Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Drophead Coupé Castagna

Vehicle Overview

This Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Drophead Coupé Castagna would almost certainly have been styled at the drawing board of Emilio Castagna himself, who headed the design team until 1933. This particular Castagna drophead coupé typifies the expensive Gran Turismo car of the 1930’s with long flowing wings, raked windscreen, small but practical luggage trunk and a rear mounted spare wheel. Throughout the early 1930s, the 8C 2300 dominated sports car racing, capturing multiple wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Mille Miglia, and the Targa Florio. In single-seater form, the Tipo B Monoposto, or P3, won six races in its debut season, including the major Grand Prix of France, Germany, and Italy. In typical Alfa Romeo fashion, the 8C 2300 was offered to private customers in road-going form, sold as a bare chassis in short-and-long-wheelbase variants, and intended for bespoke coachwork built by firms like Touring and Zagato. During this period, Milan’s Castagna was the Italian carrozzeria of choice for discerning motorists seeking the height of luxury and individuality. Their extraordinarily expensive bodies were beautifully made, extravagantly detailed, and most often fitted to upscale models from Isotta Fraschini, Lancia, and Alfa Romeo. For the enthusiast for whom money was no object, there was little to compare with the prestige, glamour, and sophistication embodied by an 8C 2300 wearing open coachwork by Castagna. Although Castagna was among the most successful coachbuilders at developing a series of elegant custom bodies for the long-chassis 8C 2300, just eight of these cars were ever built – with far fewer surviving today. Each Castagna-bodied 2.3 was built to order and this striking Cabriolet, fitted on Alfa Romeo’s highly developed third-series chassis, no. 2311214, is certainly no exception. A refined four-seater, this body was constructed with an opulence rarely seen among coachbuilt 2.3s, yet the driver accustomed to piloting a Monza would feel right at home behind the wheel.