Giovanni Cidonio, Rome, Italy (acquired from the above in 1934)
Giorgio Bottelli, Perugia, Italy (acquired from the above in 1937)
Soc. An. Commercio Automobili Perugia, Perugia, Italy (acquired from the above in 1938)
Oliviero Olivieri, Florence, Italy (acquired from the above in 1939)
Lieutenant Frederick MacHugh, New Jersey (acquired by 1941)
Mike Caruso, New York (acquired from the above in 1941)
Haig Ksayian, New York (acquired via George Rand in 1942)
David Sydorick, Beverly Hills, California (acquired from the above in 2001)
Ervin F. “Bud” Lyon, Kensington, New Hampshire (acquired from the above in 2005)
Current Owner (acquired from the above in 2009)
Coachwork by Castagna
Chassis: 2311214
Engine: 2311214
Highly Developed Third-Series 2.3 with Matching-Numbers Engine
Original, Elegantly Styled Open Coachwork by Castagna of Milan
Featured in Simon Moore’s Definitive Books on the Alfa Romeo 8C
Well-Documented Provenance with Just Four Owners Since 1942
Magnificent Restoration by the Acclaimed Paul Russell and Company
Awarded First in Class at the 2008 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance®
2,335 CC DOHC Inline 8-Cylinder Engine
Gear-Driven Roots-Type Supercharger
Single Memini Carburetor
150 BHP at 4,800 RPM
4-Speed Manual Gearbox
4-Wheel Mechanical Drum Brakes
Front Solid Axle with Semi-Elliptical Leaf Springs and Shock Absorbers
Rear Live Axle with Semi-Elliptical Leaf Springs and Shock Absorbers
When introduced in 1931, the Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 established new standards for high-performance sports cars. Developed by the brilliant engineer Vittorio Jano, who had already delivered to Alfa Romeo the highly successful 6C 1750 and P2 Grand Prix, the 8C boasted an all-aluminum, 2.3-liter twin-cam straight eight, supercharged to produce 145 bhp.
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.
As noted in Simon Moore’s book, The 8C Story Continues, this Alfa Romeo was completed in September 1933 and sold new to Erminio Cidonio, a resident of Ravenna, Italy, where it was first registered as “RA 4373.” Sig. Cidonio was an heir to one of the leading engineering firms in Italy and a passionate automobile enthusiast who received his racing license in 1935. The 8C remained in his family’s ownership until May 1937, when his brother Giovanni sold it to Giorgio Bottelli, whose family owned the prestigious Hotel Brufani in Perugia, Italy. The Alfa Romeo remained in Sig. Bottelli’s ownership for just over a year before being sold to a local dealer, Soc. An. Commercio Automobili Perugia, in August 1938.
In March 1939, Oliviero Olivieri acquired the Castagna Cabriolet, which he registered in Florence as “FI 25681” and stored in his garage on Via Cerretani, near the iconic Duomo. According to correspondence on file, shortly before WWII, Olivieri sold the Alfa Romeo to an Englishman, the owner of a villa in the Florentine hills, and it was exported to England.
By June 1941, the 8C had arrived in the US in New Jersey, under the ownership of Frederick MacHugh, a US Navy lieutenant. According to several sources, Mr. MacHugh soon sold the 8C to Mike Caruso, the proprietor of Caruso’s Junkyard in Long Island, New York, and a well-known buyer of exotic sports and racing cars.
In March 1942, Haig Ksayian purchased the 8C from George Rand’s New York City dealership and entrusted it to the Zumbach Motor Repair Company, the famous Manhattan-based garage, for service. Mr. Ksayian was so enamored with his 8C 2300 that he eventually acquired another example in 1951 – a short-chassis Spider with Zagato coachwork. As the Castagna Cabriolet was in far better mechanical order, he exchanged driveline components between the two cars, relegating 2311214 to static storage for almost 40 years – a circumstance that helped preserve the car in exceptionally original condition.
Both 2.3s remained in Mr. Ksayian’s ownership until 2001, when they were sold to noted Italian car collector David Sydorick of Beverly Hills, California. Mr. Sydorick decided to embark on a restoration of the Zagato Spider and thus took the effort to reunite each 8C with its original driveline components before selling the Castagna Cabriolet in 2005.
Its next owner, respected American collector, Ervin F. “Bud” Lyon of New Hampshire, commissioned his preferred restorer, Paul Russell and Company of Essex, Massachusetts, to return the Alfa Romeo to its original splendor. Before any significant work was carried out, 8C authority Simon Moore was called upon to consult on the restoration. One aspect that required further research was the period update to the fenders, hood, and radiator shell, which Castagna had possibly executed, likely in the mid-1930s.
During the disassembly phase, clear traces of the original body lines were discovered, along with the original Castagna assembly number (7017), which was located on many body panels and sections of wooden framework. After further research and deliberation, it was decided to restore the fenders, hood, and radiator shell to their original 1933 configuration, rather than in their updated mid-1930s form.
The Cabriolet was refinished in a handsome, two-tone period color combination of dark blue and claret, carefully selected to suit the body’s conservative style, while the leather upholstery was chosen for its distinctive grain, texture, and color. The correct cracked finish of the dashboard was beautifully recreated using an ingenious technique, the Bakelite steering wheel was carefully refinished, and copper-plated screws were used to blend more cohesively with the color of the wood trim.
The 8C 2300 chassis was also restored. It retained its matching-numbers engine, factory data tags, and other important serial-numbered components. The engine rebuild was entrusted to Leydon Restorations, one of the foremost specialists in prewar Alfa Romeos. Following the rebuild, the engine was run on a dynamometer and developed 152 bhp and 178 lbs./ft. of torque – figures that exceed the factory claims. The chassis, engine bay, and suspension components were finished in the correct workshop gray, and the sight of the Alfa Romeo’s mechanical components, just visible beneath the Castagna bodywork, captures the very essence of this car: purposeful, high-performance engineering clothed in graceful, bespoke coachwork.
Upon completion, the 8C made its debut at the 2008 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance®, where it participated in the Tour d’Elegance® and won First in Class for European Classic Open 1922–1934 – a proud testament to its authenticity and dignified presentation.
In 2009, this Alfa Romeo joined the consignor’s impressive stable of examples of European marques, where it has been dutifully maintained and regularly exercised. It has not been exhibited since its successful outing at Pebble Beach 15 years ago, but remains in show-quality condition, ready to make a return to the concours circuit.
A Castagna-bodied 8C 2300 certainly ranks among the most exclusive automobiles of its day – a stylish, luxuriously appointed Cabriolet constructed on the ultimate sporting chassis of the era. The incomparable sound of Alfa Romeo’s gear-driven, supercharged engine is bound to excite any car enthusiast, and even with its opulent coachwork, this is a genuine, 100-mph touring car that possesses the dynamic qualities of a true Italian thoroughbred. Today, as in 1933, there is little competition in terms of performance or style, for an eight-cylinder Alfa Romeo.
Presented here is a rare occasion to acquire an exquisite, custom-bodied 8C 2.3 – one of the finest of all prewar motor cars – which can only be described in superlatives.
*Please note that this vehicle has a combined acceptance to two Mille Miglia events -- the Warm Up USA Event in November 2023 and the Mille Miglia 2024 -- subject to registration and payment of entry fee.
