Tag Archives: Alfa Romeo

Alfa Romeo, Centro Stile Alfa Romeo, Centro Stile Fiat, Zagato

1992 Alfa Romeo SZ

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We have trouble keeping track of the various models, but it seems that Zagato has had a hand in a number of rare machines over the years. The examples that stick out to us are the various Aston Martin Zagatos, the Alfa Junior Zagato, Alfa 2600 Zagato, and the Lancia Sport Zagato. Then, of course, there is the Alfa Romeo SZ and RZ.

While Zagato played a role in building the SZ, the vehicle was actually styled in a joint effort between Zagato, Fiat, and Alfa. Utilizing CAD software and Fiat's wind tunnel, the team achieved an impressive 0.30 Cd, which led to a top speed of 152mph when all (or most) of the Busso V6's 210bhp were invited to the party.

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Alfa Romeo, Centro Stile Alfa Romeo

2001 Alfa Romeo 166

We've been flooding the readers with Alfa Romeo sedans lately, so we'll let the flood continue with this flood / water damage title 2001 Alfa Romeo 166. When Alfa Romeo departed the US market, US customers were due for a successor to the 1991-1995 Alfa Romeo 164. Had things turned out differently, this is what we would have received.

When it comes to Alfa sedans, we like to think of the Milano as essentially a 1970s car with a lot of plastic attached to it to pass for an 80s car. Take a look underneath a Milano, and you can see that the component assemblies were not very well-integrated. If you take a look underneath a 164, you'll see an increase in complexity and a number of improvements in the name of reducing variation between vehicles. Looking at the 166, we see the current age of automotive assembly - most of the fluid and electrical connectors, the minor clips and the formed routings all look like they could be from a car today.

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Alfa Romeo, Bertone

1965 Alfa Romeo GTA 1600 Corsa

Recognize the wheels? GTA replicas have grown common on Giulia sedans and GTVs alike in the past decade or so. Mags in the true sense, they are constructed from a magnesium alloy on the true GTA, an exercise in lightweighting.

A stands for Alleggerita - lightweight in Italian - in the GTA. In the effort to reduce mass, traditional steel body panels are swapped out for aluminum outer body panels, which are then bonded and riveted to the inner steel panels. Windows are made from plastic, and the interior benefits from lighter trim. Under the hood, the aluminum power plant is fitted with magnesium alloy in the cam cover, timing cover, and transmission bell housing.

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Alfa Romeo, Pininfarina

1995 Alfa Romeo 164 Super 2.5L Turbodiesel

We've always found diesel engines to be a great way to desecrate the Alfa Romeo experience. Take away the music, the power, and the high-strung tension of moving the needle up to redline, and you've subdued the spirit of an Alfa.

But, a 164 is not a typical Alfa in the way that it moves down the road. It has a large footprint, a considerable curb weight, and FWD, for one thing. And though the 164 screams with the 24V Busso, it does have a Germanic heftiness to it - a solid feeling that would benefit from the drama-free torque of a diesel powertrain. We think the 164 driver would especially enjoy the diesel on the autobahn, where low engine speed at high vehicle speeds makes for a calmer experience.

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Alfa Romeo, Reader Classifieds

Reader Classified: 1987 Alfa Romeo Milano Track Car

This reader classified comes to us from Vancouver, WA. We love the unique paint and track-ready setup. A street-legal Milano for not much cash sounds pretty good to us!

Contact:

tedgathe@gmail.com or 360-281-0868

For sale: 1987 Alfa Romeo Milano. The car is located in Vancouver, Washington. Converted to a track car several years ago but is street legal and does not need to be trailered.  Engine modifications and suspension work was done by Nasko a well known Alfa mechanic in Portland, Oregon. Engine work includes Sperry heads; fuel injection system rebuilt last year; new clutch. Suspension has Bilstein shocks and racing springs. Roll bar installed. A set of slicks comes with the car.  It's a great little car to run on your local track at an affordable price

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Alfa Romeo, Pininfarina

1991 Alfa Romeo 164L

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How about a 164 to follow up yesterday's Milano Platinum? We're on a roll with clean, cared-for examples this weekend, and today's 164 is even better than the Milano listed yesterday.

The 164 is what followed the Milano as the North American sedan offering from Alfa Romeo, but it's not really an honest successor to the Milano. The 164 rides on an appreciably larger platform than the Milano does, and coupled with features like automatic climate control and leather seating surfaces - some of the best on any car, if you ask us - really feels upmarket to the Milano. Row through its five gears, though, and you won't be let down in the driving dynamics department. We'd recommend withholding judgment of the FWD platform until you drive one - you won't be let down.

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Alfa Romeo, Centro Stile Alfa Romeo

1987 Alfa Romeo Milano Platinum

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.

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Alfa Romeo, Centro Stile Alfa Romeo

1988 Alfa Romeo Milano Verde

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.

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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

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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