Alfa Romeo 8C 2900 B Corto Touring Spider

Three layers of a coachbuilt identity

This name combines the 8C 2900 B mechanical family, its short-chassis Corto form and Touring spider coachwork. Each layer matters. A car can be a genuine 2900 B without having a short chassis, and a modern open body can resemble a Touring spider without proving its original body-maker attribution.

Corto alongside Lungo

Revs Institute’s account describes road-going 2900 Bs produced from 1937 to 1939 in short and long chassis forms. Its quoted wheelbases are 112 inches for Corto and eight inches more for Lungo. These are retained as the source’s nominal descriptions; they are not converted into an exact millimetre dimension for every coachbuilt spider.

Related engineering, individual specification

Revs identifies the 2900 B’s supercharged 2905 cc straight-eight architecture in its account of a long-chassis berlinetta. That establishes useful family context. The museum’s berlinetta output, weight and dimensions are not copied wholesale into this short-chassis open-body profile. A precise spider specification requires records for its own configuration.

Touring attribution deserves body evidence

The spider form makes body construction and proportions especially visible. Examine how the body is supported and how its panels, doors, bonnet and fenders fit the chassis. For a particular car, coachbuilder records, original delivery photographs and restoration documentation are stronger evidence than a badge installed after rebuilding. Record both the original body history and the configuration seen today.

Rarity without a misleading body count

The Revs account gives a broad small-series description for road-going 2900 Bs across both chassis lengths. It does not provide a Corto Touring Spider production total. This profile leaves that exact field blank. A general family number should not be presented as if it counted only short-wheelbase spiders with one coachbuilder’s body.

The photograph and the collector file

The bundled image depicts a car identified as a 1938 Corto Touring spider on Ocean Avenue in Carmel. Its source has inconsistent event-date labels, so the caption does not assert the event year. The model year is later than the inventory’s 1937 reference. Use the photograph to study a documented example’s form, while relying on records to identify another car’s chassis length and body chronology.

Frequently asked questions

What does Corto mean?

It denotes the short-chassis form, contrasted with Lungo.

Is every open 2900 B a Corto Touring Spider?

No. Chassis length and coachbuilder attribution must be established independently.

Why are some specification fields blank?

The available primary reference describes a Lungo berlinetta; its body-specific measurements are not treated as spider specifications.

Related vehicle profiles

• 8C 2900 A
• 8C 2900 B Lungo Touring Berlinetta

Primary references

1. Revs Institute: Corto and Lungo chassis context

Photo and credit

1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900 B Corto Touring spider on Ocean Avenue in Carmel. The source labels the event 2010, while its date field reads 2013; the event year is not asserted here. Photo: Jay Cross / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0. Resized and JPEG-compressed for web display; no content retouching. Website layouts may crop the image.