spring alfa day! - Alfa Romeo Owners Club

CENTRAL
& EAST
MIDLANDS
SECTION
NEWSLETTER
Spring Italian
Car Day
BROOKLANDS
Saturday 30th April
A new 147
GTA at
Duxford
Spring Alfa
Day in 2005 now a
collector’s
machine!
SPRING ALFA DAY!
SUNDAY 17th APRIL
Spring Alfa Day returns to the superb
facilities at The Imperial War Museum, Duxford
for the first time since 2005. The museum
houses a fascinating collection of aircraft, from
superbly maintained world war two craft to an
SR-71 Blackbird, heck, even a B52 bomber! All
are in special display theatres, and there are
also hangars full of planes being restored and
fettled too that you can get really close to. Out
on the hard standing areas, you can even get
on board Concorde. Also on site is an excellent
display of tanks and military vehicles, all in
making it a terrific backdrop to the 500 or more
Alfa Romeos expected there.
The club’s Alfas will have a dedicated parking
area, but do get there early as late comers will
have to go in the general parking area. You
have been warned!
Admission for club members is just £9.50 in
advance, with under 15s free. Entry forms were
posted with February’s Club Magazine, but if
you missed it, it is still just £10.95 on the day.
Important though, make sure you take your
club membership card if you have not booked
in advance to get a discount rate.
Hard to believe we were last there back in
2005; how the time flies!
SECTION CONVOY RUN
We will meet up at the A14 Services at
Rothwell near Kettering, which is just past
Junction 4 heading east, at 8am ready to
depart by 8.30. This should get us there in good
time for a very enjoyable day. See you there!
Well, the event calendar has started to get
good and busy now for sure. So as not to be
called ‘samey’, we are promoting a different
event this year in the shape of Spring Italian Car
Day at Brooklands.
Brooklands That promises to be well
worth the drive down to London and will be a
fair bit different to Spring AD too, if just as
good. See panel on the right.
Closer to home, if you are watching the fuel
bills, our friends from the Jaguar Enthusiasts’
Club have invited us to their Classic Car Night at
Beedles Lake Golf Centre again on Tuesday
19th April. All Alfas are welcome of course, and
there should be some nice and varied classic
machines there for us to see alongside the
Jaguars. Starts from 7pm.
Well, what about the Alfa 4C GTA... signs of a
new beginning for Alfa Romeo? Well, there was
lots of positive talk at the Geneva Motor Show
in March as you’ll see inside, with new cars
aplenty promised, many based on the
foundation made by the excellent
new Giulietta. Let’s see! Cheers,
John
Race Retro Show
Geneva Motor Show Report
Rockingham AROC Sprint
Alfa 147 Photo Shoot
2011 Event Preview
Our Alfas… and more.
■ Alfisti Issue 132 ■ April 2011
CONVOY RUN
Our Section members will meet up at
the Watford Gap Services on the M1
southbound at 8am ready to depart by
8.30. This should allow us to beat the
queues and hopefully arrive together!
(Please drop John a line if you are
intending to go.)
Alfisti is edited and produced by
John Griffiths
Inside this edition:
Auto Italia Magazine’s first event of the
year always brings in big crowds, and
with historic Brooklands’ fantastic
backdrop we shouldn’t be surprised.
The parking space for Alfa Romeos has
been greatly increased this year not far
from the Mercedes Benz test track.
That will have a host of fascinating
Italian cars circulating on it too at
lunchtime as well as in action on the
famous test hill.
There will be
tremendous static displays too, with
Italian exotics and historics in equal
measure, plus plenty of trade stands
into the bargain.
Admission costs £12 in advance, £14 at
the gate. (Discounts for children/
families/concessions). Advance
purchase is recommended to aid swift
entry.
AROC Central & East Midlands
Section Secretary
Tel: 0774 8881317
e-mail: jg.alfa@tiscali.co.uk
Section website, for latest news and more:
www.AROC-UK.COM/CEMIDS
Alfa 4C GTA
Production sponsored by
Geneva Motor Show - Alfa Stars!
