STORY OF THE DAY: Dreyfus Completes Ferrari’s Livorno Sweep

René Dreyfus finished third in the 1936 Coppa Ciano at Livorno with the number 60 Alfa Romeo 8C-35. Tazio Nuvolari won after taking over another eight-cylinder Alfa, Antonio Brivio placed second, and Dreyfus completed a Scuderia Ferrari sweep of the podium. The result carried particular weight because the Italian team overcame the visiting Auto Unions in one of the season’s most important non-championship races.

The contest changed when Nuvolari’s original 12C suffered a broken rear axle. He returned to the pits and took over Carlo Pintacuda’s 8C-35, rejoining well behind before mounting a remarkable recovery. Amid that drama, Dreyfus delivered the disciplined race the team required, keeping his own eight-cylinder car in contention and securing third as Ferrari converted early misfortune into a comprehensive result.

The 8C-35 belonged to Alfa Romeo’s Tipo C generation and used a supercharged straight-eight in an independently suspended chassis. Its Dubonnet-type front suspension and rear swing axles represented a significant departure from the P3’s rigid-axle layout. Though less powerful than the Auto Union Type C and Alfa’s own 12C, the eight-cylinder car offered a more familiar and manageable balance on Livorno’s demanding mixture of urban roads and fast sections.

René Dreyfus was French and had been a prominent Grand Prix driver since defeating the favoured factory Bugattis at Monaco in 1930. As a Scuderia Ferrari driver, he combined speed with the consistency needed when delicate pre-war machinery had to survive long races. His third place at the Coppa Ciano is sometimes overshadowed by Nuvolari’s comeback, but it was essential to the clean sweep that defined Ferrari’s day.