1929 Alfa Romeo 6C 1500 Series III Super Sport 'Testa Fissa'

Conceived by the brilliant engineer Vittorio Jano and unveiled at Milan in 1925, the 6C was the first Alfa Romeo to bring Grand Prix technology to a production sports car. This lightweight twin-cam six-cylinder model, introduced in 1500 cc form, established Alfa Romeo as the dominant sporting Italian marque of its era. Combining advanced engineering, exceptional road manners, and thoroughbred performance, the 6C captured victories in many of Europe’s most important events, including the 1000 Miglia, Targa Florio, and Spa 24 Hours. In supercharged Super Sport and Grand Sport specification, the model represented the pinnacle of Alfa Romeo’s development of the 6C and laid the foundation for the legendary eight-cylinder cars that followed.

Among the most coveted 6Cs are the rare “Testa Fissa” variants, highly specialized competition derivatives created to withstand the demands of endurance racing. To eliminate the head-gasket failures that could plague highly stressed supercharged engines, Alfa Romeo cast the cylinder head and block as a single unit, producing one of the most sophisticated high-performance engines of its day. Built in extremely limited numbers and reserved for the factory’s most serious competition efforts, these powerful Testa Fissa engines were supplied to leading drivers including Nuvolari, Campari, and Varzi.

Offered here, chassis 0312871, is among the most historically significant surviving examples of this rare breed. A genuine Super Sport model with important period racing history, it boasts associations with Giulio Ramponi and Giuseppe Campari, as well as an extraordinary chain of stewardship that includes just three knowledgeable custodians since 1961 – the most recent being the great American Alfista Brian Brunkhorst.

According to respected marque historian Angela Cherrett, “Four Zagato-bodied 1500 SS Supercharged cars were collected from the factory and driven to England, where they were to compete in various races.” The purchaser was Fred W. Stiles, founder of Alfa Romeo (British Sales) Ltd. and one of the marque’s earliest and most enthusiastic advocates outside Italy.

Chassis 0312871 was among this select quartet collected directly from Alfa Romeo’s Portello works on April 29, 1929. Originally registered in Milan as “MI 29480,” it was driven to England and soon issued the British registration “UV 818,” under which it would achieve its most important period competition successes. Prepared as part of Stiles’s semi-works racing effort, the Alfa Romeo was entered in the inaugural Brooklands Double Twelve, held on May 10–11, 1929, where it formed part of a three-car team that Stiles assembled to challenge the finest sporting machinery of the day.

Conceived by the Junior Car Club as a practical alternative to the traditional 24-hour race, the Brooklands Double Twelve required competitors to complete two separate 12-hour sessions on consecutive days, with cars sealed overnight and inaccessible to mechanics. For this demanding event, chassis 0312871 was fitted with the high-performance Testa Fissa engine and entrusted to Alfa Romeo works test driver Giulio Ramponi and Count Giovanni Lurani, carrying race no. 53.

Ramponi was one of the most accomplished figures in Alfa Romeo’s competition department, having served as riding mechanic to Antonio Ascari and Giuseppe Campari while playing a key role in the testing and development of Vittorio Jano’s racing cars. During the Double Twelve he delivered a performance of remarkable consistency and determination. As Lurani later recalled in Racing Around the World, he waited in full racing gear ready to relieve Ramponi, only to discover that his co-driver had no intention of relinquishing the wheel. Despite a late mechanical delay when the battery box came loose, Ramponi pressed on and secured victory by the narrowest of margins – defeating a Bentley on handicap by just four seconds.

The Brooklands triumph immediately established the Alfa Romeo as one of the most formidable 1.5-liter competition cars in Britain. Later that season, the Testa Fissa was likely among the Stiles-entered 6Cs campaigned in the Irish Grand Prix at Phoenix Park and subsequently appeared in the RAC Tourist Trophy at Ards. There, reportedly driven by Giuseppe Campari, “UV 818” delivered another outstanding performance, winning the 1.5-liter class and finishing 2nd Overall, beaten only by Rudolf Caracciola’s far more powerful 7.1-liter supercharged Mercedes-Benz SS.

Originally delivered as a lightweight, cycle-fendered Zagato Spider, the 6C 1500 was updated after the 1929 racing season with a traditional Gran Sport-type Zagato body. The resulting configuration, which it retains today, perfectly complements the compact proportions and purposeful character of the Super Sport chassis.

While it cannot be confirmed definitively, it is believed that this Alfa Romeo was acquired in 1930 by American sportsman Briggs Cunningham, later celebrated for his Le Mans campaigns and America’s Cup challenges. Seeking a suitable companion for a European honeymoon tour, Cunningham purchased the Zagato Spider and set off across Britain with his bride, Lucie Bedford. Family accounts suggest the arrangement proved short-lived, with Mrs. Cunningham eventually returning home by train, leaving Briggs to continue his journey with the Alfa Romeo alone.

By the early 1930s, the Alfa Romeo had passed to the colorful jazz musician and amateur racing driver Buddy Featherstonhaugh, who campaigned it successfully at Brooklands. In the years that followed, it remained in the hands of a succession of notable enthusiasts, including George Abecassis, Frank Kennington, and Bill Moss, pillars of the vibrant British sporting scene. Throughout the ’40s and ’50s, the 6C continued to appear in speed trials, hill climbs, and club competition, retaining its identity as a highly capable and charismatic sporting machine.

In 1961, the Alfa Romeo entered what would become one of the defining chapters of its history when it was acquired by Bill Meacham. Having admired the car for years, Meacham eventually persuaded its owner to part with it, financing the purchase by selling his Lotus Seven. He later recalled first encountering the Alfa Romeo as a student, hearing the unmistakable whine of its supercharger long before it came into view - a moment that left an indelible impression and ultimately inspired him to acquire it.

During the next 37 years, Meacham proved one of the car’s most devoted custodians. He rebuilt the engine while deliberately preserving its original 1,500 cc displacement, together with the period Roots-type supercharger and SU carburetor installed in the early 1950s, explaining that its extraordinary history made any further modification unthinkable. Rather than preserving the Alfa Romeo as a static artifact, he used it extensively for touring and enthusiast events, even driving it on the Meachams’ honeymoon. It became a familiar presence within British Alfa Romeo circles and was featured in television programs, exhibitions, and specialist publications, including Angela Cherrett’s authoritative book on the model.

In 1998, the 6C 1500 was acquired from Meacham by renowned Alfa Romeo enthusiast David Uihlein. Later passing to Brian Brunkhorst, it became a cherished centerpiece of his collection, enjoyed on annual trips to Road America and weekend excursions around the rural roads of Wisconsin.

Today, this remarkable 6C 1500 Super Sport retains its period Zagato Spider coachwork and the rare Testa Fissa engine (no. 0312654) fitted when it was campaigned by F.W. Stiles in 1929. While the cylinder head was converted in later years to the more conventional detachable type, its original non-detachable Testa Fissa head accompanies the car as a spare.

Victorious at Brooklands with Giulio Ramponi, a class winner at Ards with Giuseppe Campari, and later owned by several of the most influential figures of the postwar sports car movement, it possesses a provenance that reads like a who’s who of motorsport history. Perhaps most remarkably, chassis 0312871 has been in the care of just three devoted custodians since 1961.

Now offered from the esteemed Brian Brunkhorst Collection, this historically significant 6C 1500 Super Sport stands among the most compelling prewar sports cars extant – a true connoisseur’s motorcar and one of the most evocative survivors of Alfa Romeo’s golden age.