The Geneva Motor Show is the first big European show of the year, and a
chance for all Manufacturers to unveil new models and tease with concept
cars. Well, who’d have guessed last year that one of the stars, if not THE
star of the show would belong to Alfa Romeo? Alfa had a much smaller
stand this year showcasing effectively two production models - Mito and
Giulietta, the latter being equipped with Dual-clutch TCT transmission, the
former a slightly revised MiTo Cloverleaf (lovely, carbon-backed Sabelt
sports seats, aluminium Cloverleaf badge, subtly revised front lower grille blink and you’ll miss it) and a MultiAir TCT model in a new metallic brown (it
really the new white?) with ‘unusual’ new seat and dash trim.
On the big turntable however—the one everyone wanted to see. The 4C
GTA. Mid engine (1750cc) rear wheel drive, carbon chassis, subtle alloys
reminiscent of GTV Cup but ‘spiralised’, a true concept-style interior plus
matte red paint flopping into black. I’m sure many Alfisti will have absorbed
tons of facts about this machine so I will not repeat it here. Suffice to say,
it’s looking like it will appear in production form - possibly a 5,000 car run for USA, Europe and UK. Suggestion is 45,000 Euros, but possibly £50K in
UK.. RHD? No word yet. Top 10 UK Alfa dealers will get it - already interest
is being lodged by our local members at Chris Variava. (x 3 at time of writing.)
Pictures here are from a number of our members who attended the show. Viv Stevens was
there on the first press day (he’s doing some work for Morgan), then Leigh Nethercott (who
took an unhealthy interest in Volkswagens again), Simon Addison (recovering from back-op)
and Martin Lindus. The latter three are pictured right with hostess Virginia as part of a very
nice ‘VIP’ package. All were able to get really close to the 4C and all unanimous in its praise.
Generally the consensus was that it was fantastic - if not exactly a ‘daily driver’, certainly in this
conceptual form. They loved the detailing, the expanses of carbon fibre and the futuristic
‘superbike’ style interior.
Other Italian cars being of notable interest being the Lamborghini Murcielago replacement
the ‘Aventador’, the new 4WD Ferrari FF, and a diminutive Fiat 500 Zagato coupe. The last
word has to go to the 4C though. If this car doesn’t actually get production, this concept
certainly worked in attracting huge attention to our favoured brand. Magnifico. John
Simon, Leigh & Martin with Virginia.
Below L-R: MY2011
MiTo Cloverleaf,
then its fab new
seats, then ‘Bruno’
MiTo.
Bottom L-R, 500
Zagato Coupe; the
new Cloverleaf
badge, and VW
Microbus concept.
(Thanks Leigh!)
AROC SPRINT
Rockingham Raceway
Mark Sangster from our Section sent in the
photos here having been to see the opening
round of the AROC Sprint season.
Ade Horne and his wife Clare have worked hard
to promote the AROC Sprint Series, raising the
number of registered entrants to 18 for 2011.
Anyway, on Sunday 27th March the season
kicked of at the superb surroundings of
Rockingham Raceway near Corby. A rather cold
day dawned, but it stayed good and dry, so the
cars could run to plan.
The field was very varied, with everything from
a 75 race car to a 170bhp (Well, over actually!)
147 Ducati Diesel, equipped with Q2 diff as
standard. The field included some remarkably
standard 156s too, that performed very well.
Simon Foote, last year’s winner, was impressive
as ever with his blue GTV 3 litre.
The series moves to a number of airfield
circuits next, remaining calendar as follows:
Woodbridge Sunday 22nd May
Barkston Heath Sunday 24th July
Llandow Saturday 13th August
Croft (TBC) Sunday 4th September
Blyton Park Saturday 15th October
Mark had a very enjoyable day watching, meeting
Clare and Ade and Ed McDonough there among
others, and the drivers certainly did too. John.
