Grand touring in a veloce style...

A site full of Alfa Romeos...especially tipo 116 'Alfettas' in Australia

Hi, I'm Rob, and this is a wandering diatribe of sorts, focused on the human and environmental tragedy that is motoring with an Alfa Romeo. I was sucked into the vortex with my first ride in a 105 series Bertone coupe, and blundered from a superb 1.8 Giulietta into an amazing, if flawed, 33ti; only to finally achieve Nirvana with what I wanted all along - a Tipo 116 GTV 2.0. (I should mention the Golfs, the Swift GTis, the Ford Escorts and the Turbo 4WD Laser TX3 as well, but I won't). But this blog could just as well be about bicycles, music, mythology, philosophy, photography or art.

You can check the lot out right here.

Whatever fits: if it has a recommended torque setting, or can be digitised, it's in.


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Friday, August 25, 2006

 

Alfa 75 V6. 5 laps on Laguna Seca

Alfa 75 V6. 5 laps on Laguna Seca

Can't resist... in car at Laguna Seca... V6 75 catches NSX and 2 WRXes

 

Top Gear Alfa 147 GTA Autodelta

Top Gear Alfa 147 GTA Autodelta

Speaking of 147s, how about a GTA?

 

147 replacement in 2008?

It's suggested that the 147 hatch will be replaced by the 149 in 2008... the initial photoshopped images look smoother, rounder than the 147. It is also said to be a 'MINI-killer'. We shall see.

Friday, August 18, 2006

 

Alfa reflections


I always wanted an Alfa GTV so it's no surprise that I have one now in my garage. When I say 'always' I mean from about the age of 17 or so, when the Alfetta GT grew into the 2.0 GTV. I still prefer the 1.8 GT's chrome over the later model GTV's plastic but I found NWV714, a low miles example in 1990 and swapped a turbo 4wd Ford Laser for it and some cash.

Yes folks I preferred a 10 year old Alfa to a new Ford. The Ford was built by Mazda and had lots of Mazda design in it. That's not to say Mazda is bad, but it's bland. Even now I have a Mazda Premacy in the driveway to get the family around. It's safe, reliable and does the job without fuss. That's a Mazda. The Premacy is no sports car to drive or to look at, whereas the Laser Turbo 4wd was both a prettier coupe and quicker than the standard hatch. It made a nice whistle as it spooled up and launched without wheelspin. However it was not that fast (just 160bhp, or 30 more than the GTV). And it was twitchy on the limit. It wasn't as chuckable as other cars and the central diff - a fluid type unit - seemed to muck up the handling somewhat when on the edge of adhesion.

Rather than muck around trying to fix the Mazda/Ford, I went back to Alfa. No more broad expanses of dull grey plastic. No more simply functional controls and seats; instead I fancied faux-Recaro, some fake wood (maybe it's a real veneer?) and a Momo wheel that looked right at home, rather than an afterthought.

The pluses go on and on. Ride - firm but supple. Handling - absolutely balanced. Traction - magnificent, especially on tight twisty stuff where the turbo had traction but fell out of the power band. Maybe a WRX is better but we didn't have WRXes in Oz back when I bought the MazFord. They were coming, but I didn't wanna wait. And when the turbo 4wd thrill was found wanting I found myself reverting to a dream that I had been having since the 1970s - to own an Alfa coupe.

Seems silly now, with climate change and what have you, but I still get a kick out of older Alfas. Just standing next to the GTV is a thrill - it's so low. Getting in is an experience. Sitting inside you feel the history and the barking, vibrating cough of starting that timeless carbie 4 is unforgettable. Do you get that kind of kick out of any modern cars?




Tuesday, August 08, 2006

 

Driving and all that

I am getting more depressed. Cars are looking and feeling more like appliances every day; they get fatter, taller and more unloveable by the minute and worst of all they consume fossil fuels in their manufacture, distribution and even - would you believe - when driven!

How do we break this pattern? Electric cars? Still need to make the car, and the electricity too. Hydrogen cars - well ditto, basically. But it's worse... you need to make the car, plus you need to make the hydrogen! How do you make hydrogen? You split water apart into its constituent atoms. How do you do that, with a hammer??

See why I'm depressed?

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We do try to cover our costs by selling mugs, teeshirts, hats, bags, stickers and images...
addicted2wheels Large Mug
The A2W large mug!
gtveloce Large Mug
The GTVeloce mug!
gtveloce Large Mug
OODB large mug!
gtveloce Large Mug
The Tipo116 large mug!
gtveloce Large Mug
Yet another mug!




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