Alfa Romeo 8C 2900 B Lungo

La più veloce del mondo !

I just found some nice pics of one of my favorite vintage cars, the 1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900 B Lungo.
This car has been called 'the fastest and most beautiful sports car in the world'.
The engine was derived directly from the one which powered the 'Type B' Grand prix single seater, the 'P3' as the 1934 model became known, with 2 Roots superchargers side by side.
It developed 180 HP at 5200 rpm and could reach 185 km/h.
Excellent roadholding in all conditions combined with a truly docile personality conspire to delight and surprise the fortunate few lucky enough to possess one of these.
Touring built some splendid berlinettas and magnificent ultralight spiders over '2900 B' mechanical units; the results were the last word in elegance at the time.
The 2900B was unrivalled both on road and track; it took the first 3 places in the 1938 Mille Miglia. Touring prepared a specially aerodynamic, superlight body for the Le Mans 24H of that same year.
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found two more pics...

 

and two more

 

Hi Bert,
I just have to add that this could well be a big misunderstanding, as the 1936-1938 Bugatti Type 57 SC Atlantic 3.3 litre supercharged straight eight, developing 200+ horsepower would top at about 200-210 km/h.... but it's indeed a beautiful car, the Lungo!!!

Best

Carsten

 

Hi Carsten
Offcourse it's possible that it was called that way by the Alfa Romeo management

BTW don't you see some similarities between the Atlantic and the Lungo ?
If you have some nice pics the Atlantic, post them here then we can make a comparison

 

Hi Bert, Of course I do Both are superfast sportscars of the thirties, and have engines derived from GP cars and both are supercharged eight cylinders, with sweeping bodyworks....beautiful cars!!!
I have loads of pics of the Atlantic, but I won't hijack your thread here.... perhaps I'll post a few just for comparison

@Waldo,
The pic of the black Lungo you posted, was taken by Wouter Melissen at the European Concours d'Elegance in Schwetzingen in 2003 and in fact the car won the concours!!!

Best regards

Carsten

 

1936 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic pics for comparison

 

Here are the comparative specs for the T57S Atlantic and 8c2900B according to Classic Cars.

Top Speed:
Bugatti:------120mph
Alfa:---------131mph

0-60:
Bugatti:-----10.0 sec.
Alfa:---------9.4 sec.

Imagine that, bench racing cars nearly 60 years old. I wonder if people will be talking about Gallardo's in 60 2064?

 

HI,
The numbers for the Bugatti appears to me to be those for the type 57S and not the 57SC.... the difference being that the S-model does'nt have a blower......besides, all the three Atlantics are SC models and has been so since 1939! Both cars were certainly bench marks.....sportscars not racing cars!!!

Best regards

Carsten

 

Hello (again), Carsten,

You and others might also check the 1936 Mercedes 500K Autobahnkurier coupe, another in this same school of design.

Old Guy

 

Man..those old bombs are pure class...just absolutly beautiful machines Thanks for the pic's...

 

What do you mean by that comment?. Taking the first 3 places in the Millie and leading Le Mans until a tyre blew makes the Alfa Romeo 2900B look like a pretty good race car to me

One thing that I believe puts the Alfa Romeo in front of the Bugatti is the use of independent suspension on all corners ... not sure about the Bugatti, but I doubt it.

Plus the Alfa Romeo had a rear mounted gearbox/transaxle ...

Anyway they were bloody fast for the day. When you compare to todays supercars versus normal road cars, they must have seemed like spaceships, ie. a normal family car nowadays can probably top 130 mph ... while supercars max at about 210 mph ... that is only 80 mph faster.

130 - 80 is 50 mph ... in the late 30's I don't think many family cars would be that fast ... especially considering the economy, etc.

Pete
ps: The 8c2900B is my all time favourite car ... if you had not noticed

 

Here is a pic of the 1939 Alfa romeo 8c 2900 b touring spyder.
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Infact Alfa Romeo 8c2900 had a great technological advance over Bugatti Type 57 SC Atlantique...

model:8C2900B/Type57SCAtlantique

2.9lt/3.3lt

8 in line/ 8 in line

4 valves per cylinder/2 valves per cylinder

DOHC/DOHC

volumetric compressor/volumetric compressor

Front:indpendant wishbones with coil springs & hydraulic dampers/Semiindpenedant centrally collared axles with de Ram shock absorbers, leaf springs