Spider S4 Update
- Simon Addison
Most of you will know I was fortunate enough to buy Dave Atkins' Spider S4 in December. The drive home
was one of my last before suffering from recurring back problems leading to more surgery. I am now back
on my feet but during the downtime I took the opportunity to get all the little jobs on the car sorted in
readiness for Spring.
The car was in excellent condition but was suffering from under use. I decided to get IntaServices to recommission it by doing a full all fluids & filters service together with fitting some new front tyres (the
originals were like new but six years old), service the brakes, replace the track rod ends, do the valve
clearances, fix the heater and sort a speedo problem out.
As usual, Dave Knott & the team did a great job but I needed holding up when the bill came through. lol.
I've also spent a fair bit at Classic Alfa, replacing the electric aerial, chromed headlamp trims, and door
seals. I've also invested in some upgraded security in the form of a steering wheel cover (Disklok) and a
professionally fitted immobiliser in addition to a Ctek smart battery charger for when the car is stored, some
fitted car mats & some chrome wheel bolt covers.
Now that it's all done it's even better than stunning. I'm totally smitten & now that I can drive again I'm
looking at taking her out at every given opportunity, heeding Dave's advice to make sure I use it. She's
great fun to drive, Clare (and Leigh) love her and she gets tons of lust-full looks and positive comments
wherever she goes.
Clare & I are planning a Euro Trip in May for my Birthday. We are looking at Belgium, Germany
(including a visit to the 'ring) and Holland. We can't wait!
I remain very grateful to Leigh & Mandy for giving her a temporary home and for helping me with lots of
the little DIY jobs we've done on her. Subject to some uncertainties with my health & my job, Clare & I
really need to pull our fingers out and find a bigger house with a multi car garage.
Cheers to all, Simon
Red Rarity - Chris Variava nets a very special MiTo
Group Used Car Manager Tim Hulbert from Chris Variava in Nottingham is well known to regulars
in our Section. He’s particularly renowned for tracking down interesting stock too, but this one
even took him by surprise. Among an order direct from Alfa Romeo UK was a MiTo 155bhp
Veloce, ‘fully loaded’, it said and in red. Well, when it rolled off the transporter that red was clearly
very special - none other than the full-on 8C Red option, listed at £15,000 (and that is not a typo),
as applied by the artisans at Maserati who paint the 8Cs themselves! The finish looks absolutely
stunning, and with all of its extras (leather, sunroof, Bose, climate control, 18” alloys) would have
listed at £34,000! So what was the secret? Well, it was one of the display cars built for Alfa’s
centenary display at The Goodwood Festival of Speed. One fantastic car anyway, with delivery
miles only and an asking price of ‘just’ £19,995. John
(PS - It may well have been snapped up now!)
RACE RETRO
Just a small one car feature for AROC this year after the huge
display for Alfa’s Centenary in 2010, but the event still had lots for
Italian Car fans to enjoy, with Lancias to the fore.
The Historic Motorsports Show (aka Race Retro) was
really a case of event promotion for our club this year,
and the Mallory Park Classic Festival on 18 and 19 June
in particular where AROC will have two Alfa races for
cars from the mid ‘60s to the mid ‘90s.
Sharing the stand with Mallory’s event organisers, the
Classic Touring Car Racing Club, Steve Dymoke’s lovely
modified Alfasud Ti fitted in perfectly. Steve’s car
having been originally built as a racer in the mid 80s, it
passed through several owners’ hands until Steve
bought it in 2006. The car has a steel shell with
fibreglass bonnet front panel, wings and arches. Its
engine is an 1800cc Brunswick Motorsport unit, giving
around 185bhp. Powering a car weighing just 720kg
and with an LSD and dog-cut ‘box, slow it ain’t!
