The 2016 Esperienza Alfa Romeo was held on the 25th of September at Classic Park, Boxtel, the Netherlands. The lot was filled with classic, recent and brand new Alfa Romeos. Get ready for a good number of red cars…
1973 Alfa Romeo GT 1300 Junior.
Alfa Romeo Sprint 1.7 Quadrifoglio Verde. This model (the 1.7 QV) was built from 1987 to 1989.
1955 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint.
2005 Alfa Romeo GT 1.8 Twin Spark.
1969 Alfa Romeo Giulia 1600 Super. The Giulia was introduced in 1962, note that it’s a very aerodynamic car with a Cd-value of only 0.34. That’s equal to the Cd-value of the Aeroback Ford Sierra, introduced 20 years after the Giulia.
1988 Alfa Romeo 75 Quadrifoglio Oro with a 156 hp 2.5 liter V6 injection engine.
1984 Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0.
1976 Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV.
1961 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider.
1983 Alfa Romeo Sprint 1.5 Quadrifoglio Verde.
1972 Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV.
1968 Alfa Romeo GT 1300 Junior.
2006 Alfa Romeo 147 2.0 Twin Spark, a C-segment hatchback. Just like the VW Golf and Ford Focus.
And this one really stood out, a 1953 Alfa Romeo Matta (meaning mad, its official model name is 1900 M). This is the AR51, the military version for the Italian Army. The off-roader is powered by a 1.9 liter DOHC 8v hemi engine with dry sump lubrication, a cast iron block and an aluminium cylinder head. All this in a military vehicle, 65 years ago.
1962 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint.
1968 Alfa Romeo 1750 Spider Veloce.
2003 Alfa Romeo 166 2.5 V6. The 166 was built from 1998 to 2007, it was Alfa Romeo’s last executive (E-segment) car.
2004 Alfa Romeo 166 2.0 Twin Spark.
The FWD Alfa Romeo 155 was built between 1992 and 1998. The 155 was highly successful in touring car racing, as it won the Italian, German, Spanish and British Touring Car Championship between 1992 and 1994. Its successors, the 156 and 159, were also FWD. Alfa Romeo’s current D-segment model, the Giulia, is RWD.
1989 Alfa Romeo 75 2.0 Twin Spark.
A red 1992 Alfa Romeo 75 3.0 V6 Quadrifoglio Verde on the left and a red 1990 Alfa Romeo 75 3.0 V6 Quadrifoglio Verde on the right.
The red 1990 Alfa Romeo 75 3.0 V6 Quadrifoglio Verde.
1969 Alfa Romeo 1750 Spider Veloce.
1992 Alfa Romeo Spider. The 4th (and last) 1990-1993 generation of the Spider 105/115-series.
The engine compartment of a 4th gen Spider.
A brutal 1972 Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV.
1998 Alfa Romeo 156 1.8 Twin Spark. The successful 156 was introduced in 1997, it’s worth mentioning that it was the first car with a common rail diesel engine.
The 2.5 liter V6 24v engine in a 2001 Alfa Romeo 156.
And the 2.5 liter V6 24v engine in a 2000 Alfa Romeo 156. Glory, Glory, Hallelujah !
2003 Alfa Romeo 156 GTA. The top dog of the 156-series with a 250 hp 3.2 liter V6.
2001 Alfa Romeo 156 Sportwagon 2.0 Twin Spark.
In 2005 the 159 replaced the 156, here’s a 2011 Alfa Romeo 159 Sportwagon with the ti-package and a 200 hp 1,742 cc turbocharged gasoline engine. With that new 1750 TBi engine the 159 finally got an Alfa Romeo-worthy 4-cylinder gasoline engine. And there’s Alfa Romeo’s number 1750 again !
The Alfa Romeo 159- and 156-series, neatly lined up.
2006 Alfa Romeo Brera 2.2 JTS. The Brera was the 159-series coupe.
And there was also a 2-door roadster, the Spider. Pictured a 2009 Alfa Romeo Spider 2.2 JTS.
