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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Centro Stile Fiat, Fiat

1981 Fiat Strada

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We're late for our Saturday post (it's already technically Sunday), so we'll make this a quick one. Yesterday consisted of a train ride from Detroit to Chicago to pick up a Milano Verde that we sorted for a Lancia expert. The drive home was comfortable and uneventful, and now having finished up some work on the Rabbit pickup project, it's time to blog.

The Strada was the English-marked version of the Fiat Ritmo, though we didn't even realize that these were offered in North America until very recently, when a reader asked if we could locate one. The answer was no, because these were reportedly not so reliable when new, and as such, flocked in droves to the junkyards. Though not so embraced in Italy from what we hear, we still like the way these look. The details are more enjoyable than those on the contemporary VW Golf, but the overall shape isn't quite as satisfying to us.

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Centro Stile Fiat, Fiat, Uncategorized

1994 Fiat Coupé

The Fiat Coupé fits squarely in the center of one of our favorite categories of European cars, but we don't really have a good name for it. The Audi TT, Alfa Romeo Brera, and to some extent, the BMW Z3 all join the Coupé in a group of small coupes and roadsters that place a major emphasis on style without feeling a need to maximize performance.

We've said it before, and we think it bears repeating: most driving on the street is substantially below the grip limit of a given vehicle, and most street driving inputs do not require perfect body control or steering feel. A car designed to perform well in everyday driving can be more satisfying to drive on the street than a car set up for ultimate performance. So, we really find nothing wrong with these styling statement coupes, where some turbo lag and uncontrolled body motion might accompany more aggressive driving.

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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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Fiat, Pininfarina

1972 Fiat 130 Coupé

We had the big coupe out last evening, driving up and down Telegraph in Detroit in search of American iron to pick on. Our Maserati Coupe GT seats four pretty comfortably, and doesn't have much trouble getting out of its own way, much less keeping up with American muscle. We like to think of the Coupe GT as a newer take on the Fiat 130 format - large, comfortable, quick, and sleek.

Former Fiat chairman Giovanni Agnelli had a 130 in his collection, though his was converted to a shooting brake for added style and convenience. Today, a Fiat Chairperson might be seen in a Maserati Levante Trofeo, or a Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8, or if we're very lucky, a Maserati Quattroporte GTS. The crisp lines of the 130 Coupé are the essence of style, and make an appearance on the Ferrari 400i as well as on the Bitter SC. But, low-slung coupes are no longer the norm among the business elite in the day and age of the luxury crossover.

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Giugiaro, Maserati, Uncategorized

2006 Maserati Coupe GT Project

We are not serious drivers here at CICFS. We enjoy driving on the track enough to visit once a year, and for us that is plenty. It seems that every spring when the Alfa Romeo Owners' Club track day is approaching, we have some sort of tricky issue with our Milano that has us rushing to get the car track-ready. And every time that happens, we joke about just bringing the Maserati to the track.

Now, one of these years when the tires on the Maser are due for replacement, we'll make it onto the track. We're in no rush though. The Coupe is an odd car to bin into any single category. It's certainly not a sports car, lacks the power of a muscle car, and it doesn't ride well enough to be a useful GT. It's probably best described as a sports sedan with two doors, then. In any case, it doesn't beg to be driven fast, but with the willing V8 underhood and the beefy manual transaxle between the rear seats, it would certainly be enjoyable to drive at speed.

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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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Fiat

1972 Fiat 616 Wrecker

The well of information on the Fiat 616, especially in the English language, is dry. These workhorses were produced from 1965 to 1978 using different designations depending on the region in which they were sold. Interestingly, the 616 was the first Fiat to use the silver Fiat script on black background.

Power came from a 3.5L diesel - an uncommonly large displacement for a Fiat of the era - producing around 82hp. The model was offered in four series, with this example falling within the final N3 series.

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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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