Alfa Romeo 8C 35 Tipo C

The next step after the Tipo B

The 8C 35 Tipo C represents Alfa Romeo’s attempt to move beyond the successful Tipo B formula in a more demanding Grand Prix environment. The 8C designation identifies the straight-eight version. Tipo C is also used in the wider discussion of the subsequent twelve-cylinder racing car, so the engine and year should accompany the chassis name.

Jano’s 1935 Grand Prix design

Alfa Romeo’s historical account credits Vittorio Jano and dates the car’s debut to the September 1935 Italian Grand Prix at Monza. It describes a supercharged 3.8-litre inline-eight and independent suspension at both ends, together with hydraulic brakes. Those changes distinguish this car from the earlier museum-listed Tipo B, whose specification includes rigid axles and mechanical brake actuation.

Reading its power figure correctly

The manufacturer’s German-language record gives 330 PS at 5500 rpm. PS is metric horsepower, so this profile preserves that label in the text instead of putting an unlabeled 330 into a field that readers may interpret as mechanical horsepower. The car’s performance significance can be understood through its configuration without a false precision created by silently changing the unit.

The importance of chassis 50013

The same manufacturer account follows chassis 50013 through its competition and ownership history, including Nuvolari’s shared-car 1936 Coppa Ciano success and its later life with Hans Ruesch and Dennis Poore. Those are individual-car claims. They do not transfer to another Tipo C merely because it has the same engine type or a similar racing number.

Production and survival answer different questions

An exact 8C 35 factory production total is not established by the primary record used here, and its field remains blank. Statements about an exceptional survivor at the time of a historical sale also cannot serve as a current worldwide census. A useful rarity assessment should distinguish original chassis production, surviving components, restored cars and later reconstructions.

What makes an individual Tipo C convincing

Trace the physical chassis and its documented chain of ownership before attaching a famous driver’s name. Engine changes are especially important in a racing family with multiple developments. A photographic resemblance cannot settle whether a chassis is original, rebuilt or reconstructed. The supplied modern photograph is labelled as a 1935 8C-35 at The Quail in 2013; no additional chassis-specific result is inferred from the image.

Frequently asked questions

What does 8C mean here?

It identifies the eight-cylinder version; the 12C-36 uses a V12.

What changed from the P3?

The manufacturer identifies independent front and rear suspension, hydraulic brakes and a larger supercharged straight-eight.

How many were built?

This batch’s primary reference does not establish an exact variant production total, so the structured count is left open.

Related vehicle profiles

• Tipo B P3
• 12C 36

Primary references

1. Alfa Romeo: Tipo C history and chassis 50013

Photo and credit

1935 Alfa Romeo 8C-35 photographed at The Quail in 2013; the photograph does not independently establish an individual race-result attribution. Photo: alijava / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0. Resized and JPEG-compressed for web display; no content retouching. Website layouts may crop the image.