March Meeting George & Dragon, Thringstone Weds 8 March, 7.30pm

Features a special presentation from ex-Prodrive

vehicle dynamics ace and brains behind the

Prodrive Brera S project, Peter Cambridge,

including. Q&A. No need to book. Bar meals

available.

Breakfast Club Meet George & Dragon, Thringstone Sunday 19 March, 9.30am

A full English with tea or coffee for

just £6 and a great chance for us to

chat around our cars. Weather

permitting at 11.30 we will have a

convoy drive around the lanes too.

See more on page 2 inside.

Great opportunity for people to

come along who haven’t before!

You’ll be very welcome.

@AROCeastmids

Alfisti is edited and produced by

John Griffiths AROC East Midlands Section Secretary

Tel: 0774 8881317

Email: john.griffiths@aroc-uk.com

See our website for all the latest . .

www.AROC-UK.com/EastMids

Alfisti is sponsored by

Well January felt like it was 16 weeks long and

February much the same. Much of the time driving

is far from pleasurable either with the greasy, salt-

caked roads, gritters, iced-up windows, and when

the sun finally comes out it’s so low in the sky it

takes your retinas out! Still, March is here, one of

my favourite months of the year with daffodils

appearing and things feeling on the up.

Awaiting my Giulia (how the time drags waiting for

that!) as you’ll see on the back page, Paul and the

guys at Chris Variava found a buyer for my lovely

blue Giulietta early, so I’ve had the fun of driving a

new Giulietta 1.6 120hp TCT Tecnica version for a

few weeks. This is targeted at business buyers but

is really well specified for what’s close to entry level

price at just over 20K. You get a lot of car for the

money and the TCT set-up is perfectly matched to

the engine. It’s really economical (50 average

including some motorway runs) and bombs along

too! Nearly 7 years in and the Giulietta still has

some tricks, which is good as the replacement is

still a couple of years off. There are questions

around the MiTo production life though. I’ve read

on some Italian news websites that production will

be winding down in May as the Mirafiori plant in

Turin converts for other FCA Group cars. There’s no

direct replacement planned, and for me that’s a

real shame. I still love driving Maria’s Mito, and

once the winter grime is washed off, to me it still

looks lovely and fresh too. There’s rumour of a new

’baby’ Alfa SUV taking over its role, Nissan Juke size

and starting at around 20K. I’m still a fan of front-

drive hatchbacks though and that won’t be quite

the same. FCA are looking to Abarth for that

introductory role, but that’s just not an Alfa, great

fun as the 595s are of course. We will see what

happens as always!

The Stelvio has landed in Europe with the ‘First

Edition’ (2Litre 280hp 4wd T-4 petrol turbo)

available to order now. For its type I think it’s an

attractive car and should prove very profitable for

the brand. Expect it here late-summer priced close

to the Giulia.

Back on Club business, well, there’s loads to look

forward to! We’ve got our March meeting on the

8th with Peter Cambridge now confirmed to give a

talk on the art of making cars drive well. It’s over 2

years since he last did one of these for us and we

are looking forward to catching up on what he’s

been doing and to hear more fascinating insights

into vehicle engineering.

On 19 March, we’ve a new one; a Sunday

morning ‘Breakfast Club ‘meeting at the George &

Dragon, perfect for a full English and a good natter

around our cars. See page 2 details. It’s a great

opportunity for first-timers to come along to too.

We still have space for our trip to Rolls-Royce

Heritage Centre too (see right), please drop me a

line to book, it is free to our members.

There, I feel all motivated for the

better weather now… see you soon! John

Spring is in the air

THE OFFICIAL

ALFA ROMEO

OWNERS CLUB

EAST MIDLANDS

NEWSLETTER

INSIDE

Visit to Morgan

Feb Curry Night

Giulia Experience

Alfa Rarities

Our Cars

■ Issue 195 ■ March 2017

Coming up . . .

Stelvio ‘First Edition’ is now available in Europe

Mark Gunston on track at Curborough Sprint Circuit last year. We return in April.

Gazetta

News Snippets

FADED OR CHIPPED BADGES?

Nothing lifts the look of an older Alfa than

a fresh set of badges. Official replace-

ments can be quite pricey, often upwards

of £35 for the swivel boot badges on

things like 916s, but nowadays high-

quality stick-over versions are readily

available on eBay for around £6 each.

They are aluminium-backed and thin

enough to simply stick over the old ones

without standing proud. Also available in

the latest ‘2015’ style.

ALFA COUPÉ TO DEBUT AT GENEVA?

There’s a very strong rumour on a number

of trustworthy websites that Alfa Romeo

will show a special coupe concept car at

the big European show in mid March.

