When considering Milanos for purchase, it would be a mistake to consider only the 3.0L Verde, when in reality its performance benefits over the rest of the range are modest. The Silver model is best for those seeking a car with the fewest standard features for a cool spartan feel. The Platinum is the only model aside from the Verde to feature an LSD, but includes the sometimes-problematic ABS system, as well as the leather / suede seats that do not usually age well. If you can live without the LSD, or would be open to swapping in an LSD transaxle yourself, the Gold has the excellent cloth seats and most of the electronic features of a Platinum, but uses a non-ABS braking system, which seems to be more robust.
This Milano Gold features Verde phone dial wheels and an Ansa exhaust, but seems stock otherwise. At just under 50k miles, it is one of the lower mile Milanos we've seen recently, and the asking price reflects that. With proper care, it is possible to preserve the current excellent condition, so we wouldn't worry too much about packing miles onto this one.
"The best of both worlds," the seller states, referring to the combination of the torsion beam independent suspension front, DeDion axle rear transaxle chassis. We don't disagree, but we ourselves haven't chopped a GTV in half either.
We've seen a number of Alfetta GTVs - and the cooler Alfetta Sport Sedans - with Milano Verde 3.0L Busso V6 swaps. Those always seemed wild to us, merging the era of the early transaxle cars with the later V6 offering. Today's Milano skips a few steps and decades in its combination of the seller's favorite Alfa Romeo offerings. A shower thought before, presently a reality.
When it comes to Alfa Romeo Milanos, the masses - i.e. those who do not count themselves among the Alfisti - generally remember the model by its kinked up belt line and Alfa V6. A few might be familiar with the torsion bar front and DeDion rear suspension setup, and the rear transaxle with inboard rear brakes. And some may even know the Verde model to be the top of the range.
Today's Alfa Romeo Milano Platinum sits right below the Verde in the Milano model range. I might disappoint the AlfaBB with my description here, but I believe that the Platinum is basically a Verde as far as options go, though mechanically there are some changes. The Platinums have smaller diameter torsion bars and sway bars, and forgo the 3.0L V6 in favor of the classic 2.5L. The transaxle is a 4.10 final drive in place of a 3.55 in the Verde, but the Platinum is the only Milano model, outside of the Verde, that offered a limited slip differential.
We know this car well. After posting on the AlfaBB about the mechanical work we had done on our personal hot-rodded Milano Verde, we got a call from a Lancia enthusiast who wanted to see the same level of sorting - minus the performance upgrades - performed on his Verde. He had purchased a Milano Verde in the hopes that the alloy V6 and DeDion rear suspension would remind him of his prized Aurelia. After spending a year enjoying the results of our work on the car, he's decided to downsize, but not due to any fault of the Milano platform - word is, with a relatively small garage, the Milano doesn't play well with its Lancia Appia stablemate, and the current owner needs to remedy the tight packing.
This car is from Chicago, so any hopes of dry, California provenance are immediately squashed. And yet, as the owner of a dry, California Milano, I am personally very tempted - but prevented by all limitations imaginable - to buy this very car. See, after the owner spent $15,000 in maintenance, over $9,000 of which went to parts alone, the car is absolutely sorted. It's even been accused of having a Germanic competence completely unexpected in an Italian sedan. Having driven this thing from Chicago to Detroit in order to prepare it for sale, I would tend to agree with that assessment.
Rust, for the most part, has been remedied. The spare tire well, wheel arches, and driver front jack point were all professionally repaired with fresh metal by the same man who did the bodywork on Ralph Gilles' personal Giulia GTV-R (the R is for Ralph). The surface rust under the trunk was all wire-wheeled and treated with POR-15 before being undercoated. You will find minor rust in the the passenger door arch and underneath the passenger taillight - typical Milano spots - but overall the car rust is under control and the car is in no danger of rotting away.
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.
It's a real relief to see Milanos priced in the realm of sanity. We like Milanos. Milanos are our favorite of anything we post here, even. But we aren't prepared for a future of $10k+ Milanos. So, thanks for sharing a moment of gratitude with us for what we hope is a long-lasting period of affordable Milanos.
Devoid of ABS, a sunroof, leather seats, and cruise control, the Silver model represents the most economical of Milano offerings. Whereas the appeal might have eluded new-car shoppers, these days, the Silver is preferred to the ABS models for its simplicity.
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Year: 1989 Model: Alfa Romeo Milano Silver Engine: 2.5L V6 Transmission: 5-speed manual Mileage: 142,000 Price: Auction Location: Oceanside, NY
Mechanicals: Starts, idles, and drives great. 142,000 original miles on the all aluminum Giuseppe Busso designed 2.5L V6 engine. Up to date on maintenance. Good clutch, shifts throughout all five gears and into reverse nice and smooth with no 2nd gear issues. Suspension is good, handles well. Brakes are good, non-ABS model. Upgraded 15” Platinum model “wine glass” style wheels in great shape all around with matching tires (original wheels included). All electronics function flawlessly: front & rear power windows go up &down at normal speed, all interior & exterior lights function with no issues as well, instrument cluster and all gauges have no issues.
Cosmetics: Rare no-sunroof model. Structurally solid, no rust issues. Only visible rust is some very minor bubbles under the paint where the left rear wheel arch meets the rocker panel. Paint is overall very presentable, in nice driver quality. It is not a perfect brand-new paint job. All lights and glass are in excellent condition with no oxidation or pitting. Headlights have thick protective film applied and are like-new, taillights are rare European 75 T.Spark model. Interior is all original and is in extremely clean condition. The fabric on the upper & lower outer bolsters of the driver’s seat have ripped (see photos), the original material is available and I have been quoted $75 for labor to reupholster. The headliner is in very good condition, as are the rear parcel shelf, carpets, dashboard, center console, armrest, door panels, etc.