Around the halls it was great to see former club
Chairman Ed McDonough with his Historic Racing Car
Magazine’s stand - featuring a beautiful 1991 Penske;
a sublime 2900 8C, then a host of Lancias including an
incredible Delta S4 rally recreation (road legal!). Jody
Sheckter’s 1977 Ferrari 312T2 was just gorgeous too
on the Motor Sport stand. Great to chat to Section
Member Gary Smith who was promoting his superb
brass sculptures again (pictured) - then outside, the
Rally Cars on the 1 mile exhibition stage were just aweinspiring. Favourites included a mad Ferrari 308 GTB;
Lancia Delta Integrale in famous Martini colours (of
course), a well driven Fiat 131Rallye, a feisty MG 6R4
and a bonkers Rover 3500 SD1 being hurled round the
tight course, bouncing off the straw bales. Great stuff!
John
(All Photos John G)
Steve Dymoke’s Alfasud Ti
Sublime Alfa 2900 8C
Ferrari 312T2
Lancia Delta Integrale
Lancia Delta S4 Recreation
Fiat 131 Abarth
Ferrari 308 GTB
Stunning Ferrari 458 Italia.
(I’d have resisted the carbon sills.)
More from Race Retro
Above: Abarth X1/9
Above: Stratos display. Who cares if they are kits?
Above: Don’t rally cars look great muddy?
Above: Serious intake trumpets!
Above: Ed McD in the PenskeE
Below; Ed McD getting out of the Penske!!
Bruntingthorpe:
147 Group Photo Shoot
In February I was asked by Auto Italia
magazine to some more Alfas for a photo shoot
at Bruntingthorpe Proving Grounds. Five cars
requested this time, all 147s from 1.6 Twin
Spark through to mighty GTA. Checking our
local membership list the 1.6s are certainly the
most numerous. I’d owed Pete Brailsford a
favour for all the stuff he’s done for our section
recently, so his 1.6 TI was first choice and I was
very pleased he could make it. For the rest it
was direct emails to owners I know around the
country and a broadcast email to the AROC 147
Register members.
The response was tremendous - there’s some
serious enthusiasm out there, to the point
where there were three times as many cars in
reserve! Distance seemed to be no problem
either! Tom Taylor was to bring his mint GTA
from Liverpool, Dave Peakall his 2.0 from
Bristol, Mark Grimshaw his remapped JTDm
from Tewkesbury and Malcolm Dowson a 2008
Selespeed (so rare) from Dublin. He wanted an
excuse for a holiday he said!
Michael Ward did the honours with the mag
photography again, and Guy Baker was the very
enthusiastic Journalist driving the cars once
again to get his impressions to turn into prose.
The weather was a bit warmer than the last
shoot I went too there in December - snow
everywhere - with the sun even coming out for a
while. It was great fun chatting to all the owners
too. I couldn’t stay for too long, but picked up
that Guy was impressed with the general ride of
Peter’s 1.6 Ti, and that Mark’s mildly re-mapped
turbo-diesel’s mid range go really took him by
surprise. Should be fascinating to see and read
the finished results of course. Keep an eye out
for Auto Italia in WH Smiths around May time.
Before that, the Alfa saloons feature, as seen in
last month’s Alfisti will appear.
Oh, watch out - possible Spider feature
coming soon… Owners beware my phone call!
Cheers! John
Keep an eye-out
for the article in
(...still apart from Alfisti)
Five 147s, and not a red one in sight! Michael Ward’s
Grande Punto Van did a great job as camera car for
this shoot.
New models for
Alfa?
Right; Auto Express magazine’s
rendering of a potential Alfa 159
successor. Smart and aggressive,
but a touch too Audi?
Well, with the 4C GTA concept it is great to see the sporting nature of
our brand come to the fore again. Light weight, mid-engined, who’d have
believed it a few years ago. So, does it herald a new beginning?
Well, with Fiat Group’s direct links with Chrysler a replacement for the
GM-linked Alfas - the big saloon and coupe, you could say, is certainly
needed, terrific as both cars are. Coming out of the Geneva show, the
indications are that the first step in that, the saloon (probably to be
named Giulia) will appear sooner than anticipated in early to mid 2012,
with possibly even a preview of sorts at the Frankfurt show later this
year. What has been communicated is that a Sportwagon variant will
also appear, and that a ’GT’ style coupe will follow too. The car being
built on the expanded version
of the new and highly
impressive Giulietta platform.
