I do not believe you are the right person to contact but I do not know who is and I have to make a comment on the 1921 Alfa Romeo G1 that has been incorrectly turned into something no G1 ever was, a race car. This car is the last surviving of 52 G1's that all were sold to Australia and the first car manufactured when Alfa changed their name to Alfa Romeo, thus the first Alfa Romeo.
No G1's were ever raced, they were tourers or limousines. Below I will quote from two knowledgeable books and feel strongly that historically incorrect modifications like this should not be part of such a supposed quality car show as Pebble Beach, in fact in my opinion it should have been denied entry until returned to its correct form. In fact it was given an award (3rd place in Class V-1: Prewar Open Wheel Racing) which is a terrible injustice to the Alfa Romeo community and the 4th place entrant.
Referring to the book: Alfa Romeo a history by Peter Hull and Roy Slater; Chapter Three
"Surprisingly, perhaps, the first car designed from the start as an Alfa Romeo was not a sporting model, but a huge luxury side valve six cylinder limousine known as the G1. It was not destined to achieve any lasting fame, nor were there any notably advanced features in its distinctly Edwardian design"
It then goes on to discuss racing of he 40/60 and 20/30, never the G1.
Referring to the book: Guide to the identification of Alfa Romeo cars by Maurizio Tabucchi; 1920
"G1
Chassis for: Tourer, Limousine, Roadster.
Initial conceived by Giuseppe Merosi with a 6597cc engine, which was slightly reduced in cubic capacity and its power increased using different camshaft timing. The suggestion to produce this car, but more than that the evolution of the engine to use overhead valves for use in competition, came from Enzo Ferrari, who had for some time been an Alfa Romeo works driver and saw considerable racing development possibilities in this project. It was Alfa's intention that the G1 should be sold alongside the 20-30 E.S. Sport, but its high class, cubic capacity and consequent notable fuel consumption which was unsustainable so soon after the war, were obstacles that meant production was limited to 52 cars, all of them sold in Australia."
Therefore one can accurately say no G1 ever raced, that was the role of the 40/60 and 20/30 and ALL G1's were exported to Australia and did not compete officially. Also one could say that the previous restoration to a Spider form was already pushing the sportiness that probably (but I have no proof of this) never existed on any G1.
What I am hoping this email can do is:
1. Rectify the award situation,
2. Encourage the owner to return this car to its previous correct for a G1 form, and suggest he purchase an ALFA 20/30 if he wants to run a race car. I have been informed by the person who did this modification that this is a simple bolt on process.
I feel for Pebble Beach to maintain it's position as one of the top Concours D' Elegance shows this mistake has to be rectified. Please note it took me no longer than 15 minutes of research to prove that the only surviving G1 Alfa Romeo has been treated with an incredible lack of historical correctness. This is a extremely important car for Alfisti all over the world but particularly for Australia, but yes the owner can do what they like with their car, but should never be awarded for it.
I do realise that the judges cannot be experts on every make and model presented but I would have expected it to be easy to find a knowledgable person on the very first Alfa Romeo. A simple Google search for Alfa G1 confirms it's correct place in automotive history.
Regards
.
