1933 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Cabriolet (more photos 👇)
Vittorio Jano’s engineering masterpiece combined jewel-like precision with racing dominance. Two four-cylinder blocks positioned end to end created the supercharged 142-cubic-inch straight-eight, featuring twin overhead camshafts and hemispherical combustion chambers.
A 10-main-bearing crankshaft, split at its center, drove a central gear tower that operated the camshafts, Roots-type supercharger, water and oil pumps, and generator.
In high-performance specification, this complex assembly produced up to approximately 165 horsepower and propelled the 8C 2300 to victories at Le Mans (four consecutive wins from 1931 through 1934), the Targa Florio, and the Mille Miglia.
Alfa Romeo built just 188 examples between 1931 and 1935, offering bare chassis in short (Corto) and long (Lungo) wheelbase configurations. Parisian coachbuilder Joseph Figoni created bodies for only a handful of 8C 2300s, generally cited as seven, shipped as knocked-down kits to France and assembled under Alfa Romeo supervision.
These cabriolets featured Figoni’s characteristic light, wind-cheating lines that preserved the chassis’s performance while adding continental elegance. Only a few Figoni-bodied examples survive in essentially original form, representing an exceptionally rare combination of Italian engineering excellence and French coachbuilding artistry.
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