Supercars.net

One of the most elegant and proven supercars to arise out of the 1930s was the 2900B. It was Alfa Romeo's most prestigious grand touring car and was based on their successful motor sport engineering.

On the track, the 2900 competition cars benefited from a decade of Alfa Romeo progress and became the most successful of their time. A trio of 2900As placed first-second-third at the 1936 Mille Miglia, while three specially built 2900MMs accomplished the same feat at the 1938 edition. The decision to make a road-going variant of these winning designs must have been easy.

Called the 2900B, Alfa Romeo prepared around thirty slightly detuned 2900 chassis to receive some of the most exceptional Italian bodies. Both a 2800 mm short wheelbase (Corto) and 3000 mm long wheelbase (Lungo) were made available.

Touring of Milan was responsible for almost the entire production of 2900B bodies and his flowing designs on the 2900B were his masterworks. Particularly striking was Touring's exceptional Lungo Coupe which took advantage of the long chassis and exaggerated it with a huge rear overhang. In total, Touring constructed around 20 Spyders and 10 Coupes, while a unique and more garish grey cabriolet was designed by Pinin Farina as one of his first ever projects.

Because of its high price, only 30 examples of the 2900B were completed for road use. After the war broke out, and settled down, Alfa Romeo had a hard time living up to its glorious pre-war years.

Story by Richard Owen for Supercars.net