Stars Cars Peter Everett

"It’s fantastic. All my cousins own Alfas and a few people at Ten own them too. I’ve always loved them," says Everett.  "It seems I’ve been driving around for the past 15 years in a Bayswater Rental car. I’ve been away a lot and I live in the inner city so it seemed more appropriate to rent a car when I really needed one. So this is a big splurge."

But there is a contradiction in his motoring life.  "I’m not a revhead. I drive like a nanna. In the Corolla rental I was always a nanna but since driving the Alfa I’ve gotten a little raunchier. I guess I’m a ‘raunchy nanna’ now.

"The Alfa is definitely a head-turner. It’s amazing how your attitude changes when you’re in something nice. I’m really enjoying the experience – it’s such a smooth drive. It’s just beautiful. I drove a bunch of friends around in it last night and they were ‘ooh-ing and ahh-ing’ about it. They all loved the leather interior and that ‘new car’ smell."

And it's more than just a car.  "I do a little ritual every time I get in the car. I wipe it and pray that no-one comes anywhere near me. I put the intention out there for people to keep away. I don’t want anyone coming too close to my new car."

Despite his 15-year absence from ownership, Everett was behind the wheel at an early age.  "I’m originally from the country so we were all driving at 8 years old around the farm. I was living with my grandparents in Brisbane when I went for my licence. My uncle took me along to get my licence and I had to do it twice – I was shocking. I think it was just nerves.

"My uncle knew the fella taking my driving test and I’m sure he had to buy him a case of beer just to make sure I got my licence I was 18." 

And then came the Swede.  "My first car was a second-hand orange Volvo with tan seats. It was big-time. It was the worst car in the world. It just kept breaking down. I spent more money fixing the thing than what I paid for it.

"It was a running joke in my family when I would call them at 11 or 12pm or 1 in the morning from wherever I was in Australia and they’d ask 'Where has the car broken down now?' I was constantly breaking down in the worst spots, at traffic lights coming into Sydney or on the Harbour Bridge, which I got fined for. I had the Volvo for far too long. I refused to give up easily. I thought I could fix it.

"Sometimes you just need to let go. Just like a relationship, when you stop laughing, it’s time to move on. Well, I wasn’t laughing by the end of that relationship I traded the Volvo in for a Honda Prelude. I thought I was very smart in that car. But that one got stolen not long after I moved to Sydney and I didn’t have a car for many years."

But rental cars didn't stop him on the road.  "I love a roadtrip. Before I bought my car, I would ‘upgrade’ the Bayswater rental to a Hertz, and I would drive back from Brisbane to Sydney at Christmas, popping in at all the great coastal towns on the way.

"I’ve got a break coming up and I’d really like to drive across the Nullabor but I’m nervous taking an Alfa across the Nullabor. Friends of mine, during school days, drove across the Nullabor and cooked bacon, eggs and chickens in aluminium foil on the engine block. I hope the state of the food will be better than that if I decide to cross the Nullabor.

"I don’t mind driving on my own but it would be nice to have a friend along for the ride."  And what else does he want on the road.

"I am old school. I don’t own an iPod. My friends will tell you how far behind I am. I am not computer savvy at all.

"I still take my CD collection on the road with me. I love a variety of music, everything from Opera to the Kings of Leon – and everything in-between."