Description

In General

As that well-known motoring journalist Jeremy Clarkson once famously (if controversially) said: “you can’t be a true petrolhead until you’ve owned an Alfa”.  Not everyone may agree with this but they almost certainly would if they were lucky enough to own an Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 – one of motoring’s all- time greats.   

Tony Smith certainly would.  He is a celebrated motorsport artist who since 1987 has been the creator of many very successful and sought after limited edition prints of motoring scenes – usually containing racing cars – that are well known in motoring circles.  However, this is a rare opportunity to buy one of his original paintings – comprising, indeed, an early 1930s Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Zagato and two RAC biplanes.

The Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 is certainly one of classic motoring’s greats and was the most successful racing car of its period combining looks, handling, meticulous design and technical brilliance in equal measure.  Launched in 1931 as the last evolution of the 6C 1750 GS initiated in the middle of the 1920s by the great engineer Vittorio Jano, the Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Zagato, in different versions, dominated the most important races of the period and winning among them the 24 hours at Le Mans (1931-1934) Mille Miglia (1932-1933), the Targa Florio (1931-1933) and 24 Hours of Spa (1932-1933).

The engine is a supercharged 8 cylinder dual overhead cam straight 8 – an exotic design at the time. Its engine design, featuring bronze bearings and gears and producing 130bhp in standard form and up to 180bhp in racing form, made it a very expensive car to produce, and only 188 (some say 184) were built from 1931 to 1934.  The price of the chassis alone in England in 1932 was a stupendous £1,700 – the equivalent of a Rolls-Royce Phantom II (the large model) in chassis form in the early 1930s.  The Rolls cost £1,850 in short and £1,900 in long chassis form.

The number plate on the car in the painting is BUC 228.  An Alfa Romeo first registered on 1 February 1935 under this registration number remains registered at DVLC although at the present time the car is on SORN.  It reveals that the car was first registered on 28 February 1935 with the year of manufacture given as 1935.  The last logbook was issued on 7^th August 2010.  So this car is still very much in existence.  The engine size is given as 2,943 cc so it looks as though the car may have been re-engined (a not uncommon occurrence in old but valuable cars).

This original unframed oil on canvas painting is signed and dated 1982.  There is some paint crazing in the sky but there is no canvas damage and the painting is in generally good bright condition.  

Year

1982

Designer and Marks

Signed and dated by Tony Smith on the front of the painting in bottom right hand side. 

Material

Original oil painting on canvas.

Condition

There is some paint crazing in the sky but there is no canvas damage and the painting is in generally good bright condition.  

Dimensions ( L x W x H ) 

76 cm x 1.5 cm x 51 cm or 29.92 inches x 0.59 inches x 20.07 inches  

Weight

To be confirmed.

Shipping

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Shipping Costs: 

United Kingdom £15.45

Europe £58.83

United States and Canada £119.08

Rest of the World £218.94

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