Rear:indpendant wishbones with Coil springs & hydraulic dampers/solid axle with de Ram shock absorbers, quarter elliptic leaf springs

gearbox:transaxle/front longitudinal

Performance:
ALFA 8C2900A 220hp/5300rpm 137mph
ALFA 8C2900B LM 220hp/5800rpm 149mph
ALFA 8C2900B SWB/LWB 180hp/5000rpm 120mph 0-60mph 9"4
Bugatti Type57 S Gangloff & SC Atlantique/Gangloff/Corsica 210hp/5500rpm 110mph 0-60mph 10"0
Bugatti Type57C 175hp/4500rpm 95mph
Bugatti Type57SC Atalante 210hp/5500rpm 131mph 0-60mph 10"0
Bugatti Type57 135hp/4500rpm 95mph
Bugatti Type57G Tank 200hp


ALFA 8C2900B LM 220hp/5800rpm 149mph

Alfa Romeo is clearly superior and more sofisticated than Bugatti but that's natural it was clearly the best and more modern car in production before the war and anticipated modern GT's by many decades....it's the spiritual ancestor of the current V12 GT Ferrari's like 456 550/575 and 612.

 

Sorry all Bugatti Type 57 C,G,S and SC have a blower...only the initial Type 57 were aspirated and had 135hp...the blown C
s have 175hp the G 200hp and the S & SC 210hp

 

Er, I think it is the spiritual ancestor to the F40, F50 and Enzo. It was the absolutely fastest and top sportscar of its time and for ages afterwards ... just happens to be front engined.

Man what a car!
Pete

 

I'm affraid you are a little mistaken here! I'm talking about the road cars and not the racing cars which seems to confuse you here! The "normal" road going type 57S is NOT blown!!! The S-term means "Surbaisse" and is french for "Specially lowered" The 57S is normally aspirated and has arround 180 HP and the 57SC (Surbaisse Compressor) is blown and has arround 200-210 HP.
The type 57G was a tankbodied racing car and therefore it cannot be compared to the road cars or their performance!!! Of all the type 57's (Road cars), only the 57C and 57SC models are blown.

Regards

Carsten

 

What I meant by my comment was that the Atlantic was constructed as a road going sportscar! In fact both the type 57S whose performance specs was posted by Zinhead and the more powerful blown type 57 SC were constructed as road going sportscars and not as racing cars!!!
By 1939 all three of the type 57S Atlantics were converted by the factory in Molsheim to become Type 57SC's, and thus became more powerful than the 57S's!!! Bugatti also made a pretty good race car out of the type 57 with the type 57G tank which won the Le Mans 24 hours in 1937! Also a tank bodied type 57C won the Le Mans 24 hours again in 1939!!!

You're right about the independent suspension!

Best regards

Carsten

 

Could someone tell me if this black Alfa 8C 2900B Spyder, owned by Sam Mann of Englewood New Jersey, and the subject of a Franklin Mint 1/24 scale model, is a passo corto or a passo lungo ?

Thanks.
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Carsten,

Not long ago I read a book about a female racing driver who preferred Bugatti's over Alfa Romeos of this period. Interesting book and some of the comments about Bugattis opened my eyes a little more, such as componentising, ie. gearbox can be used in any Bugatti, etc. Very modern thinking.

Best
Pete

 

Correcto! The S also, I recall, had a two plate clutch which sped up the glacially slow gearchange of the normal T57.

The T57 really is a car which one could drive daily. Just amazing, and a lovely engine sound.

 

This from another thread...

Marcel:

I do not understand what you mean by the "other" real one. I believe that there were 3 real Atlantics made, plus the Aerolithe coupe, (which is the prototype with T57 style "flat" grille, rather than T57s style "pointed" grille)

S/N ?? The Aerolithe

57374 The Williamson car (This car sold at Sotheby's in 1973 for $59,000!!)

57473 The Seydoux car

57491 The Lauren car.

In addition, there is the T51 GP car, #51133 that was rebodied in the 1930s in a similar style. The car is painted a dark purple/blue (!) and is currently in the Nethercutt Museum in Los Angeles

There are also at least 3 or 4 Atlantic replicas; one of which is owned by Jay Leno, and is based on real Bugatti T57 parts..

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Last edited by dretceterini; Yesterday at 04:17 PM.

 

57331 is the Type 57S Coupe Special "Aerolithe" and Dretceterini your information is correct. Please see http://www.bugattibuilder.com/wiki/index.php?title=57331-a the Bugatti wiki for more information.
Erik

 

Stu, as I recall the Atlantic-looking body on the Nethurcutt T51 was on a different chassis when owned by Bob Sutherland? Or was Bob the one who switched chassis?

 

The body was on a replica chassis when Sutherland owned it. The Nethercutt people reunited the body with its original chassis in recent years.

Cris