Category Archives: Alfa Romeo

Alfa Romeo, Bertone

1969 Alfa Romeo 1750 Berlina

Verdant Vermont, poised for fall but summer holding its ground, is to thank for today's featured vehicle. This Alfa Romeo 2000 Berlina looked too good under the cloudy skies and walls of trees in its for sale shots to pass over. We can just imagine the exhaust crackle bouncing off of the hills on a jaunt through hill and dale on the way into a sleepy New England town.

These Berlinas were meant to top the Alfa Romeo range of sedan offerings. Longer and smoother than the Giulia they are positioned above, the Berlina has a reputation for being a bit less engaging than the Giulia when the rubber hits the road. We'd recommend driving one before turning your nose up - maybe the smoother styling is worth a small reduction in driving enjoyment to you!

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Alfa Romeo, Bertone

1968 Alfa Romeo Giulia GT 1300 Junior

I was reminded of the GT Junior earlier this week when I was out picking up parts for my project from north of the Alps. The man working the VW warehouse I was visiting saw my Verde and offered the GT Junior as his favorite Italian car of all time. As the story went, he used to admire the green example that his neighbor spent a lot of time waxing in their Detroit driveway in the 1970s.

It's fun to imagine what the modern take on a GT Junior would look like. Let's pretend for a moment that Alfa had the cash to actually go through with the Giulia GTV - yeah, they announced it as a future product, but we'll believe it when we see it. So, if the GTV magically appeared on the streets, how would we make a Junior version of it? We'd probably power it with something like the 1.3L GSE powertrain found in the newer Jeep Renegade and Fiat 500X. There, it's good for 177hp in top trim, which seems to be just about right for an entry-level coupe. We can't think of a current 6-speed manual from the FCA parts bin that would make sense for this RWD application, so just use your imagination there. As for wheels, would silver 16" steel wheels look out of place? We think they'd work.

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Alfa Romeo, Bertone

1983 Alfa Romeo Alfa 6

eBay is down this morning, so we took a look at what is currently available on the Italian classifieds. Italian sellers are wise to the worldwide interest in Italian cars that were once outdated and obsolete, and optimistic pricing abounds as a result. On the one hand, it can act as a barrier to entry for some enthusiasts, but on the other hand, the strong pricing has ensured the survival of some unique vehicles without a storied past. For example: today's 1983 Alfa Romeo Alfa 6.

The Alfa 6 is largely based on the Alfetta chassis, adding length and wheelbase to that vehicle's torsion bar double wishbone front and DeDion rear suspension. It shares a rear-mounted transaxle with the Alfetta with LSD as standard, and maintains the Alfettas inboard rear brake configuration. Its namesake V6 engine displaces 2.0L in this tax-avoidance model aimed at the Italian market. 2.5L versions saw the use of a Bosch L-jet fuel-injection system after the 1983 refresh, though the 2.0L versions kept the carburetors of the early cars. An odd feature of the refreshed cars is the Bertone logo on the C-pillar, added when Bertone updated the styling of the cars.

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Alfa Romeo, Giugiaro

1976 Alfa Romeo GT

For a spell, we were convinced that the best way to get a sample of Alfa history was to bridge the gap between the new and the old. New to us was the torsion bar front suspension and DeDion rear suspension with rear transaxle and inboard rear brakes. And old was the venerable 4-cylinder hemi Alfa powertrain. We took one on as a project for our dad, and never managed to piece it together before it became apparent that it was never going to get the attention that it deserved. Then along came a running a driving example that wouldn't require assembly - today's blue Alfetta GT.

We remember late spring snow flurries coming down as we insisted that our dad purchase this clean, low-mileage Texas car in 2016. It came in on a transporter, and while the car was dry as expected, it was pretty apparent that the original paint wouldn't clean up. Add to the fact that 1976 wasn't the best year to be a SPICA car, and the Alfetta was clean, original, and dry, but not the most inspiring car to have taking up a garage space.

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Alfa Romeo, Centro Stile Alfa Romeo, Pininfarina

1995 Alfa Romeo GTV

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We first saw a modern Alfa Romeo GTV in 2006, which was right at the conclusion of a period of daring designs from many of the European brands. Citroen was offering the wild C6 sedan, Fiat had offered the Barchetta and Multipla, and the Smart Roadsters were common on European streets.

In the mid-2000s, designers got around to taming these more radical designs, slicing creases into the smooth bodywork to bring them up to date. The GTV became the Brera, and though that car has a number of satisfying details, we have to award the GTV the prize for chutzpah. A favorite detail of ours is the fact that when the hood is lifted, the headlamps are revealed to be contained within a single housing that the hood had previously separated. The Kamm tail with a 164-style light strip and the sharp body line from front to rear are equally strong styling statements.

