, then sold it to an American, Henry Wessels III, who subsequently sold it to another American, Shelly Spindei. Both Rodger Ward and Bruce Kessler raced this car for Spindei in the U.S.
MY QUESTION: Is this the car under the Disco Volante body shown at Villa d’Este?
The Australia website goes on to say: “Carrozzeria Boano built a custom body on a fourth Disco Volante and this became the property of Argentine dictator Juan Peron in 1955.
MY QUESTION: Or was it this one?
The fifth Disco, with Ghia coachwork, disappeared from public view and its whereabouts remain unknown. The sixth Disco Volante started life as the chassis for the proposed 6-cylinder Giulia but later became a platform for a series f styling exercises by Carrozzeria Pinin Farina (later Pininfarina). The first coachwork built on this chassis was “Superflow” a sensational coupe with conventional doors and “gull wing” windows that opened to the top centre line and clear plastic covers over the tops of the wheels. “Superflow II”, the second body on this chassis, was more conservative in that the clear wheel covers had disappeared in favour of rear fender fins of clear plastic. These had the curious effect of appearing to be body colour when viewed from outside rut being transparent so as to not block the driver’s vision from inside the car.
LAST QUESTION: Or was it this one, the sixth one? I am hoping it is the ex-Peron car but might be the clear-fender car updated to solid fenders.
Denton,
I have the Lopresto Alfa 1900 SSZ here in the USA, and last year looked after the Aprile. Send me an e mail and I will send you some great photos and articles
Nigel
nmatthews@hagerty.com