Fiat Group are also showing
signs that they want their
sporting asset to broaden its
range too. Two ’SUVs’ are
tabled, again on the ’C-Evo’
platform and primarily targeting
the huge US market. A 5-door
MiTo will come soon, and a
Mini-esque Cabrio version of
Alfa’s distinctive baby is a real
possibility. The name Spider is
synonymous with Alfa, so surely
that will appear. (How about a
4C Spider? Use a 1.4 turbo in
a mass-market version too? There’s an idea, but
carbon-fibre monocoques don’t come cheap!
Meantime, the spectre of a sell-off to the everexpanding VW Group will not go away; “We have
time”, repeated group boss Ferdinand Piech at
Geneva. However, the signs now for Alfa under Fiat
ownership are looking distinctly better than of
recent times, though the jury is still out on those
SUVs…. John
Above: One idea for an Alfa SUV
among many shockers on the Internet.
Above right: What a 5-door MiTo might
appear like. ‘Required’ by Americans it
is said. Others say - ruins it, 5-door
Corsa style.
Right: Maybe this one works? As long
as they can hide any Mini-Cabrio
‘pram’ style folded roof.
Car Cleaning Tip of the Month - Sealants
Just waxed your car? Done the hard work, but don’t really want to have to do it all again in a hurry?
Well you need a sealant. I’ll explain.
For the anti-cleaners, the doubters, the lazy ones - back to basics first. Wax is the stuff you put on a
car to protect paint and create the deep lustrous shine. A polish is what you use to improve or remove
paint imperfections - swirls, scratches and abrasions –first. If you’ve read any car wax adverts lately
you’ll have heard of Carnauba wax. Carnauba being the natural exotic plant extract that is one of the
shiniest compounds on the planet. The more Carnauba content - the better, but dearer, the wax. Well,
a sealant, or Polymer Sealant a kind of the anti-carnauba. They last a lot longer, they are easy to
apply, but there’s nothing natural about them. A paint sealant is made of polymers, which are
composed of tens of thousands of synthetic particles that are linked together. When a sealant bonds to
your vehicle’s paint, it forms a rigid shell. It is not the ‘warm’ carnauba that seems to melt into the paint.
Paint sealants basically sit on top of the paint like a transparent chain-mail suit. They are glossy and
slick. Some ‘detailers’ (the nuts that I fear I’m turning a bit into!) really love the hard-as-glass look, but
carnauba lovers will tell you they do not have the warmth and depth of a carnauba.
However, the real selling point of a paint sealant is durability. A premium paint sealant can last four
to six months, as against a wax’s six to eight weeks, and sometimes longer. By “last”, I mean that
water will continue to bead and the paint will remain protected from UV rays and
contamination. For people that spend more time driving than detailing but want to
protect their Alfa, the paint sealant is the way to go. Paint sealants are very easy to
apply; always in liquid form, they spread easily on a car too, a real time-saving
feature. Some take a while to ‘cure’ before you buff them - but it is worth the wait.
So, there are a lot of differences between paint sealants and natural carnauba
waxes. Glassy, hard shell or deep, liquid shine? Six months or six weeks? Well, a
growing number of enthusiasts simply refuse to choose. Instead, they coat their cars
with a layer of sealant for long-lasting protection and then top it with a layer of
carnauba-rich wax` for the dazzling shine, over time layering them up of course.
Even if you forget to reapply carnauba in 6 weeks, your paint won’t suffer.
Recommended sealants? Well, I’ve used Autoglym’s Extra Gloss Protection with
its gold label for absolutely years. It is readily available, well priced and long lasting
too as you only apply a really thin layer, like sun lotion. Treat yourself to an Autoglym
Palm Applicator to go with it (super speedy and even application!) and some nice
microfibre towels for buffing to the finished result and you will be awayE
So, sealants and waxes - heck there are things called Glazes too, but we’ll leave
that ‘til another time! John
I used to hate cleaning black cars, but my goodness
nowadays you can make them shine! Autoglym High
Definition Wax, Poorboys Black Hole Glaze and Autoglym
Extra Gloss Protection - or just the latter in a hurry - and
that black paint glows in the dark!
