1/18 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Gran Sport, 1930

1/18 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Gran Sport, 1930

The Gran Sport was the most fascinating and successful car from the Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 series of the 1930s. The original vehicle after which the high-end replica from CMC was modeled and crafted, is a star exhibit in Storico, the Alfa Romeo museum in Arese, Italy. The body of this spyder was customized by the famous coachbuilder Zagato. 

◾Hand-assembled precision metal model with right-hand drive, built from 1,800 single parts, of which 1,311 are made of metal
◾True-to-scale, authentic replication of the Spyder body customized by the renowned coachbuilder Zagato
◾Highly-detailed cockpit with upholstered leather seats and door trimmings. Precise recreation of the dashboard with all instruments and controls
◾Perfectly-wired wheels with a light alloy rim, stainless steel spokes and nippels. Unscrew the central locking nuts (with side-dependent right- and left-hand threads) to remove the wheels
◾Functional brackets for holding the two spare wheels. Loosening a tommy screw releases the spare wheels
◾Distinctive Alfa Romeo front end with the famous triple-headlight unit. Headlights fitted with mesh guards against stone-chip damages. The red caps are removable
◾Highly detailed 6-cylinder in-line engine, complete with all aggregates, pipes and cabling in addition to a front-mounted Roots supercharger and accessories
◾Luggage space with a functional lid behind the folded textile top
◾Double-winged engine hood that opens to rest on metal studs
◾Functional doors mounted on finely-recreated hinges
◾Windshield with a semi-fixed metal mounting-frame
◾Elaborate undercarriage, which reveals a "cast metal" type of front/rear axles

Description of the original vehicle:

In the 1930s, Alfa Romeo still didn’t produce their own bodyworks, but they bought: In the case of the 6C 1750 GS, the body came from the coachbuilder Zagato. This turned out to be a good choice, because again Zagato did a great job with his distinctive design language. The four-meter-long car had two spare wheels that were stowed in a rear well. In the event of bad weather, a textile top offered emergency cover or protection against rain. A striking feature of this car was the removable red plastic covers on the three headlights, which were intended to improve the aerodynamics of the vehicle. 

The 1750 GS was powered by a 6-cylinder in-line engine that Vittorio Jano, the brilliant chief engineer of Alfa Romeo, had developed. It generated a remarkable 85 hp at 4500 rpm. Several factory race cars had their cylinder heads welded (testa fissa) so that they could rev up to 5000 rpm, yielding a magnificent output of 102 hp. Whether equipped with 85 or 102 hp, the Gran Sport excelled. 

Owing to a low total weight of 920 kg and a reduced wheelbase of 2745 mm that improved its handling dramadically, the Gran Sport became the most famous Alfa Romeo of the time. Numerous important victories all over Europe, as in the 1930 and 1931 Mille Miglia and the wet race of the Irish Tourist Trophy -- to name just a few -- made it the undisputed dominator of that racing era. Only the rigorous endurance race of the 24 Hours of Le Mans proved to be too much for the 6C 1750 GS. 

Technical data of the original vehicle:

Two-seater Spyder with a Zagato light-alloy body
Steel box frame
6-cylinder in-line engine with dual overhead camshafts
Crankcase and cylinder heads made of light alloy
Roots supercharger
Four speed gearbox with an open gear lever gate
Front and rear rigid axle with leaf springs and friction damper
Maximum output: 85 hp at 4,500 rpm
Factory race cars 1930: 102 hp at 5,000 rpm
Displacement:1,752 ccm
Top speed:approx. 145 Km/h
Factory race cars 1930:170 Km/h
Bore x stroke:65 x 88 mm
Wheel base:2,745 mm
Track front / rear:1,380 / 1,380 mm
Mixture preparation:Roots supercharger with Memini dual flat-flow carburetor
Total weight:920 Kg
Factory race cars 1930: 840 Kg