Importantly, it’s likely to be a vision of the

special coupé that’s been hinted at,

probably based on the forthcoming

Maserati Alfieri, rather than a ‘4-Series’

style Giulia coupé as per the image here.

NEED TO JOIN THE

CLUB?

It take seconds

online at www.aroc-

uk.com.

Cost is £42.50 pa, or

£32.50 for over 65s

and full-time

students, plus the

joining fee of £7.50

to cover admin.

You can save

another £2.50 by signing up to Direct

Debit - a single payment and you get a

reminder well in advance of renewal.

Alternatively, drop John a line and he will

send you a joining form. You can save that

£7.50 by joining at one of the club’s big

events, like Spring Alfa Day. NO extra

charge for being part of our East Midlands

Section. You get 6 big A4 magazines p.a.,

and a host of other benefits. See more on

the main website: www.aroc-uk.com

Date Activities

Weds 8 March

2017, 7.30pm

Meeting Night at The George & Dragon, Thringstone. Delighted to

announce that Vehicle Dynamics expert, formerly of Prodrive (‘Brera

S project lead) Peter Cambridge will be along with a tech talk and

also open to questions. Peter was last with us over 2 years ago of

course, in which time he’s still been working with MG.

*** NEW ***

Sunday 19

March 2017,

From 9.30am

Breakfast Club Meet at The George & Dragon, Thringstone. Enjoy a

full English with coffee/tea at our regular meeting place for just £6.

Weather permitting, we’ll have an optional convoy run too. People

can book for a Sunday lunch there if they fancy as well.

Ideal for people who have not been to one of our meetings before.

Monday 20

March 2017.

POSTPONED

Rolls Royce Heritage Centre Visit.

POSTPONED…

Sadly the facility’s refurbishment will not be completed in time for

our planned visit. We will re-arrange to a date later this year.

(We’re also organising a visit to Triumph Motorcycles in Hinckley.)

Weds 12 April

2017, 7pm

Monthly Meeting at The George & Dragon in Thringstone. It’s the

first light evening of the year, but do bring a brolly just in case! Our

local Autoglym franchise will be in attendance too with some great

bargains, ideal for the car show season ahead. We had a terrific

gathering of over 40 Alfas in April last year, don’t miss it!

Weds 19 April

2017

(Limited space

left! Get in

quick!!)

Curborough Circuit Experience – Thanks to El Presidenté, George

Cole, cars from our Section take on the challenges of this tight and

twisting circuit – the Nurburgring of the Midlands. £30 non-

returnable deposit required to book your place. Please contact

John. (NOTE – overall hire cost will be divided by all drivers who

take to the track. Spectators free. Cost @ £66 each.)

Sunday 23

April 2017

AROC Spring Alfa Day - Yorkshire Wildlife Park, Branton, Old

Cantley, Doncaster DN4 6TB. Over 500 Alfas expected. Our Section

convoy run to this big event meets at M1 J25 Trowell services

(northbound) planning to depart at 8.30am. Discount tickets are

available via www.aroc-uk.com with savings for AROC members.

Fri 28 April ‘17

Sat 29 April ‘17

Friday 28 April - Auto Italia Driving Experience at the Longcross

Test Track in Surrey. AROC display parking & for additional charge

you can take part in controlled laps with pace cars in groups.

Sat 29 April - Auto Italia Spring Italian Car Day – Brooklands,

Surrey. Hundreds of Italian cars expected and a big AROC

gathering. Do arrive early to ensure parking with other Alfas. See

test hill runs and demo laps on adjacent Mercedes World track.

*** NEW ***

Sunday 30 April

2017

Donington Historic Festival - Features Alfa Romeos racing in

various classes plus LOADS of glorious Classic racing cars. AROC

infield parking and display area on all days of the event (Friday 28

– Sunday 30), but our main presence will be on Sunday 30th.

Special AROC “2 for 1 in 1 car” ticket discount code via JOHN.

You must buy tickets in advance to park infield with AROC.

AROC East Midlands Section Events - up May 2017

The Small Print: Alfisti is the newsletter of the Alfa Romeo Owners’ Club UK East Midlands Section. Alfa Romeo Owners’ Club UK ltd cannot endorse or recommend services or products advertised in its publications. Any opinions published in ‘Alfisti’ or its sister website, Twitter account and Facebook group are personal ones. Alfa Romeo Owners’ Club Ltd registered Number 01106134. Please contact John Griffiths if you have any queries about the Club or our active local Area Section. See cover for contact details. Chris Variava Alfa Romeo Nottingham kindly supports the cost of Alfisti’s printed production.

