A brainchild of legendary automobile engineer Vittorio Jano, the Alfa Romeo 8C Spider, was built by Zagato in 1931. The '8C' marking in the car's name signified the supercharged straight 8-cylinder engine, which was the key factor behind its unimaginable success on tracks. Such is its legacy and performance that it is often compared with the Ferrari 250 GTO and McLaren F1.

This 1931 Alfa Romeo 8C Spider sprinted for almost every leading racing team of that era, including Ferrari. The cat was also driven by a list of racing champions of the time, including Tazio Nuvolari. A great honor to its credit was that Enzo Ferrari himself drove this car in his last career race of 1931 at Circuito delle Tre Provincie.

With a widely regarded legacy, the 8C Spider by Zagato was an absolute example of engineering extraordinaire, and here's a glimpse at what made this ride legendary.

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The Smart Design By Zagato

1931-Alfa-Romeo-8C-Spider
via: UltimateCarPage

The Spiders were custom coaches worked by the prestigious Zagato coachbuilders, particularly two models - the Sports Spider and the Le Mans Spider. The latter was famed as 'Le Mans' because of its spectacular victories in the Le Mans endurance race twice. Both the cars were explicitly designed for different purposes. The Sports Spider had a shorter wheelbase and a seating capacity of two which was a perfect combination for short distance races, whereas the LeMans spider had a slightly longer wheelbase and was a four-seater, making it apt for the 24-hour long touring races like Le Mans.

All the Spiders were built around a ladder-frame chassis, while the Sports Spider had a 110.2-inch wheelbase, and in the case of LeMans Spider, it was 108.3 inches. Around 184, Spiders were built in the two-door, two-seater, and two-door four-seater configuration. With great emphasis on its lightweight, each model had an aluminum body that was hand fitted. The most notable styling feature of these cars was the low radiator placement and high wing design.

The 8C Spider's Super-Efficient Engine

An-Image-Of-1931-Alfa-Romeo-8C-Spiders-Engine
via: Automotive-Heritage.au

The 8C engine of the Spider received several accolades, which was the actual reason behind its fame. Vittorio Jano designed the engine after the tremendous success of 6-cylinder 1500 SuperSport and 6-cylinder 1750 Grand Sport engines in the circuit. This new engine had a greater displacement volume and two more cylinders, except for which it was mostly similar to its siblings. This new engine was used in both short and long-wheelbase versions of Spider. The new engine had a 2335 cc displacement volume with 16 DOHC valvetrain and eight inline cylinders. The engine was configured with two aluminum alloy blocks, and the same material was used in making the heads.

The blocks were attached with timing control placed at the center of the engine. Furthermore, there were two overhead cams and a root supercharger. This intelligent engine configuration was capable of producing 152 HP. Later the engine was slightly modified to increase the power. Dubbed as the Supercharged Straight 8, this engine had a displacement of 2336 cc and could churn 182 HP at 5200 rpm. The power of the machine was managed by a 4-speed manual transmission that catered to the rear wheels. Weighing approx 2185 pounds, the top speed of the Spider was 135 mph. The car's balanced control and handling were featured with semi-elliptic suspension alongside live rear axle and wire wheels equipped with drum brakes.

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A Legendary Track Automobile

A-1931-Alfa-Romeo-8C-Spider-In-Motion
Via UltimateCarPage.com

The 1931 Alfa Romeo 8C Spider is known to date for its legendary performance on the race tracks. The car marked its dominating presence in both short and long-distance races. Its remarkable performance in long-distance endurance races spoke for its strongly built body and high-performance engine. Altogether, this car had 50 victories associated with its name during its production run from 1931 to 1936. Debuted in 1931, the Spider 8C gave a tough time to rival racing drivers. In the same year as its debut, it won the Targa Florio. In addition, some of the most notable benchmarks of 8C Spider's racing career were its serial triumphs in LeMans.

From 1931 to 1934, the Spider 8C scored four consecutive victories in the prestigious French endurance race. Its winnings also marked the end of Bentley's dominance in the Le Mans circuit. During the same period, it also recorded several victories in the Mille Miglia circuit. The Spider's series of victories continued well beyond the Le Mans. In 1932 the vehicle won the Principe di Piemonte while the legendary Tazio Nuvolari was at the steering wheel. In the same year, Nuvolari drove this car in the highly esteemed Swiss Klausenrennen Hillclimb.

Likewise, in the year of its first LeMans victory, a model Spider 8C sprinted in the world-famous Italian Grand Prix and continued its victory run there as well. The Spiders captured both the first and second places. The first position was won by Nuvolari and Campari, while Borzacchini and Minoia bagged the second spot. The marvelous victory at the Italian Grand Prix won the 8C Spider the title of 'Monza'. The Alfa Romeo 8C Spider's record-setting performances in prestigious races and circuits of the world make it a legendary car of the pre-war era. While Vittorio Jano designed an outstanding engine, Zagato complemented it with an equally smart body design, which cumulatively pushed the car way ahead of its competition.

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