Below - and the rain just beads up and runs off, and any
necessary shampoo & wash is a doddle. Nice...
AROC Central & East Midlands Section Events 2011
Date
Event
6 April ‘11
Jamie Porter Talk Night - The Aviator, Sywell Aerodrome, Sywell. Northants. 7.15pm for
7.30pm. Please email john if you intend to go. (See panel below.)
13 Apr ‘11
Regular Monthly Meeting at The George & Dragon in Thringstone - starting at 7pm
17 Apr ‘11
Spring Alfa Day - Imperial War Museum, Duxford, Cambs, CB22 4QR
Includes Section Convoy Run to start - see Cover
19 Apr ‘11
Classic Car Night - with the Jaguar Enthusiasts’ Club at Beedles Lake Golf Centre near
East Goscote (LE7 3WQ) from 7pm. Bar meals available - delightful venue.
30 Apr ‘11
Auto Italia - Spring Italian Car Day at Brooklands. Includes Section Convoy Run to start.
TBC May ‘11
Visit to Cosworth Engineering, Northants. Saturday p.m. tour (approx 3 hours). More
details in a later edition. Limited numbers, priority given to regular event attendees.
11 May ‘11
Regular Monthly Meeting at The George & Dragon in Thringstone - starting at 7pm
5 Jun ‘11
Italian Car Concours - Stanford Hall near Lutterworth, Leicestershire
8 Jun ‘11
Section Fun Concours Night, at The George & Dragon in Thringstone - starting at 7pm
18/19 Jun
AROC at Mallory Park - Large AROC gathering at our local circuit to watch two Alfa-only
races among a packed programme at the Classic festival. (To be supported by Chris
Variava Alfa Romeo Nottingham.)
26 Jun ‘11
Cotswold Alfa Day - Buscot Park, Faringdon nr Swindon.
13 Jul ‘11
‘Spider Night’ at The George & Dragon in Thringstone - starting at 7pm
17 Jul ‘11
National Alfa Day, Basildon Park, Lower Basildon, Reading, Berks RG8 9NR
10 Aug ‘11
‘Blag-a-Ride’ Night at The George & Dragon in Thringstone - starting at 7pm
14 Aug ‘11
MITCAR - Midlands Italian Car Day at Stoneleigh Abbey, near Coventry.
4 Sep ‘11
Leicester Aeroclub Open Day - Leicester Airport, from 10.30am
11 Sep ‘11
Autumn Italian Car Day - Heritage Motor Centre, Gaydon, Warwicks.
14 Sep ‘11
Twilight Drive at The George & Dragon in Thringstone - starting at 7pm
TBC Sep/
Oct 11
AROC Track Day - venue and date TBC. Expected to be good value at a circuit near us.
Free expert driver tuition available too - ideal for the novices.
12 Oct ‘11
Section AGM and Alfa Quiz at The George & Dragon in Thringstone - from 7.30pm
TBC Oct ‘11
Tuscany Fly-Drive trip! Including visit to the superb Padova Classic Car Show. Section
‘lads’ trip, staying at and around Barga.
9 Nov ‘11
Regular Monthly Meeting at The George & Dragon in Thringstone - starting at 7.30pm
11 - 13 Nov
Classic Motor Show - NEC Birmingham
14 Dec ‘11
Regular Monthly Meeting at The George & Dragon in Thringstone - starting at 7.30pm
Lots more events to be added through the year
AN INVITATION - Weds 6th April
ALFA TALK by Jamie Porter evening at The Aviator, Sywell Aerodrome.
