Pur Sang Alfa Romeo 8C | Recreating Italy’s Prewar Masterpiece

In our second profile on Pur Sang, we look at Italy’s most celebrated pre-war sports car: the Alfa-Romeo 8C 2300. It might be hard to believe, but Alfa-Romeo was once the world’s standard for sports cars. With the 8C, the company hit its stride in the late ‘20s and early ‘30s. Corporate shuffles, political interference, defection in the ranks, and world war ended Alfa’s dominance. The brand never recovered its former glory, ceding the premium sports car market to the likes of Ferrari, Porsche, and Jaguar.
This episode first aired on /Drive+. Now we've made it available for anyone and everyone to view. Hope you enjoy!
For factory-direct service and to learn more about Pur Sang, visit pursang.us/ or contact John Bothwell by e-mail at [e-mail].
Directed and Edited by Rony Karkar
AC: Ian Norum and Matt Genesis
Music by Rony Karkar
Produced by Andrew Montiveo
Learn more about us at:
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Twitter: goo.gl/DA9lsw
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And always remember: It's good to share.

[@Patrick_B687-3]

Car people don’t need a music bed other than the beautiful engine sound.

[@gerthansen1508]

No car sound in music videos, so why music in videos about cars?!!

[@ed0nei11]

I have one complaint, and it's something that annoys the tar out of me in many car related videos, pls don't drown out the amazing engine noises with music. Other than that, very nice

[@rblbatb]

Beautiful. Pur Sang is an artist. Well done automobiles.

[@fridgemagnet]

that alfa 8c is on my wish list...

[@Biokemist-o3k]

Absolutely Beautiful!!

[@ianclarke3938]

Shot at Jay Leno garage?

[@rudyrod100]

I want one SOOOOooooo Badly!

[@gvba02]

Very nice old pictures in a beautiful film. Please: NO MUSIC!

[@jorge8915]

Amazing

[@RadRidesByCru]

"we're recreating the imperfections of the car" … and hammer marks will be the least of your worries. "When you push it is when you see the soul of the car come out" … and by soul he means crank, rods, pistons, bearings...

[@fridgemagnet]

I doubt it, even when originally built they were reliable, they won le mans 4 times. Pur Sang will build you a car based on your wishes and one of the options they provide is the use of modern steel, cylinder linings,ignition and bearings meaning service intervals are way bigger and reliability is much improved. You won't do much business if you sell a car for half a million dollars and have the engine blow every time the owner drives it as it was intended.

[@RadRidesByCru]

@@fridgemagnet Sure, why not... because 36 Le Mans wins has made Ferrari famous for reliability. Pursang's steel/liners isn't particularly modern, their ignition comes from a 1932 Ford Model B and plain bearings predate roller bearings. Their cars only cost ~$250k and if you poke around you'll find how disappointed owners are with the build quality/reliability. Which is why you can buy a used Pursang for ~$150k.

[@andresbonet2011]

@@RadRidesByCru cry because you don't have money to buy one

[@Johnfly8]

There are quite a few replica car companies that produce very fine automobiles. They are located in different parts of the world.

[@MagicHobo51]

Why post all of these at the same time? should have been bi-weekly or something. Great work regardless.

[@hacknslash42069]

Riley Osborne They have already been released on Drive+ thus have already had releases. This is so everyone can watch for free.

[@cfrincon]

Question, can these newly built cars be made street legal in the U.S?

[@ptriq]

I like how he talks shit about other replicas. But then says we replicated their cars more exactly. Nice cars nonetheless.

[@kevinvernon3600]

Without really using the right words, he's comparing & contrasting "Replica" with "Reproduction". And that's exactly what the Pur Sang cars are - Reproductions. Made from the original blueprints & drawings in exactly the same way, using the same methods & materials. They are making brand new old cars, not something that just happens to look a lot like the old car.

[@banjopete]

Kevin Vernon , well said, saved me a job.

[@RadRidesByCru]

Patrick Santos... exactly. Kevin Vernon can have a semantics argument on the scale of Bill Clinton's, "We have to define what is, is", but at the end of the day John Bothwell is selling a kit car just like everyone else. "Plastic bodies and junk engines" is just an air of superiority created to separate his replicas from others. The irony is, just as Mr. Bothwell looks down at those kit car brands, real Bugatti owners look down on Pur Sang, as their replicas are not allowed join any Bugatti club functions.

[@timh1187]

@@RadRidesByCru From my understanding the owners of the originals make up a good portion of his customer base and are already a member of the bugatti world. Nothing like having the real thing with out the risk of the millions invested. I believe one of these cars costs upwards of 600k the average collector isn't getting one of these either.

[@RadRidesByCru]

Pur Sang's go through Bonham's, Sotheby's, etc. for roughly $100k-$150k. While there are owners of original cars that have a replica, they don't make up a large portion of Pur Sang's customer base as the replicas are held in such disdain by the majority owners of original cars, who won't even attend events that allow Pur Sang's to enter. If you need a more "accessible" comparison, look at how owners of Shelby GT500's look down on owners of "clone" cars... Not many guys who own original GT 500's own a clone as well.

[@garrmann8088]

John Bothwell, you do yourself and your company a great disservice by slating other people's replicas of the unobtainable. The fact is that these 'hideous' cars with their 'plastic bodies' and 'junk engines' serve exactly the same function as a Pur Sang car, i.e. they pay tribute to and represent the owner/builder's passion for the original car, within the constraints of their personal resources. While degrees of authenticity may vary a great deal across the replica world, almost all represent, not only hundreds of hours of toil and more money than can really be afforded but also a labour of love and a great deal of blood sweat and tears to the people who created them. ...And having 'been there and done that', 'any genuine Car Guy' knows this. So rather than be 'appalled', ' they will only ever give a nod of respect to any replica, no matter how humble, that has been hand built with great effort and care and to the best of its creator's ability. I have long admired Pur Sang for their perfect reproductions of these great historic cars - the fact that they cast, forge or fabricate every component, even tyres, exactly as the original's is truly amazing. However, at several hundred thousand USD each, their cars are very much the preserve of the wealthy and just as out of reach as the original cars to everyone else. Only the real thing is the real thing and a Pur Sang is no more the genuine article than a low budget Cobra replica. It is merely a higher (the highest? iteration of a product within the same market and one, thanks to the souring nature of your comments, I now covert a little less.

[@andresbonet2011]

no

[@garrmann8088]

@@andresbonet2011?

[@wazza6942]

Thanks for playing your crap music over the sound of the car. Waste of time