Alfa Romeo 6c 1750 Gran Sport Testa Fissa

'Testa fissa' means 'fixed head', a non detachable cylinder head. Before 1931, the regulations of the Irish Tourist Trophy (TT) stipulated that the cylinder head had to be detachable.

'Testa Fissa' is Italian for 'fixed head', a non detachable cylinder head. Before 1931 the regulations of the Irish Tourist Trophy (TT) – the year before won by Nuvolari with an Alfa Romeo 6C – state that the cylinder head must be detachable. The Italians solve this entirely in their own way by using blind bolts that can nevertheless turn. The race stewards take these for real and do not look any further... The recruitment of engineer Vittorio Jano by Alfa Romeo turns out to be a masterstroke, because the successor to the 1500, the 6C 1750, is also very successful. The six cylinder, which in the Gran Sport and Super Sport versions is fitted with a supercharger, takes victories all over Europe: in the Mille Miglia, the Targa Florio, the Tourist Trophy and at Montlhery. In 1929, 25 of the 26 entered 6C 1750s finish the Mille Miglia, but even more legendary is the story of the 1930 Mille, in which Tazio Nuvolari is on the tail of his arch rival Achille Varzi in the darkness of the night. Both are driving a 6C 1750. When Nuvolari sees the tail lights of Varzi's car, he switches off his own lights so as not to let Varzi notice that he is gradually getting closer. Nuvolari completely wrong foots Varzi when he shoots past him. With an eleven minute lead over his rival, Nuvolari is the first to cross the finish line. The Testa Fissa present here ran the Mille Miglia in 1934 with Nino Farina at the wheel, who in 1950 would become the first Formula 1 world champion.