ALFISTI - AROC East Midlands Section Newsletter March 2017- Issue 195

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Breakfast Club Meet

19 March from 9.30am

At The George & Dragon,

Thringstone

Ideal for first-timers!

Something different in March - we’re going to have a morning meeting at our normal monthly meeting

venue, the George & Dragon in Thringstone. (In addition to our regular ‘second Wednesday in the month’

meeting on 8 March.) Meeting from 9.30am on the Sunday, Chef Josh will put on a Full English with Coffee/

tea for just £6 a head. Food served through to about 10:30. The idea is we can have a good natter around

our Alfas in the car park/paddock area through to about 11.30. Weather permitting we will then have an

optional convoy drive around the local lanes. If people want to stay later for a Sunday lunch there they are

free to, simply book at the bar. In any case, do wrap up warm and bring a brolly!! Do let me know if coming.

This will be a perfect event to attend if you’ve not joined us before - you will be made very welcome! John

Cars at the first breakfast meet up at the G&D in June last year.

It was great to have the gang back together in

February for the Curry Night, though several of

the regular crew were away. Chefs Josh and

Paul did us proud again with a great selection of

curried dishes with ll the trimmings. The 38 of us

there took over both back rooms, bit of pity it’s

not just one big one, but we coped fine. Great to

welcome some new members too: Carl Foster

from Heather who has a fabulous red 147 GTA

and Alan and Sue Brown from Hucknall who’ve

just had a lovely new white Giulietta 1750 Veloce

from Chris Variava’s. Talking of whom, we had

Paul, Aaron, Tom and Matthew along from CV’s,

Aaron taking Alan out for a promised spin in the

4C Spider - Alan was suitably impressed!

We had a bit of extra entertainment with it

being Leicester v Derby in the FA Cup on the TV

too - so the bar was quite busy. (It was the right

result anyway.)

Being freezing cold we didn’t spend any time

outside with the cars, but we had plenty of

convivial chat as always - and there was even

enough food for seconds! Can’t go wrong.

We’ll be back for two visits in March as you

can read on the Events page. Looking forward to

both, let’s hope winter weather behaves itself by

then! Once again thanks to all for coming and

making it such an enjoyable evening.

John

Curry Night

Our February Meeting

The Big Twist

Alfa’s Diesel Developments

Alfa are diesel experts. The company were the first to introduce Common Rail

technology and first with Multijet high pressure injection. The first Alfa with the

JTD engine was the 156 2.4. I remember first driving one, just 136bhp, but

229lbs/ft of torque made it feel incredibly ‘gutsy’ against the Twin-Sparks. No

particulate filter however meant above 4,000 rpm on boost things could get a

bit smoky at the back! 45mpg was easily achievable though and the 5-cyl

engine made a great noise. The 4-cyl 1.9 units were a lot lighter and more

efficient, the 1,9 16v in the 147 and GT were true performance machines. The

2.4 unit was steadily developed, many reckoning the 156 with the 175hp 20v

version to be a wonderful mix. The 159 brought 300lbs/ft and 210PS, and it

was truly fast if thirsty pulling that car’s weight. Alfa has an all new ‘MultiJet 2’

unit now, all aluminium 2.2L with twin balancer shafts for smoothness, ultra-

high injection pressure (2000PSI) and headline torque 12% above the direct

competition. It’s a quick car, RWD helping off-the-line. No nasty fluids to be

added either to hit Euro 6 emissions. However, with the increasing clamp-down

there’s a feeling hybrids will replace them within a short few years. John

CAR Year Power Torque 0-62 Top Speed

Giulia 2.2 180 JTD2 2016 180PS 332lbs/ft 6.8 143

159 2.4 20v JTD 2010 210PS 300lbs/ft 8.1 141

159 2.0 16v JTD 2010 170PS 270lbs/ft 8.8 135

159 1.9 16v JTD 2006 150PS 240lbs/ft 8.9 131

156 2.4 20v JTD 2004 175PS 284lbs/ft 8.3 140

156 1.9 16v JTD 2004 140PS 224lbs/ft 9.3 130

156 2.4 10v JTD 1997 136PS 229lbs/ft 9.2 126

Concours Class

Keith Krog and his ’old’ GTV6 3 Litre

This terrific photo was shared on social media by a friend of our

Section Regular Keith Krog. Keith lived in South Africa with his family

for many years and was an official ‘Alfista’ out there from a very

young age. Alfa Romeo built cars out there in the 70’s and 80’s near

Pretoria and later Brits, so they were not as uncommon as you might

think. There was, and still is, a thriving Alfa Owners Club.

