We all know the myth about Mussolini making the trains run on time; however, it turns out that it wasn't just steam-powered transport that the fascist dictator was interested in.
This is an Alfa Romeo 8C-35, one of the greatest pre-war Grand Prix racing cars, and it has just sold at auction for nearly £6million. Not only does this make it the most expensive Alfa ever sold at auction, but it also makes it the second most expensive car in Europe.
With a 3.8-litre straight-eight engine developing 330bhp, the Alfa Romeo 8C-35 was good for a top speed of 165mph. Driven by Italian racer Tazio Nuvolari in the 1935 Grand Prix season, the car managed to power Nuvolari to one championship race win at the 1935 German Grand Prix, helping him finish fourth in the Championship standings that year.
The car is particularly notable, however, for being commissioned by fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, whose government had rescued and taken control of Alfa Romeo in 1932. Mussolini wanted Alfa Romeo to design a car which would be good enough to take on Mercedes-Benz and Audi, who were being funded by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party as part of Germany's own state-sponsored racing programme.
The car was sold at the Goodwood Revival sale near Chichester for £5,937,500, beating the previous record for an Alfa Romeo of £4,245,118 for a 1933 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Monza.
Image: Bonhams
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