Brian Hawkins, the new South Midland Section Secretary has
passed on an invitation to our Section members:“On Wednesday April 6th 2011, at our regular meeting date, we
have organised a talk by Jamie Porter (the Alfa Garage, Royston) on
all things Alfa and wanted to extend invitations to our neighbours.
The venue is The Aviator, Sywell Aerodrome, Sywell,
Northamptonshire NN6 0BN. (Private room, just off the Bar area).
The Time:- 7.15 for 7.30pm start.
The Date:- Wednesday 6th April 2011.
Please pass this onto your members, as you know we are a
friendly bunch and look forward to meeting a few of them on our
patch, as it were!
If you could let me know if you have any interest, that would be
great. It should be a good night. Brian Hawkins”
Gazetta
News Snippets
CLASSIC CAR NIGHT - As you’ll have
read on page 1, we are back to Beedles
Lake Golf
Centre on
Tuesday
19 April,
meeting
up with
our pals
from the
Jaguar
Enthusiasts Club. Some very interesting classic
machinery is expected, and ALL Alfa
Romeos are very welcome. It all starts
from 7pm - worth getting along early.
Pete Brailsford is still working on our
planned visit to COSWORTH
ENGINEERING, slightly complicated as
the guy who was providing our way in
has left the company… Pete is still very
hopeful though for a date soon. Our
website will be kept up to date with
developments.
2011AROC SHOP ITEMS are now in
stock.
Danielle
has used
the
wonderful
‘retro’ Alfa
Romeo
Milano
badge on a
number of
superb,
good
quality Tee
Shirts which look terrific. And just £10
each! See the whole range at Spring
Alfa Day.
TURIN MOTOR SHOW was always quite
an event, held virtually every year from
1900 to 2000. Well, for the 150th
anniversary of Italy’s unification, the
intention was to hold it again a bit later
in the year. One problem though, the
city Council looking for an event
sponsor, line one up. Volkswagen
Group. FIAT bosses got to hear about
this, inevitably and, er, it’s now not
happening. You know who’s got the
power in Italy...
OTHER MARQUES
MINI Countryman. Huge, hideous, and
just four seats.
BMW, WHAT IS THE POINT?
I’ll echo all of that. It’s a very good venue and Jamie is an extremely
knowledgeable person, as members will know from reading his
regular club magazine column. Please let me know by email if you
plan to attend. Thanks, John
The Small Print: ‘Alfisti’ is published primarily for the enjoyment of members of the Alfa Romeo Owners’ Club Central & East Midlands Section with its cost effectively included as part of their
annual subscription paid to the AROC. We are very pleased that local dealer Chris Variava Alfa Romeo also support the cost of printing production.
Please note that the Alfa Romeo Owners’ Club UK ltd cannot endorse or recommend services or products advertised in its publications. Any opinions published in ‘Alfisti’ are personal ones.
Alfa Romeo Owners’ Club Ltd is registered in Ipswich. Registered Number 01106134, Registered Office Address: 48 High Street, Ipswich, IP1 3QJ. VAT Registration Number 31801433.
Our Alfas
All the latest on our local
members’ cars...
Our next monthly meetings at The George
& Dragon in Thringstone are on
Wednesday 13th April and Wednesday 11th
May, both from 7pm. See you there! John
GTV 2.0 TS - Stuart O'Donnell
Stuart’s black GTV is his weekend
machine really - a perfect sporting
antithesis to his daily driver, a
whopping great Lexus. Stuart says
he has to get down into this one of
course, where as a ladder is almost
in order for the big machine!
Generally it’s going great, though
IntaServices have been fixing the
odd warning light malady. I think
we’ve all had those over the years...
Brera S V6 - Martin Lindus
From an email to John:
On the way back from
the Skittles match, I
got a bit of a vibration
on the Brera and
pulled over to discover
a flat tyre!! - Middle of
no where on the A47,
almost
midnight
wearing just a shirt temp
1degree
C!
Fortunately I knew a
man that could help,
and the AA arrived 20mins later and put the space saver on.