Now, probably the greatest of the South African Alfas was this one,

the mid-1980s GTV6 3 Litre. This GTV was built as a homologation

special, designed to take on - and beat - the dominant BMW 535s in

the South African Group One Touring Cars Championship. It proved

hugely successful.

Initially the bored-out Busso V6 had a bank of six Delortto

carburettors, but the later ones had injection. Just 206 were built

(OK, some say 212, but it’s a low number), in either white or red, and

Keith was a lucky owner of one as pictured here, He was clearly

serious about that concours contest with the wheels off! Keith being

Keith though, the car wasn’t just a show pony; picture clouds of dust

behind it blasting along empty roads, the Busso singing at 6,500

rpm… John

ALFISTI - AROC East Midlands Section Newsletter March 2017- Issue 195

Photos will give you a feel of the evening… even then I can’t fit everyone in. Plus those at the bar of course! Great view of Aaron’s beard above. I think we need a nickname. Suggestions on a postcard to...

Visit to Morgan Morgan Motor Company, Malvern

ALFISTI - AROC East Midlands Section Newsletter March 2017- Issue 195

We’ve had several visits to Morgan over the years,

last one 3 years ago, and it’s incredible to see the

advances being made in production whilst keeping

the tradition and craftsmanship in these wonderful

cars. Thanks to Section member Viv Stephens who

does engineering consultancy there, our group of 20

were all allowed in for free (saving £20 each) and

also had a free breakfast! As an extra special thing,

Viv had arranged for the Morgan MD Steve Morris

and technical director Graham Chapman to come

and chat to us before the tour and to do a

presentation ahead of the introductory film.

The tour now benefits from us all having digital

earpieces meaning you miss nothing the volunteer

guide has to say. The tour takes you from start to

finish of production around this 90 year-old site. It’s

an amazing fusion of pre-war (1st World War!)

techniques and the very latest design and

production. A lot more of the manufacture takes

place off-site nowadays, with superform aluminium

playing a big role in the special ‘top model’ AeroMax

and the classic cars’ front wings. Nowadays the

waiting list is around 2 years, down from 5-7 20

years ago, yet production is at 1200 cars pa - 70-

80% for export. With the recent fall in Sterling, sales

are now booming! We saw the 3-wheeler just

entering production last time, now it’s the all-electric

3 wheeler - it’s a stunning looking thing! The 4-

seater 4/4 is now a casualty to the needs for child-

seats. Production development and crash testing

costs outweighing the likely sales profits. The base

car - the 4/4 at @36K has a 1.6 110hp Ford

Duratec unit with a 5-speed MX5 ‘box. Above that

the Plus 4 has a 2L154hp Duratec unit (@39K),

then the Roadster with a 3.7 V6 Ford Mustang unit

with 300hp - at £49K. The Supercars come in then

with the monster BMW 4.8 V8 engines with 370 hp

(the cam covers get Morgan logos not BMW in

finished from.). The cars have ABS but no traction

control. The Aluminium chassis of these two are

remarkable. Super-high strength and very light, they

still have some ash components, but mainly around

the cockpit. The smaller classic models have steel

ladder-frame chassis, nowadays powder-coated

rather than galvanised. The (rarher crude) rear live

axles are from Holden but made in Thailand. The

front suspension is by sliding pillars, complete with

grease-nipples that need attention every 1,000

miles. The ‘wood shop’ is always great to see. We

saw the skilled craftsmen also building the display

stand for the upcoming Geneva Motor Show! A

masterpiece. All the wood is ash and comes from a

200-acre site in Lincolnshire. New technology is

evident though with the latest 3D Printers and

aluminium cutting machines. Around the site, we

saw the paint shop (you can still order any colour

you like!) The trim shop has a wonderful smell of

leather with the lady machinists in full flow too. The

finishing area is a delight too - craftsmen applying

final fettling, machine polishing and so on. In the 3-

Wheeler building we could get really close to the

cars too - orders are very healthy for these 33K cars.

If you want one in highly-polished Aluminium finish

it’s a cool extra £14K!

At the end of the tour we had a perusal of the new

museum area, then the shop, which has lots of

tempting items from little model cars to beautiful

leather bags and jackets. Looking at a matt-silver

Roadster in the way out it was just itching to be

jumped into and taken for a good thrash, hood down

of course. You can really see the appeal, then the

sound of that thumping V8 with sports side-pipes in

the Aeromax - wow. I think I’ll combine both and

take a 4.8 V8 Plus 8 OK, £76,800 starting price,

but what a machine!

