People look at a 1939 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Lungo Touring Spider displayed at Sotheby's in New York City, New York, U.S. July 21, 2016. The car, unveiled in a pre-publicity showing in New York on Thursday, is expected to sell for more than US$15 million – and could set a record for the most money ever paid for a pre-war auto at auction. “This is a personal favourite of mine, the 1939 Alfa Romeo is one of the grandest pre-war cars ever built”, said Ian Kelleher, managing director, RM Sotheby's US West Coast division. “You can achieve speeds in excess of 100 miles an hour in this car. This was a car that was designed to be a race car but then clothed in very light weight coachwork so that you basically could do anything you want with it. You can race it, you can take it out at night, it's the best of both worlds in that respect, and the embodiment, in a lot of ways, of what pre-war Italian manufacturing in the classic car world, was about”. (Photo by Brendan McDermid/Reuters)





A 1939 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Lungo Touring Spider is displayed at Sotheby's in New York City, New York, U.S. July 21, 2016. (Photo by Brendan McDermid/Reuters)





The speedometer of a 1939 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Lungo Touring Spider is displayed at Sotheby's in New York City, New York, U.S. July 21, 2016. (Photo by Brendan McDermid/Reuters)





A 1939 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Lungo Touring Spider is displayed at Sotheby's in New York City, New York, U.S. July 21, 2016. (Photo by Brendan McDermid/Reuters)





A 1939 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Lungo Touring Spider is displayed at Sotheby's in New York City, New York, U.S. July 21, 2016. (Photo by Brendan McDermid/Reuters)





“Superleggera” is seen on the hood of a 1939 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Lungo Touring Spider displayed at Sotheby's in New York City, New York, U.S. July 21, 2016. (Photo by Brendan McDermid/Reuters)





People look at a 1939 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Lungo Touring Spider displayed at Sotheby's in New York City, New York, U.S. July 21, 2016. (Photo by Brendan McDermid/Reuters)





The grill of a 1939 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Lungo Touring Spider is displayed at Sotheby's in New York City, New York, U.S. July 21, 2016. (Photo by Brendan McDermid/Reuters)





The interior of a 1939 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Lungo Touring Spider is displayed at Sotheby's in New York City, New York, U.S. July 21, 2016. (Photo by Brendan McDermid/Reuters)