Sold: The 'uneconomical relic', here driven by an auctioneer at Goodwood Revival Sale, can still hit 165mphIt was crafted by Mussolini to do battle with Nazi Germany.
Deep red, shaped like a bullet, with a top speed of 165mph, its force and precision was unrivaled.
Now, decades on, the Alfa Romeo 8C-35 is setting records again after it sold at auction for almost £6million, making it Europe's second most-expensive car.
Legendary: The Alfa Romeo 8C-35 cast all other
race cars into shadow when it debuted in 1935. Italian star racer Tazio
Nuvolari (pictured) made headlines when he spontaneously leaped in after
his car broke down half way through a race - and still took the title.
The winning motor has now sold for £6million at auction
It was the latest product of a long-standing rivalry between Nazi Germany's racing team and Mussolini's.
In 1933, Adolf Hitler ploughed state funds into the coffers of Mercedes Benz and Audi, who responded with seemingly unbeatable models.
But in time for the Italian Grand Prix, Mussolini commissioned Alfa to launch the 8C-35, and everything changed.
After one race, rivals were shaking behind the wheel.
The groundbreaking car's lucky drivers would routinely leap from fifth place to first in under two minutes.
Immaculate: After 80 years, it is still on top form. For four decades it lay unused in a garage in Buckinghamshire
Wartime: Despite a revamp, the car still retains all of its original features including the gear stick and mirrors
Full throttle: Rivals feared the Italian record-maker, which routinely leaped into pole position from nowhere
The pint-sized racer pushed aside the assigned driver Carlo Pintacuda and zoomed into the lead to take the title - and left a media frenzy trailing in his wake.
Yesterday a besotted buyer could not resist making history again by handing over £5,937,500 for the Alfa Romeo 8C-35 at the Goodwood Revival Sale near Chichester.
The offer beat the previous world record for an Alfa Romeo set in 2010, with a motor enthusiast handing over £4,245,118 for the historical vehicle.
Often regarded as uneconomical relics, Alfa Romeos are the holy grail of motors, according to Jeremy Clarkson, who announced on Top Gear that you have to own one to be a true 'petrolhead'.
But after the war, Mussolini's motor spent almost four decades decades unused.
It was bought by wealthy industrialist Dennis Poore who could drive it whenever and wherever he wanted. He often took it for a spin at local hill climb competitions.
But by 1955 he retired it to a barn at his home in Taplow, Buckinghamshire, where it remained untouched until his death in 1987.
Post-war life: wealthy industrialist Dennis Poore bought the car for his own entertainment but soon tired of it
Rivalry: Mussolini commissioned Alfa Romeo to craft the 8C-35 to beat Hitler's government-funded winning fleet
Star racer: It was the headline act in the Ferrari team before they started producing their own Grand Prix cars
Doug Nye, a motoring historian for Bonhams, said: 'This car is a piece of Italian automotive artistry. It really is an exquisite thing.
'You feel the vibration of it beat through your chest when you are stood alongside it when it is started up. It has a tremendous presence.'
James Knight, director of Bonhams' motoring department, said: 'Once again Bonhams has been privileged to offer a world-beating motorcar and help it to achieve a world-beating price.
'Selling something like this, one is aware that history is a guest at the auction, due to the car's past, its performance today, and what all automotive enthusiasts will say about the car in the future.
'It is more than a car for all of us who are passionate about cars.'
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