A true survivor, this 1978 Alfa Romeo Alfasud Super.
1983 Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0.
1992 Alfa Romeo 164 S 3.0 V6.
1950 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Sport Freccia d’Oro. It is said (not claimed) that this one was featured in the original Godfather movie. Fortunately, the 6C which was blown up in the movie was a replica.
All in all, it was an awesome esperienza to see a parking lot like this.
Thanks for the pictures.
Seeing the GTV I remember when I had the chance to buy a decent condition GTV6 in 2008, the seller was asking 2500 euros. Back then that was usual GTV6 value. I didn´t buy it. Nowadays that GTV6 could be about 10000 euros. Ouch!
The 155 pictures bring me memories, too. Although in 1992 the car wasn´t well received by the press and sales were dissapointing, it has crisp, clean, lean lines that contrast sharply with the bloated monsters every car maker tries to sell us today.
Wow. Just wow. That’s the cleanest Alfa 33 I’ve seen in ages. Pretty much every one around here (including a Sportwagon) are all beat up…
Alfa has to be the hands down winner of the Marque with the most beautiful cars.
The Cd-value of a 1962 Giulia is also equal to that of a 1963 Porsche 911.
LOVE that military truck, that is just awesome. And its obvious that Toyota looked at Alfa when designing its awesome 9R/ 8R/18R-G twin cam engines. Made my Sunday morning, thanks!
Wonderful photos of (mostly) great cars, Johannes! Thank you for these.
Especially the Alfa Jeep. Maybe I saw a grainy B&W picture of it somewhere before, but now I realize what a great thing Alfa made there. And I don’t even like Jeeps all that much.
Re: the 6C 2500 in Godfather II, I think they actually blew up a real one. Coppola says so in this video (around 17 minutes in):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljPSA6FBdYk
Ya broke my heart, Francis. Ya broke my heart.
More information (and pictures) about that 6C 2500 -for sale- here:
http://en.classicpark.com/car/1284/alfa-romeo-6c-2500-sport-freccia-doro
hmmm… Who to believe: the guy who made the movie, or the guy who’s trying to sell a car?
If Coppola blew up a real Alfa 6C, I consider that worse than killing a horse.
They had a civilian version too called the AR 52. I never knew Alfa ever made serious off-road SUVs.
The military guys must have loved working on that DOHC engine. I reckon it’d just make your day to lift the hood and see all that alloy – that would have to lift your spirits!
Cool: it took Italians to think of putting a twincam in a Jeep clone; the Willys Go-Devil was merely a flathead.
Love that 2005 GT, it should have been the car Alfa re-entered the U.S. market with.
Now that FCA has decided to put all new Alfas on RWD platforms, the chances of the U.S. ever getting any of the smaller types of cars from Alfa will be pretty slim, I guess?
The British magazines CAR and EVO have tested the new Guillia (sp?) against M-B C sedans with AMG packages, BMW’s, and in EVO’s case, the Lexus (forget which one), but think it’s the RC and even a Mustang. The Alfa never wins 1st place, but is also never last…usually a “solid” 2nd in multi-car tests.
Magazines ALWAYS give the victory to German cars. In a magazine I’ve read, they said the Giulia has too much vibration. In another one they say the infotainment has a small screen (what? 8 inch is small?). The Volvo S90/V90 is also a helluva great car (seen a V90 in person alerady) and they always talk about handling and say the Volvo is not yet on par with the Germans in interior quality (which is not true)….
Some of these older Alpha’s are just beautiful machines. The engine in that AR 51 is insane! If I saw that I would never believe it wasn’t a engine conversion.
Jeep Wagoneers in the US came with an OHC alloy hemi head as standard. And back in the ’20s-50s, big aluminum Hall Scott OHC hemi engines powered many big trucks and buses.
How’s the Hall-Scott article coming? I’m very much looking forward to reading about them, and can’t find much info anywhere.