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Alfa Romeo, Bertone

1972 Alfa Romeo 2000 Berlina

The Berlina was introduced in 1968, 6 years into the Giulia's run. It was offered alongside its short-wheelbase sibling until 1977. Mechanically very similar, the Berlina sports more staid styling in comparison to the creases and bulges on the Giulia. All things equal, we'd take a Giulia over a Berlina anyway, but the reality is that a good Berlina fetches far less money than a Gulia in similar shape.

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Alfa Romeo

1972 Alfa Romeo Giulia Super 1.3

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Every once in a while we get to visit a certain group of Alfas that has morphed from a personal fleet into a personal collection lately. Ok, it's a collection of Alfas and a few Dinos - Coupe and Spiders, though those always seem to have an engine out and in some level of rebuilding. With a lot of examples of Alfas to take in, we always gravitate toward the Verde Pino Giulia Super parked close to the garage exit.

The old Alfisti could walk you through the model-year changes among the various Giulia offerings with impressive attention to detail. But, as Milano drivers, we know little of the history surrounding the earlier sedans. Super models featured standard features such as Weber carbs, disc brakes at all four corners, and a sporty steering wheel.

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Alfa Romeo, Centro Stile Alfa Romeo

1987 Alfa Romeo Milano Verde

We watched a vey positive video review of an e30 BMW M3 yesterday, and it got us thinking about how our Milano Verde compares to our past 1991 BMW 318is. The 318is isn't quite an M3, lacking very much in power compared to the real deal, and missing the suspension and chassis modifications. But, as a reasonably powerful e30 with the lighter 4-cylinder, the comparison is somewhat valid.

Compared to the e30, our Verde always feels more special - from the sound, to the steering wheel angle, to the lower quality interior, to the way it rolls in corners (by design) - driving the Milano brings such a sense of occasion. We don't doubt that e30 M3s drive better and are worthy of $40k these days, but it's certainly nice that Milanos and Milano Verdes, which are arguably more fun to drive, are still priced somewhat realistically.

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Alfa Romeo

1997 Alfa Romeo 155

It happens to us all the time - one minute, we are minding our own business on our way in to work, and the next we are being chased down by bad actors, forced off the highway and into a fast-paced pursuit through residential areas. We are about to lose the bad guys when we wash out in a turn as we apply the throttle just a moment too soon - FWD strikes again.

Joking aside, our point is that on most drives, we don't push our car to the point where the driven wheels really matter. We might accelerate at 8/10 while entering the highway, might rev match a couple of unnecessary downshifts, and probably will skip braking on a couple of turns, but we never approach the limits of adhesion on most drives. So, for us, a FWD car is never something to shy away from.

Today's Alfa Romeo 155 brings Fiat development cash in the form of the Tipo-based Type Three Fiat platform. We have never driven one and can't attest to the performance of the platform, but we would imagine that Alfa Romeo chassis engineers optimized what they were given, much in the way that they made the 164 perform like a true Alfa Romeo. The vestigial 2.5L Busso V6 is a bonus here, so while the interior and controls have Fiat written all over them, the soundtrack will be unmistakably Alfa Romeo.

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Alfa Romeo, Pininfarina, Uncategorized

1995 Alfa Romeo 164Q

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The typical eBay hunt for Alfas starts by sorting from old to new, and often, sorting by manual transmissions only as well. Automatics are acceptable in two circumstances - with Milanos, because an automatic rear transaxle is too weird to ignore, and on 164s, because according to many, they fit the character of the car very well. Not our first choice, but we can how some might enjoy it. Now, when scrolling through the prospects, there is a distinctive split between 1995 and 2016 where Alfa pulled away from the North American market. It's right at that split that we find the most special 164, the 164 Q.

The 164 platform makes no case for itself on paper - FWD, mid-size, shared with Fiat, Saab, and Lancia - and yet on the road it is one of the most engaging sedans we've driven. Power is available early in all models, the steering is direct and responsive, and the ride is firm but capable of handling potholes. The 164Q improves on the basis of the 164 with a 232bhp 24V version of the Busso V6 and electronically controlled dampers. The dampers we could do without - they're getting difficult to source these days - but the extra maintenance requirements of the 24V V6 are justified by the impressive acceleration. Merging onto the interstate in a 24V 164, you will be tempted to wring out 3rd, if not 4th gear.

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