The greatest hits of Alfa Romeo’s 100 years of success

Opposite the Jackie Stewart Pavillion this weekend were 12 of Alfa Romeo’s greatest hits, ranging from 1920s Grand Prix cars through to 1970s endurance heroes, any one of which would be worthy of a feature-length film. They also represent little more than a quarter of the Alfa Romeos at the Revival this weekend, and even all of those combined cannot fully do justice to the company’s enormous racing heritage. 

Strolling from left to right you’ll see a 1929 6C 1750 and a 1930 6C 1750 ‘Testa Fissa’, or ‘fixed head’, pioneering Alfa Romeo racers that were either winning or very near the front of every race they entered. 

Moving along there are three 8C 2300 Monzas, all from 1933. One car, finished in Gauloises blue, was raced by French privateer Philippe Étancelin, racing alongside legends like Tazio Nuvolari, Juan Manuel Fangio and Louis Chiron. Étancelin even won a race in this very car, the eight Grand Prix de la Marne, a near three-hour clash of the 7.8km-long Reims-Gueux circuit. 

Next on the rank is a 1934 P3 Tipo B, which the eagle-eyed among you will notice has Ferrari’s Scuderia prancing horse logo on its nose. That’s because this car — this Alfa Romeo — was run by Scuderia Ferrari in 1934, with wins for Guy Moll in Monaco and Berlin, a victory for Achille Varzi in Tripoli, and five other podiums throughout the year. 

A few feet away sits another Grand Prix hero, a 158 Alfetta, which for want of a more eloquent description was a disgustingly fast and dominant race car. Alfa Romeo 158 Alfettas won 47 Grand Prix out of 55 entered from 1938 all the way to 1951.

This car has been to Goodwood before, a car born over the course of four years from a collection of original parts from Alfa Romeo combined with a handful of new pieces, made in some cases by the businesses that would have made them in period. Matching 158D specification, its eight cylinder supercharged engine produces 355PS (261kW) at 8,500rpm.

Walking further along are arguably two of the most beautiful cars at the Revival, a Giulia TZ1 and a TZ2. The first, TZ1 chassis 750006, was raced at the 1964 Targa Florio and Le Mans 24 Hours, while the TZ2 is a faithful replica of an original, made using a mix of original parts and new components created to match the original’s exact specification. Both of these beauties have straight-four engines which absolutely sing. 

Another contender for ‘most beautiful car at the 2025 Revival’ is this lovely 1971 GTAm. Chassis 1378479 was built for the Italian Monzeglio Squadra Corse team and, following three race victories and two second-place finishes, became the 1971 Italian Group 2 Championship-winner with Maurizio Zanetti at the helm. It is, in a word, gorgeous.

Fans of 1970s motorsport, look away now, as this might prove too much excitement for one person. What’s better than an Alfa Romeo Tipo 33/TT/3? Two Alfa Romeo Tipo 33/TT/3s. The red and white example competed in the Buenos Aires 1,000km, Nürburgring 1,000km, Daytona 6 Hours, Sebring 12 Hours and finished third at the Targa Florio.

The red and yellow example, meanwhile, is considered the most successful Tipo 33/TT/3, having finished second at the 1971 Targa Florio with a certain Mr Helmut Marko at the wheel, seconds behind the victorious Ferrari 312PB.

Last but by no means least, sitting just beside the Jackie Stewart Pavillion, is a drop-dead-gorgeous Bertone-styled 1954 Alfa Romeo 2000 Sportiva. There are only two in the world, the other example sitting inside Alfa Romeo’s own museum.

Photography by Pete Summers, Joe Harding and Charlie Brenninkmeijer.