Vehicle Description
Le Pur Sang des Automobile roughly translates as “The Pure Bred Automobile”. It is a phrase that was coined by Le Patron himself, Ettore Bugatti, to describe his own legendary and iconic machinery. But to today’s automotive connoisseurs, “Le Pur Sang” may also refer to a small Argentine company that happens to build stunningly exact recreations of the greatest pre-war classics in history. Pur Sang was founded by Argentine enthusiast and master restorer Jorge Anadon, born of a burning desire to own one of Ettore Bugatti’s great Type 35s for himself. In the process of restoring one of these great cars for a client, Anadon began to copy and reproduce every single component, eventually building a car for himself in his living room. More than simply a well detailed replica, Anadon replicated theprocess in which the Type 35 was built, masterfully capturing the very essence of the original. Today, his skilled craftsmen not only build beautiful cars, but they preserve history through their craft. Cars are being built exactly as they were in the 1920s, from the sand cast engine components, to the stitching of the leather cockpits. Pur Sang beautifully integrates the process as a key element of their product.
From the single Type 35 recreation that Jorge Anadon built for himself, Pur Sang expanded to include customer Type 35s and other models such as the Type 43. The product offerings now include motorcycles, one-off specials and this - the legendary Alfa Romeo 8C 2300.
The Alfa Romeo 8C was a supercar of its day. The Vittorio Jano-designed 8-cylinder engine was a masterpiece of engineering with its twin overhead camshafts, and gear driven supercharger. The 8C dominated both single seat and sports car competition, and evolved into some of the finest road going machines of the time, becoming the very first winner of the Grand Prix World Championship.
This spectacular automobile is much like any other Pur Sang; so much more than a just replica (a word with understandably negative connotations), it is a true recreation, or perhaps a continuation of a tradition that was once thought lost. This finely crafted piece of kinetic art is accurate down to the smallest pieces of hardware. Even the tooling marks remain on the inside of the bodywork and the engine block is cast using the same methods as were used in Milano over 80 years ago. The gorgeous 2.3 liter supercharged straight-eight is a marvel of engineering, even by modern standards. Recreated to the highest of standards, this is a strong running and utterly addicting machine.
Of course, the beauty of the Pur Sang Alfa Romeo 8C is that it can be used as the original designers intended. Since the original Alfa 8C has become perhaps too valuable to be used hard on the road, the Pur Sang comes into its own, and this particular example has been absolutely sorted with no expense spared to ensure it is reliable and enjoyable on even the longest runs. Wearing Targa Florio style 2-seat bodywork, it is finished in gorgeous black paint with deep saddle brown leather in the minimalist cockpit. The basic bodywork includes period correct lamps, a side mount spare wheel, high-mounted Grand-Prix-style exhaust and a single Brooklands windscreen for the driver. It is a bare-bones machine, the essence of the pre-war competition car.
The level to which this car was maintained by its prior owner is astounding. A historic rallying enthusiast, the owner employed a full time staff of mechanics to prepare and maintain the car. It was used in various tours and rallies around the country and has even competed in the mountains of Colorado and in Santa Fe, New Mexico with no DNF’s. An extensive list of recent maintenance items includes the replacement of the radiator, installation of a rev-limiter to protect the engine, full fluid service, an electric cooling fan, and many, many other items. The firewall was even moved forward by 1 ¼ inches to allow just a bit more comfort for taller drivers.
Few cars of this nature have been as thoroughly and meticulously sorted as this. It is absolutely on the button and ready to be enjoyed on your favorite back roads or whilst competing in a classic rally. Critically, it is also titled and registered in the United States, making it a hassle-free to either enjoy stateside or to export overseas. For a mere fraction of the investment of an original, this Pur Sang Alfa Romeo 8C2300 is a driver’s dream, ready to help you live out your Nuvolari Fantasies, once and for all.
