An Italian beauty with a body crafted by Touring and a twin-supercharged inline-8 sitting under its long hood took home the Best of Show honors on Sunday at the 2018 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.
The car is the 1937 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Touring Berlinetta owned by David and Ginny Sydorick of Beverly Hills, California, who are regulars at the Pebble Beach Concours. It's finished in an original deep blue paint and proved so popular that it also took home the top prize in the Italian Classic category.
It was the car's first outing since a full restoration performed by the folks at RX Autoworks in Vancouver, Canada. The Sydoricks wanted the car returned to the state it was in when it made an appearance at the 1938 Berlin auto show. This was an important decision as winning Best of Show at a major concours means exhibiting a high level of historical authenticity, among other qualities.
In a statement, Pebble Beach Concours Chairman Sandra Button praised the car for its combination of speed, style and even sex appeal. She also also the car “makes all the right noises.”
Those noises are thanks to a 2.9-liter inline-8, twin-supercharged to the tune of 180 horsepower. The car also features a sophisticated chassis for its vintage, with the transmission placed at the rear for better balance and independent suspension used at both ends.
"As a Zagato collector, I broke the rules and bought a Touring-bodied car because this Alfa Romeo is very special,” David Sydorick said of his prized 8C. “It is a piece of automotive architecture mounted on a grand prix chassis that has technology that was top of the line for prewar cars. It’s a wonderful combination. It’s beautiful from top to bottom.”
The race for Best of Show this year featured two other strong contenders: a 1929 Duesenberg J Murphy Town Limousine owned by the Lehrman Collection of Palm Beach, Florida; and a 1948 Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport Figoni Fastback Coupé owned by Robert Kudela of Chropyne, Czech Republic.
Note, Alfa Romeo is currently working on a modern successor to the 8C. The new car is due in 2022 and will come with more than 700 horsepower thanks to a hybrid powertrain.
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