Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Gran Sport Brianza

The Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Gran Sport Brianza was a limited-production sports car constructed in 1932 on the Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Gran Sport chassis and bodied by Carrozzeria Brianza of Milan. The vehicle was part of the third series of the 6C 1750 Gran Sport, a short-wheelbase high-performance model developed by Alfa Romeo under the technical direction of Vittorio Jano. The Gran Sport chassis was intended for sporting use and was typically supplied to specialist coachbuilders for bespoke bodywork. The mechanical layout featured a front-mounted, inline six-cylinder engine with twin overhead camshafts. Displacement was 1,752 cubic centimetres. In naturally aspirated form, the engine produced approximately 85 horsepower at 4,500 revolutions per minute. A Roots-type supercharged version was also available for competition use, though the Brianza-bodied examples are generally associated with the atmospheric specification. The vehicle employed a four-speed manual gearbox, live rear axle, semi-elliptical leaf springs, and mechanically actuated drum brakes. The bodywork was executed by Carrozzeria Brianza, a Milanese coachbuilder active during the interwar period. The design followed the conventions of open two-seat sports cars of the era, with separate cycle fenders, a cut-down windscreen, and an exposed spare wheel mounted at the rear. The form was characterized by low side profiles, flowing fender lines, and minimal exterior ornamentation. The coachwork was constructed in aluminium over a steel frame. Production of the Brianza-bodied 6C 1750 Gran Sport is believed to have been limited to six examples. One known surviving chassis is recorded as number 6C10814395, retaining its original engine and coachwork. The surviving example has appeared in historic motoring events and remains in a private collection. No additional chassis numbers or detailed ownership records have been published. The Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Gran Sport Brianza represents a rare coachbuilt variant of one of Alfa Romeo’s most significant pre-war models. It illustrates the practice of supplying bare chassis to external coachbuilders and the diversity of design outcomes resulting from such collaborations. Brianza’s interpretation of the Gran Sport is among the least numerous and least documented, contributing to its historical obscurity within the broader 6C 1750 production corpus.