Thanks again to Viv Stephens for organising our

very special visit and to all the team at Morgan. We

will return! John

Above; MD Steve Morris addressing us at the start Above, our tour guide introduces the latest 3 wheeler. Above, mighty 370hp 4.8Litre BMW power for Plus 8 and Aeromax

Above; Plus 8 in build. Above, in the display hall, inc Le Mans racers Above, stunning Pearl White Plus 8 in final PDI area.

ALFISTI - AROC East Midlands Section Newsletter March 2017- Issue 195

This 3 day Historic Car racing event has grown in stature

over the past six years and it’s now firmly established as a

major fixture on the international historic racing calendar,

attracting many thousands of spectators, hundreds of world-

class historic racing cars and huge numbers of classic car

club displays. Various Alfa Romeos will feature in many races

across the event.

AROC will have a special display parking area on the infield

for members in ANY age of Alfa and for the Sunday we’ll be

making a particular effort on the display with the Club Van

and events gear in attendance. AROC supported the similar

VSCC ‘See Red’ event there for many years in the 00’s, this

one is even bigger and better now,

The Club members discount code is available via John.

Allows 2 for price of 1 attending in 1 Alfa. Tickets must be

purchased before 5pm on Sunday 23 April.

For tickets and more details see: www.doningtonhistoric.com

NB: You must buy advance tickets to park in the AROC area!

Donington

Historic Festival

AROC focus - 30 April

Section members might remember the AROC displays in the infield at Donington Park for the VSCC ‘See Red’ events. Here some of the red Alfa display area back in 2005. The last edition was ‘06 which was a bit of a swamp!

I arrived at Millbrook at 9am with my friend

Richard who’s seriously looking at buying a Giulia

QF. The frost cancelled the ride down in the Ferrari

but a Range Rover Vogue ain’t bad… We were soon

whisked from the parking area in a fleet of

Giuliettas (so I felt at home already) to the Alfa

Hospitality Centre where after coffee we were split

into groups and Richard & I were assigned to two

Giulias, each with a pro driver. A white diesel

Speciale and a red QF.

I drove the Speciale first. Off we went round the

banked oval, the pro. driver encouraging me to go

faster and to climb into the outside lane. First

impression is the car is so easy to drive and rock

steady at very high speeds. 120mph came up

effortlessly, and this was “only” the diesel Speciale!

I also overtook Richard's QF.

After 2 laps we then swapped cars so I got my

hands (slightly shaking) on the QF to do another 2

laps of the banked track. What a car! The

performance is electric with no hysterics. Even with

all that power the QF is easy to drive. The auto 8

speed box is fantastic. Although I would love to try

the paddle shifts I doubt if for mere mortals like me

they are necessary.

Next was the 1 mile straight & 'emergency stop".

I'm still in the QF and on his signal told by Ross the

pro. driver to 'floor it' to 100mph and when he

shouts 'stop' to hit the brakes as hard as I can but

only hold the steering wheel with my fingertips. With

'warp factor 9 ' acceleration 100mph came up very

quickly and on command I hit the brakes. The car

just stopped in an amazingly short distance staying

straight & true. Without getting too technical, the

brains of the car know everything each wheel is

experiencing and makes the minute adjustments to

keep it stable even telling the rear wheel that e.g..

the front wheel has hit a bump and making the

appropriate braking and suspension adjustment

before the rear wheel arrives a split second later!

We swapped cars again and repeated the

exercise in the 'Speciale'. This was also impressive

as the whole Giulia range has most of the

technology the Quadrifoglio has, if not the optional

carbon brakes.

And then to the 'Alpine' circuit. This is like a mini-

Nurburgring. With expert running commentary

instruction from my pro. Driver, I pushed the

Speciale round those blind, undulating corners

much faster than I would have dared by myself. The

Giulia is such a well-balanced car that it takes the

Alpine track in its stride, It will be a joy to drive on

country lanes.

Again we switched cars with me driving the QF.

My instructor Ross was, sensibly, not so keen for me

to attack the track in the QF encouraging me to

drive within my limits rather than the car's. For

those who have seen the video of the QF at

Millbrook, Ross is driving the Giulia that takes off!

(Still image captured here.) Ross also made the

salient point that Millbrook is not a race track

marshalled and lined by Armco and with wide run

off areas. I noted at least one corner on the Alpine

circuit edged by a narrow grassy slope then

substantial pine trees; very unforgiving even with

the Giulia's market-leading safety features.

Both Giulias I drove are fantastic and the QF can

only be described as awesome, but it does cost a

great deal more than the Speciale. After the driving

we had a presentation on the car’s design and its

unique fully integrated power, braking and

suspension technology which talk to each other

through a central 'brain'.

