A 1934 Alfa Romeo Tipo B P3 realised $3.7m in RM Sotheby’s Paris sale last night.
The car is an extraordinary throwback to the age of pre-war Grand Prix racing.
Alfa Romeo created the Tipo model for the 1932 season, but by 1933 it was under the control of Mussolini's government and so withdrew from racing.
Instead, Alfa Romeo passed its cars to Enzo Ferrari's nascent Scuderia Ferrari team.
Scuderia Ferrari raced this Alfa Romeo Tipo B P3
Ferrari was originally a driver for Alfa Romeo before leaving to start his own team, taking many of Alfa’s best drivers with him. It would be almost a decade before he released his first car, but in the intervening years his team raced Alfa vehicles.
Despite being an Alfa, this car actually displays a Ferrari livery – including the prancing horse logo.
The present example was competed by Tazio Nuvolari – widely regarded as one of the best racing drivers of all time.
As Peter Wallman, managing director of RM Sotheby's Europe, commented prior to the sale: "Evocative of the golden era of pre-war racing, with the likes of Nuvolari, the Flying Mantovan wrestling the wheel, the Scuderia Ferrari shields adorning the bonnet are an instant reminder of Enzo Ferrari's early racing exploits.”
Other highlights included a Porsche 993 Turbo Cabriolet, one of only 14 ever built, that sold for $1.2m.
Please sign up to our free newsletter to receive exciting news about classic car auctions.
