Test of the vintage Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Turismo

Starting is surprisingly easy – first I check the battery connections and then I move straight into the interior. I pull out the choke, carefully insert the broken key into the ignition in the center of the dashboard. I turn it and the starter whines immediately. The straight-six immediately responds with explosions transformed into clouds of smoke from the twin tailpipes.

Throttle response is immediate, but I’ll get to that. I move the long shifter towards me (to the right) and back. As sometimes happens with first meetings, this time too I first have to drive out of the garage, where some good guy drove up after the “snout”. I release the clutch gently, it is necessary to press the accelerator sufficiently to drive off without jerking. Maneuvering a 5m sedan isn’t easy, but I’ve seen worse. The more interesting thing starts to happen when the road opens and the temperature of the coolant rises satisfactorily. By the way, the clustered Viglia indicators with their mechanically precise bezels are unmistakably eye-catching – one of the many details that fascinates the Alfa 6C…

Before we move on to the present, let me remind you why the 6C is such an essential model of the Alfa Romeo car company. It belongs to the inter-war period, when the Milanese brand produced the coolest cars that roamed the roads – whether in sports competitions or in the hands of the cream of the crop.

The 6C was absolutely key. It appeared in many different versions, body styles and evolutions from 1927 until 1954. The volume of the six-cylinder, which was always in-line, but advanced for its time (for example, with two camshafts), gradually increased.

Development of the 6C began in the mid-1920s to replace the overly large and heavy Alfa Romeo RL. At that time, there was a change in the rules for the world car championship, which had a prescribed volume of 1.5 liters from the 1926 season. And that was one of the reasons why the first 6C, presented in Milan in 1925, bore the designation 1500 referring to the volume of all six combustion chambers of the new model. Serial production did not start in Portello until 1927, right along with the racing model P2. The first Alfa 6C was bodied by James Young or Carrozzeria Touring. 1928 saw the arrival of the 6C Sport, which in its sports versions won many races – including the Mille Miglia that year. These were the very beginnings of a long journey to glory and laurels, which culminated only after the war, but only outlined.

The description of the history and specifications of the 6C model has already taken up a lot of people’s time, and whoever is interested will buy one of the many quality books. It doesn’t matter – this amazing car still fascinates many motoring enthusiasts to this day (and hopefully in the future too), so we’ll take it a bit further – the Alfa Romeo 6C 1750, 1900, 2300 and finally the 2500 were gradually created, at which we’ll stop for a bit. for she is today’s star of the day.

The Alfa 6C with a volume of 2443 cm³ was the final road-going Alfa Romeo introduced in 1938. But soon came the Second World War, which limited production (only a few hundred units were produced in that dark time). After the war, only the 6C 2500 Freccia d’Oro was produced, in the number of about 680 pieces, which were always bodied by Alfa Romeo. History was closed at the beginning of the 1950s, when the Alfa Romeo 1900 (already four-cylinder, we’ll talk about it too) became the successor.

The 6C 2500 version of course used the already mentioned DOHC six-cylinder from Vittorio Jan, with either one or three Weber carburettors (for the Super Sport version). It sat on a steel frame chassis that was offered in three lengths – 3,250mm for the Turismo, 3,000mm for the Sport and 2,700mm for the sharpest Super Sport. We will add that most of the bodies were created by Touring Superleggera in Milan. As you probably already know, we’re loving the Turismo model right now.

The Alfa Romeo 6C has always been the choice of social or industrial cream, or of statesmen or nobility. No wonder – her family tree was already very strong at the time, moreover hardened by significant sporting achievements. Even if the sports and racing versions are the most attractive to the Alfiste (and today you can see them in action at the Mille Miglia race in June in Italy), the “ordinary” Turismo is also divine. The fate of the Milan body shop Turismo, which was founded in Milan in 1926, is unclear, but its legacy remains visible, for example, in the graceful shapes of the elegant car that stands before us.