To finish the day on a high we were driven round

the handling circuit by one of the pro drivers in an

Alfa 4C. I chose the red one and with helmet in

place I said hello to my helmeted driver, put my belt

on and we set off. That is an under-statement! My

immediate thought was my driver had escaped from

the local asylum determined to kill us! I was

convinced that as we approached the first 3 corners

that no way could the 4C stay on the track at those

speeds. The driver was calmly telling me about the

car and its behaviour but he might as well have

been reciting the Lord's Prayer - I was! After half a

lap I realised we weren't going to crash and the guy

knew what he was doing. Although the contents of

my stomach didn't. After another spine-tingling lap

at unbelievable speeds we pulled into Park Ferme

for a brief chat. "I'm Martin" says the driver. I looked

& heard that Irish accent. Bloody hell, I've only been

driven for 2 laps by Martin Donnelly ex- Lotus F1

driver! (You may recall he suffered a terrible

accident at the Spanish Grand Prix in 1990). What

an amazing experience and something to tell my

Grandson. To summarise, the day was fantastic.

Both Richard & I think the Giulia is brilliant and

ahead of its German competition. If things align

then the marque has a sure winner and is on the

road back to the glory days. Thanks to Alfa UK, Paul

Jones at Chris Variava & John Griffiths.

Wes Harkcom

Giulia Experience

Millbrook Proving Grounds

By Wes Harkcom.

Photos via Alfa UK

Alfa Rarities

Hidden Italian Gems

Part of the delight of Alfa Romeo is the

sheer volume of models the company has

produced. Of course, pre-war there were

simply dozens, especially as Alfa’s race-

bred running gear allowed the perfect base

for the specialist Carrozeria to add special

body work. Now, come the world of mass-

production from 1950 on, there were still

plenty of sensational cars made, and some

real oddities! Here’s a look at a few. Some

you will never see outside of the Museo

Storico in Milan or other collections, others

you might just be lucky to spot this year at

an AROC or AROC-supported event. John

TZ3 Zagato Corsa, To celebrate Alfa's 100

years, Zagato designed a one-off car that was

first presented at, and won, the

2010 Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este in Italy.

This unique car, based on the Alfa Romeo 8C

Competizione, was made for German

collector Martin Kapp and is not intended for

sale or for competitions.

The car weighs 850 ) thanks to its carbon

fiber frame and hand beaten aluminium body

and has 420 hp (313 kW) dry sump V8 4.2

litre engine. Top speed of over 186mph and

0-62 in 3.5 secs

1956 Alfa Romeo 1900 C Super Sprint was an elegant coupe developed from Alfa Romeo’s first true mass

production car, the 1900 which was introduced in 1950. All 1900s are incredibly rare now—the black car

above (a 1900 Super) belongs to Quentin Butler from our Section, pictured here at last year’s NEC Classic

Motor Show. It is the only car of its type known in the UK! Production in Milan continued until 1959: a total

of 21,304 were built, including 17,390 of the saloons. The chassis was specifically designed to allow

coachbuilders to re- body and a considerable number did. The Touring –designed Super Sprint above being

one of the most famous. A tremendously graceful car, it would have been an absolute sensation in its time.

The developed 1975cc twin-cam engine producing around 115hp, it would have had a great turn-of speed.

Values of all of these cars have sky-rocketed, even ‘barn-finds’ ripe for restoration.

Launched in 1979, the Alfa 6 was the

flagship of the Alfa Romeo range. The four-

door body was conventional and similar style

to the existing Alfetta, and both cars share a

great many parts, including door panels.

Design work on the 6 was done prior to the

Alfetta but the 1973 fuel crisis delayed

further development. It was a very

conventional design with an average darg co-

efficient for the time. Power came from the

all-new ‘Busso’ 2.5 V6 engine giving156bhp

at 5,600 rpm using six individual

carburettors(!) Power steering, and a 25%

limited slip differential were standard along

with electric windows and mirrors, central

locking, all uncommon in the competition as

standard. The 6 was also designed to set

new standards in safety including a rear-

impact fuel cut-off. Sadly, it just didn’t sell

and today a mere handful remain. A

fascinating beast anyway.

Four years after launching the Alfasud for the

compact-car sector, in 1975 Alfa Romeo

decided to introduce a 3-door estate version

of this model called the Giardinetta. This

version was never imported to the UK, but

carried on production for Europe through to

1981, Deleted then owing to the rise of

hatchback competition.

1959 Alfa

Romeo

Giulietta Sprint

Zagato is a

super-light

aluminium-

bodied car.

Just 218 were

made, plus 18

longer-tailed

‘Coda Tronca’

versions. The

1300cc twin cam produced 100hp and made the car a

great success when raced in its class as they were so

light. Survivors are now worth well into six figures. Sadly

this value means they are now rarely if ever seen at AROC

or other Italian car gatherings.