Two days later, and £500 lighter, I have two new Pirellis - and boy does
the car handle better. Now, in theory I shouldn't have had to worry about
the Brera being out of action whilst tyres were ordered, however the GTV
had an MOT the next dayE.. and of course decided to leak brake fluid so
not only failed but couldn't be used for a week. It’s amazing how you
vehicle status changes in just 24hrs!!! Martin
Pete Brailsford - 147 1.6 Ti
Pete, our special ‘insider’ from Bilstein, was
delighted to come along to the Auto Italia 147
photo shoot featured inside, bringing along his
rare Ti model to the throng.
He’s owned it
for two years now and it’s been a superb,
reliable machine, and even on
his usual short journeys still
returning around 35mpg. The
TI has special trim and unique
ten-spoke 17” alloys made by
Toora in Italy. Whenever asked
what got him into Alfas, his
stock reply is always ‘the
badge”. Guess he’s got a point
there. The fact they drive so
well and look so good is a
bonus!
MiTo Veloce 16v - Maria Griffiths
I remember when I was a
MiTo doubter. Wasn’t sure
about the looks, wasn’t sure
about the ride. Well, after the
2010 revisions and the
general passage of time, I’m
officially besotted! The car
was to Mrs G’s spec of
course, hence the vibrant
Corsa Yellow paintwork and
the big black sunroof. Have
to say I still really love it on
such a fun car too. The
1400cc 16v unit, with just 3K
on it now is getting run in and its feisty Italian nature is really coming to
the fore: it loves to be driven hard in ‘Dynamic’, belying its size.
Getting in with electronic gizmos, the blinking lights, the flick of the
needles, shutting the frameless coupe-like door behind you, is always
an event. If you’re ever thinking of a new smaller car, for goodness
sake do not miss out on a MiTo, they are delightful. John
Panzer Division Corner
From an email to John from Herr Nethercotzen: Gutten Tag Johann. Vot do you zink to
mein new leetle Tank? Ist nice jah? JAH?! STAND STILL VEN I AM TALKING TO YOU!!
I vos forced to buy it as meine Brera vos, how you say, “getting-on-a-bit”, und das Italians
are no longer making eine new big coupe. Especially mit das DoppleSchmeizerGrősser
(DSG) gearbox zat I need. (I have some shrapnel in mein left ankle.) VOT EES DE MATTER
VIS ZEM??? So, das Volkswagen vos reqvired after I observed ozzer German machinen.
Das BMW, das Audi und das Tiger (too big).
Das Scirocco Mark Drie Typen R (Reichstagg Edition) ist more manoeuvrable zan das HalfTrak I tried from Mercedes Leicester, und has most impressive fire power. I nearly lost a
track on za virst day vis it, but das kerbstone voss CRUSHED. So, you see zat I like it
veeery much.
Ze only problem zo, I am told, is zat it is very schnell through Poland, France und das low
countries, but not good at crossing ze channel, or in North Africa or Russia. ‘Til ze next time
vee meet. Panzer Commandant Leigh Nethercotzen.
GT 2.0 JTS - Jim Cowan
Jim has swapped his blue GT - for a red one!
Looks terrific in Rosso Alfa of course. We look
forward to seeing it and his partner Beth’s MiTo
during this year.
Left: VW
Scirocco Mk111
‘R’ in blue.
Right: Panzer
Mk111 ‘R’, also
in blue.
- SCOOP! Unusual news from the world of motoring
Alfa reverse
reverse--engineer
‘Rosso 130’ Paint
Alfa Romeo owners of old are well
aware of how the old ‘Rosso 130 red’
paint is able to fade on cars - turning
various shades of pink through to,
eventually, matt. Well, what people
are not aware of is that the special
matt red paint on the fabulous 4C GTA
is designed to gradually develop to
full-gloss Alfa Red. It takes about 5
years, and does it gradually on random
panels. Nice thinking Centro Stile.
■
Alfisti’s production is sponsored by Chris Variava Alfa Romeo Nottingham
■
Alfisti no.133 will be out in May