Summary: Simple (no-sunroof no-ABS) 2.5L V6 and 5spd manual 1989 Alfa Romeo Milano Silver. Loves to rev, runs strong with tons of torque. Handles great, tight balanced RWD platform. Very clean interior & exterior, beautiful condition for a 31 year old car with 142,000 miles.
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The only rust disclosed is on the rear fender flares. Not ideal, but not atypical, and not a huge endeavor to rectify. Interior condition is really solid, with just some headliner sagging and seat bolster wear to take care of, should the buyer so choose. Everything electronic is claimed to function properly, meaning this driver should be ready to go upon purchase.
The auction format will guide this Milano Silver to market price, and while it won't go for pennies on the dollar, we hope to see something reasonable. There are cheaper paths to Milano ownership, but sometimes paying a bit more for a running and driving example like this one pays off based on the simple fact that you can drive it from day one.
Milanos, unlike Giulias, have managed to stay off the radar of collectors, for the most part. Sometime a Verde will go crazy on the online auctions, but othewise, a Milano Gold, such as this example, will usually go for sane money.
The Gold was a step above the silver base model. This particular example is not listed as a Gold, but we suspect that it is, based on the lack of foglights and sunroof, but existence of a passenger-side mirror. Peaking through the window, we can barely make out the telltale corduroy seats of a Milano Gold.
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Year: 1987 Model: Alfa Romeo Milano Gold Engine: 2.5L V6 Transmission: 5-speed manual Mileage: 100,000 Price: $3,800 Location: Santa Cruz, CA
The last of the rear wheel drive Alfa's from imported to the US before they were bought out by Fiat. This car is a great driver with just a tick over 100k. Very rare "sunfoof delete" so no leaks and rigid body structure. Owned by Alfa enthusiasts and well maintained. Upgrades include Bilstien shocks and performance springs, Ultralegerra wheels with 16in low profile aggressive tires. Recent transmission overhual with limited slip differential. Custom Anza exaust. With near 50/50 weight distribution this car handles line its on rails! Rare find in this condition with low miles and priced aggressively.
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We've personally owned a set of 16" OZ Superleggeras, such as the set on this car, and a Milano Verde. Unfortunately, the OZs are gone, having never graced our trusty Verde. This car wears the wheels well, but we can't say that we regret selling ours. 16" wheels are tough to pull off on a Milano, after all. Our oddball Lugaro 16" wheels barely manage the task.
We're sold on this particular example. How often do you see a slicktop Milano for sale, let alone one with a rebuilt LSD transaxle? Add in the performance springs and Bilstein shocks, and the car has some real potential. As always, play it safe with the timing belt and inquire about rust. If the car checks out, the next owner should be quite happy with what they've purchased, especially if they do better than the current $3,800 asking price.
The Alfa Romeo 75, as the Milano is know everywhere outside of North America, still has a healthy following all around its home continent of Europe. A more commonly-known example is RSR Nürburg, who are for hustling their fleet of Alfa 75s around the Ring. Another example, with whom we are familiar, is the Transaxle Forum out of Germany.
I had the pleasure of meeting two gentlemen from the Transaxle Forum the last time I was in Bavaria. I met them at one of their workshops - this one lined with various Alfa 75 models and stocked with countless Alfa 75 parts. While I really enjoyed seeing the top spec V6 models, there were two cars that really stood out. First was a 3.0 V6 model that had been converted to 1.6L spec on the outside - a true sleeper. The second was a 1.6L model that was undergoing restoration. Due to the decreased content on the base 1.6L models, the vehicle weight is significantly lower than that of the 3.0L models. From what was reported, the 1.6L cars are great for zooming around Italy, where the group has their annual meet-up.
This 1988 Alfa 75 was imported from Italy in 2017. This car is totally unmolested and rust free,
You will get lots of looks and thumbs up when driving this car, The 1.6 litre 4 cylinder is the last version of the 1.6 liter that was in the Alfa Gulia of the 1960's and '70's and performance is much the same as the Gulia Super. She has twin Del Orto carbs and electronic ignition and is a pleasure to drive. The speedo reads in KM 154,418 = 96,390 miles.
The seats are great and the car is very relaxing to drive on a long trip. I have been getting about 32 MPG at 70 MPH and she will happily cruise at 80 all day. The Michelin tires are almost new with about 4,000 km.
A number of new parts have been fitted over the last year. I fitted a 3rd brake light for safety. Other parts fitted are: lower ball joints, front brake pads, engine mounts, transmission mounts, prop shaft flex joints (guibo's), fuel pump.
If anyone wants to inspect the car, it is in eastern North Carolina and there is a local garage where we can use a lift. There are a few tiny dents on the hood but I have not been able to photograph them.
It appears that Ebay has a problem with the VIN number. The correct number is ZAR16282000065190
I do have more photos if wanted. Please email me if you want to see more and I can then email them to you directly as eBay limits you to 24 photos total. This car has been relisted due to a time waster.
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Those interested in purchasing might find themselves wondering where one might find engine components for a 1.6L 75. We would imagine that nearly everything could be purchased through Centerline, aside from a few items specific to the 4-cyl 75. If we had to guess, things like the engine mounts and cooling system components might need to be sourced from Europe. Otherwise, it should be just as easy as a Milano to maintain - likely easier, with that wide open engine bay.
This 1.6L 75 is simply too unique to overlook here in North America. And, in this condition, it presents as a strong candidate for a Milano/75 purchase, before rarity is even accounted for. Just be warned - you may find yourself bidding against us on this one!