How have automobile alliances changes over especially during the beginning of the millennium and all the way through today. Fiat and its Alfa Romeo and Lancia divisions used to be “affiliated” with General Motors much like Subaru during the early 2000s. Fast forward a decade later, Fiat and its divisions now owns Chrysler Corporation and its divisions after its divorce with Mercedes Benz via Daimler. Chrysler had a long term working 40 year relationship with Mitsubishi until both went their separate ways and Nissan Motors Corporation along with Renault its controlling subsidiary now owns part of Mitsubishi Motors Corporation. Subaru after being allied with General Motors shortly thereafter became tied to Toyota since now Toyota owns 16% of Subaru.
The blue Giulietta Spider must be owned by a fan of ‘Day of the Jackal’.
So many beautiful cars there. I still can’t warm to the looks of the 75 though, even after all these years.
That ’62 Giulia is amazing. It doesn’t look like what we’ve come to think of as an aerodynamic car, but I guess the tunnel doesn’t lie. Does anyone know whether it was it designed with aerodynamics in mind, or is that just a by-product of careful attention to detail?
And an Alfasud with a towbar – only in Holland? 😉
As always Johannes, thanks for taking us along!
Alfa Romeo used a wind tunnel during the Giulia’s development, so no by-product.
I suspect wind-tunnel facilities are readily available from the aircraft industry; Ford rented Lockheed’s for the 3rd-gen Taurus & after much testing & expense, found that vertically-mounted door mirrors had less drag/noise than wing-mounted; nonetheless, management chose the latter.
Exactly. Here’s a rundown of what made the Giulia so aerodynamic :
http://www.automobilemag.com/news/alfa-romeo-giulia-super/
This touches on some of the aero characteristics. I’ve got an ad buried somewhere that shows Alfa using the Giulia’s aero for marketing.
Suffering a bit of indigestion with this feast Johannes. My father’s DD is a Sud Sprint 1.7 QF owned and driven since 88 (and showing a touch of rust). White with green bumper insert, and I’ve also captured a black with red insert version so they’ll get their day on CC sometime.
You’re thinking of the famous “Giulia, designed by the wind” ad ?
Yes I am. Nice find.
a lot of these cars were referred to as “twin spark”.
that sounds interesting. I’m guessing two spark plugs per cylinder?
Correct.
Thanks very much for this, those Alfas look really sharp.
Just a (small) correction; the “brutal 1972 GTV 2000” above was officially named GTAm. Originally indeed based on the GTV, this one has far too many modifications to be dubbed as such (after all, it’s actually a fierce racing car).
See this period photo from Nürburgring 1971 of a GTAm, driven at the event by the two great Dutch drivers, Gijs van Lennep and Toine Hezemans:
Thanks for the extra info !
thx Johannes! I remember reading an article on two plugs per cylinder and what it does.
cool cars!
An Italian feast! Gorgeous cars, from the oldest to the newest.
I really, really want a 159 sportwagon. Like bad. I guess I can make that happen in…let’s see…2029.
Stupid US importation rules.
Of all modern-era Alfas, that 159 Sportwagon was my absolute favorite car too.
Color, looks (that face of a 159 !), the ti-package, the 200 hp turbo engine. Perfect, just perfect !
I have a DVD of the Italian magazine “Quattroruote” testing the 159 SW with a 1.9 Diesel engine when it came out. They liked the VDC dynamics control and said it was the best FWD handler In the category. With a broken remote for my player (hey, it was In the past decade!), the Alfa was the only one I could watch.
Suffice to say I watched that clip a LOT of time. I still have it, but it’s all scratched out. So, it’s a pity that 25 y/o rule in the US. At least you can wait less and get a 156 for dirt cheap while waiting for the 159.
What an absolute feast!
2000GT, Alasud Sprint, Alfasud, Duetto (looks more like an E type every time i look at it), Giulia Sprint, Sprint, 166 – hey, I’ll have one of each
Johannes,
Thank you for all those wonderful pictures.