The Alfa Romeo Scighera is a fully working, futuristically styled concept car designed and constructed

by Italdesign of Turin in 1997. The Scighera was derived from the 164, and has an all aluminium body and its

frame structure is made of an aluminium-carbon-fibre-reinforced polymer composite. It was powered by

an Alfa Romeo 3.0 L twin turbo V6 ‘Busso’ engine producing around 400bhp at a quoted 7,500rpm. This car

accelerates from 0-60 mph in 3.7 seconds. The Scighera had a top speed of 186 mph, stability helped by its

all wheel drive system was derived from the 155 Q4. Italdesign was considering a small-scale production run

and even a race version, but it sadly nothing came to fruition, It’s a quite remarkable car, and a personal

favourite of mine dating from the late 1990’s computer game ‘Need for Speed 3’. Oh if that engine made it

to a mainstream production model too. . .

ALFISTI - AROC East Midlands Section Newsletter March 2017- Issue 195

The Alfa 156 Crosswagon Q4 made its debut

in 2004, late in the cars life. Fitted with the

150-hp 1.9L JTD diesel engine and an all-

new Torsen C four-wheel drive system it was

designed as a medium-premium terrain

vehicle with aluminium bumper and door

protection and raised suspension. A good

looking car, production ceased in 2006. A

very rare sight in UK as LHD import only.

1966 Alfa

2600

Sprint

Zagato.

The normal

‘2600

Sprint’

coupé is

rarity

enough,

but only

105 SZ

variants were built. The straight-6 cylinder triple carb

engine was tuned to 145hp, so a brisk, and quite large,

car in its day. Sadly many of these are now locked away

or just displayed as museum pieces, but what a stylish

classic beauty. Ever seen one?

Scratch Removal Kit For 2017, Autoglym has launched an all-

new ‘Retail’ scratch removal kit. It is

comprised of a tube of cutting compound

and a special ‘puck’ type pad, similar to

one you’d use with a dual action polishing

machine, plus a small bottle of Super

Resin Polish and a good quality microfibre.

This is really designed for removing marring and light scratches, not

those that have gone through to base coat or ones you can really feel

with a fingernail. You can spot those; spray with soapy water and if they

don’t disappear you know it’s too deep. You’ll need professional help

with those. To use, after thoroughly washing the car, you apply a couple of blobs to the pad, then,

using fairly firm pressure, wipe up and down then side to side for around 30 seconds. Next, wipe

the residue away. If scratches are still noticeable you repeat the process.

To finish off you use the classic Super Resin Polish to bring all areas of the panel to a nice shine

with a layer of protection. The kit’s RRP is £16.99, a good addition to the range. John

FCA to halve debts

in 2017 Fiat Chrysler Group boss Sig

Marchionne (pictured) has stated that

the target is to halve the operation’s

debts of $4.6Bn this year, and to do

that through strong sales in the

booming SUV and Crossover market. His ultimate goal is to clear them

completely by the time he steps down in 2018. That is some feat. Alfa

Romeo will play a key part in that with it’s premium sector Stelvio

coming in just under the Maserati Levante. Jeep has its new Compass

ready to go, a very well thought out car, and well priced too coming in

under the Cherokee, and about to go on sale in over 100 countries!

There’s been a degree of scandal kicked up in the USA about

emissions on old Chrysler models (built before the Fiat take-over),

however, a recent meeting with President Trump has gone very well

according to reports, with the promise of significant tax cuts for

companies building cars in the USA. FCA is already in the throws of

moving some production from its Mexican operations to North America,

so this will come as very good news. Will this lead to US built Alfas? At

present that is not in the plans.

ALFISTI - AROC East Midlands Section Newsletter March 2017- Issue 195

Autoglym’s new Scratch Removal Kit joins their family

of ‘kits’ for particular purposes, like the Clay Bar kit,

Alloy wheel care kit and Fabric Roof kit. Excellent

products at a very fair price.

Giulietta Success! Michela Cerruti took the latest Romeo

Ferris-built Giulietta to 2nd place at the

TCR Middle East series race in Dubai in

January. A tremendous result for her and

the team that will boost confidence for the

full International 2017 Series. The car

has a thorough rework with mods to

chassis, suspension, electronics, and

aerodynamics and that is now paying

dividends. Michela had to miss the last 6

months of last

season for medical

reasons but is back

fighting fit ready for

the full 2017 season

that starts in April,

Importantly the

Giulietta will also

receive the new 2.0

Giulia engine which

promises significant

gains.