The closed body appeals not only with its aerodynamic shape, but also with the fact that the doors open apart and there is no B-pillar between them. This makes it much easier to get into the truly spacious interior. Which I do again – not only to pose for photographer Ondra Kroutil, but also to be able to stretch the 2.5 liter six-cylinder engine. Although it does not have the original carburettor and it deserves some care, as evidenced by the oil leaks, its lust for revs is still noticeable, certainly not common in cars from the late 1930s. The feel of the dial is addictive as is the delicious sound of the balanced powertrain. It really reacts surprisingly to intermediate gases, which I’m only learning slowly. In the same way, handling the four-speed gearbox, the lever of which I control with my left hand, and especially downshifting with the right dose of the mentioned intermediate gas while still being sufficiently vigorous, I only succeed occasionally. Unfortunately, I’m not as used to shifting gears in such old cars as I would like.

Honestly, for 1939 the chassis is very comfortable. Although the unit stands on a frame structure and weighs something (over 1.6 tons), the advanced independent suspension of all wheels works quite convincingly. I would like to add that the front relies on double wishbones, coil springs and friction shock absorbers, while the rear uses swingarms, torsion bars and liquid shock absorbers. The brakes are also effective – hydraulic, drum, on all wheels. I quite believe in the top speed of 145 km/h with an engine output of 87 hp (at 4,600 revolutions), but I don’t try it and prefer to sail through the open countryside with one hand firmly on the steering wheel, occasionally shifting correctly with the lever sticking out of the gearbox. After some time of contemplation and thinking, I realize that I am somehow out of place here – as if I was crawling into someone else’s living room, or even a bedroom.

The very special story of this Alfa Romeo 6C is responsible for that feeling. It is not known how, but in the distant past it reached what was then Czechoslovakia. The oldest document in history that I am going through is a bilingual protectorate technical license apparently from 1946, issued in Karlovy Vary. It is therefore certain that Alfa Romeo (with a very optimistic maximum speed of 180 km/h stated at the time) was already on our territory. Another technical license dates from 1954 and reveals several owners that there is no point in naming here.

The most important one was Karel Martinec, to whom the car was transferred in 1959. Although the 20-year-old car was still in driveable condition, Karel and his son Ivo decided to renovate it. And please, during the deep totality, when there was not even toilet paper, let alone spare parts for the expensive and luxurious Alfa Romeo from Italy! The gentlemen experienced many difficult challenges (for example, the complex suspension of the front axle or the impossibility of finding the right 18-inch tires) and spent a lot of money to get the Alfa back on the road. Unfortunately, father Karel did not live to see this moment, which only happened at the beginning of the 1980s. Alfa was inherited by the current owner, the aforementioned Ivo Martinec, and began to appear at elegance competitions and meetings (for the first time in Roztoky, where she won second place). Many period photos capture the car at weddings, film shoots or at rides and competitions, documenting this unique and beautiful history.

And that’s why I don’t feel twice in my skin – a brand new beautifully restored car is different from an Alfa with such a personal story, which has been in the hands of the same family for 65 years! I’m almost ashamed to have the privilege to try it out as part of a test. And I believe that this brief description of the context, which would normally take up a separate article, explains why a sensitive eye will notice non-original details, period accessories or various little things that complete the authentic fate of this “Czech” Alfa Romeo 6C when viewing the photos. Actually, it can’t be evaluated – whether it’s the added reflectors or the mismatched interior upholstery, or the mess of multi-colored cables under the dashboard, not to mention the condition of the body paint. It doesn’t belong to us. We did not renovate this wonderful piece of Italian engineering during the terrifying times of normalization. And if it deserves to be restored to its original condition at the cost of losing this patina? Or just mechanical repairs of some necessities? Let someone else decide that.

As you probably understood, everything comes to an end. In this case, the era of the vehicle in the Martin family ends. The vehicle is currently for sale at Veteráni na Truc. And I have no choice but to replay the last memory of the majestic Alfa in my head – it took place on the morning of Saturday, April 27, 2024, when I could once again revive the inline six-cylinder and drive the rounded body on the golf course in Prague’s Hostivař, where it was last shown to the public at the Automobile Jewels exhibition, probably the best competition of elegance in our country.

Although she didn’t win, she was exactly where she should have been – admired by enthusiasts and among other noble cars of various brands. I sincerely hope that fate will continue to be kind to her.