Alfisti no.196 will be out for April

Brera S For Sale Only 26,800 miles

An owner local to John has

been in touch to say his superb ‘09 low-

mileage Brera S (the Prodrive one) is for sale.

In black with full black leather 19” dark-finish

alloys. Full service history, 1st registered

03/2009, only 26,800 miles, MOT and

vehicle tax due June. Immaculate. £11,950

ono. Please contact John for seller’s details.

(See cover.) Car is in Kibworth, Leics.

The best way to deep

clean alloy wheels?

Thanks to Ian Wilson-Hart for sharing

this one on our Facebook group.

Shona MacDonald followed up with;

“Not in my house, I have a big enough

battle keeping the garage out of the

living room…”

...So, probably not recommended to try

at home!

- SCOOP! -

Giulietta 175 TCT Speciale Duncan Langford

Duncan’s business mileage is increasing, so

he’s swapped his Mito QV at Chris Variava in

Nottingham for this beauty in grey, a 175hp

JTDm2 TCT that’s just a few months old. The

2016 Model Year ‘Giulia Look’ suits its

Magnesio Grey paintwork with red highlights.

It also has the 18” 5-hole style alloys over the

Brembo brakes, and has the rear diffuser and

‘over-size’ pipes as standard too. Inside it’s a

leather and Alcantara mix with red stitching.

It looks terrific, effectively indistinguishable

from new.

Local Members’ Cars

Our Alfas 147 GTA Carl Foster

Carl’s a recent new member and has an abso-

lutely superb Alfa. His Rosso 147 GTA has

had some excellent work done on it, Pictured

here not long back from the paintshop, the

car has Bilsteins, Q2 Limited Slip Diff and

quad pipes. It’s also had upgraded discs,

pads and new tyres as well as the respray.

Next up Carl plans to find a good local wheel

guy as he says these need doing for the

spring. Carl enjoyed meeting everyone at the

February curry night, and has bought tickets

now for MITCAR, National & Spring Alfa Days -

Watch out for the Red Rocket!

Giulietta Tecnica 120 TCT John Griffiths

My Giulietta 175 TCT Sportiva featured in the

Feb edition was sold in early January by CV’s

who kindly provided this loan car while I

awaited my Giulia. In the space of 5 weeks or

so I’ve got to know the car well. I already

knew that the 1.6 version was a sprightly

unit, being used to the 105hp flavour in Alan

Lathwell’s manual Giulietta Sportiva. In this

latest form is upped to 120hp and when

mated to Alfa’s Twin-Clutch ‘box I’m very

familiar with it seems a great match. Yet

again it confirms that the thing that makes a

car feel ‘quick’ is torque. The unit makes a

healthy 240lbs/ft with a nice flat curve,

that’s only around 20 less than my previous

2.0 though that bettered it by 55bhp.

However, in short, it’s not dramatically

different - up to legal speeds anyway! It has

perhaps a touch more turbo-lag at low revs

than the 2.0 (the capacity difference) but

when rolling it peps along. If you didn’t tell

your passenger they’d be hard pushed to

guess this was the smaller unit. MPG is

impressive too. The Tecnica spec is the old

Business Edition with many nice bits

including the latest Uconnect 6.5” touch-

screen Nav, parking sensors F&R, dark tints

and auto lights and wipers. The lower spec

things are the fabric seats (which are fine),

plastic dash insert (acceptable) and relatively

narrow 16” alloys with 205 tyres. They

provide a hushed ride but look a little lost in

the arches. If I was doing 20-30K pa I

wouldn’t be upset though and you can

upgrade them. Essentially, this is a refined

car with a great ‘box that still feels fresh. JG

Giulietta 1750 QV Alex Pope

From an email to John: New tyres time, I’ve

gone with new Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric

3s (front only, about £91 each fitted via Black

Circles). Testing notes coming from some very

worn OE dunlops - very little improvement in

noise or mpg, which was disappointing, but

grip is night and day different, markedly

better than I remember from when the

Dunlops were new even. I can lean on the

front end again, and subjectively there's a bit

more feel through the steering too. So an

excellent performance tyre, but worth noting

the quoted noise and mpg ratings appear to

be, surprise surprise, utter bobbins! Alex

GTV6 Nick Everard

Despite it being the depths of February, Nick

brought his fabulous Alfetta GTV6 down to our

visit to Morgan Cars where it brightened up

the car park. I had the fun of following him in

from the M5, even windows up I could hear

the wonderful noise of the 160hp 2.5litre

‘Busso’. In the photo here captured by Craig

Percy, you can just see the 65-plate MiTo that

belonged to our tour guide for John. They

have good taste these Morgan fans! JG