Alfa Romeo News

Where will it all end? Australian automotive manufacturers and importers are hoping the answer is: right here, right now.For the first time in months, there's a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel that may not be another oncoming train.The Federal Government's cash handouts have helped the Australian economy dodge a recession on a technicality, consumers are spending again and car showrooms are beginning to fill with a whole lot of shiny new offerings.With a fresh financial year dawning, something in the order of 60 all-new or refreshed models are waiting in the wings before the end of 2009.Ranging from the first of the Chinese invaders to a couple of machines from the supercar stratosphere, these are the recession-busters the automotive industry is relying on.Here are a handful of the key players in this revival.Great Wall Motors AFTER what seems an age of yes-we-are, no-we-aren't games, the first of the Chinese-made brigade will be in showrooms next month.A pair of workhorse utes — the 4x4 V240 (known as the Wingle in China) and the 4x2 SA220 — will come as single-specification models with prices expected to be "around two-thirds of their logical competitors".That could mean a starting figure of $17,000 to $19,000.Alfa Romeo MiToTHE classic Italian marque's new baby, which arrives next month, has the task of taking on BMW's iconic Mini in the quest for buyers with more cash than responsibilities."It's a growing market as people downsize their cars to achieve better fuel economy but don't want to give up performance or style," Alfa Romeo Australia's Edward Rowe says."Our aim is to beat the Mini on both price and equipment."To that end, Rowe says the newcomer — which sits on a Fiat Punto platform — will launch as two models: the 88kW MiTo and a sparkier, 114kW MiTo Sport.Both have turbocharged, 1.4-litre petrol engines with six-speed manual gearboxes. Expect a starting price in the low $30,000 range.Hyundai i20AFTER the success of the i30 hatch and wagon, Hyundai has high hopes for its German-designed, Indian- made small car.Expected to hit showrooms towards the end of this year, the three-door and five-door i20s will sit at the higher end of the light-car segment, beginning at $16,000 to $17,000.This will leave the popular Getz as Hyundai's entry-level model, but will likely spell the end of the Accent.VW Golf GTITHE sixth-generation Golf GTI arrives in October with all the shiny new technology seen on its more mundane stablemates but lots more go.With 155kW driving through a new limited-slip differential, it promises all the attitude of its predecessors wrapped into a more refined package."It has all the safety and enhancements of the Golf VI and more power than the outgoing GTI, yet it's quieter and more efficient," VW Australia's Karl Gehling says.Pricing isn't yet set, but should be close to the outgoing model's $39,990.Holden VE CommodoreTHE first mid-life makeover for GM-Holden's "billion-dollar baby" is likelyto be remarkable for what ishappening under the skin rather than for any cosmetic body changes.A founding member of the Large Family Car segment — the hardest- hit sector of the industry over the past couple of years — the Commodore will celebrate GM's survival with a much more focused and fuel-efficient engine package.Although a four-cylinder option isn't on the cards, a smaller V6 is. That could be a three-litre or even a version of the 2.8-litre that has recently been shipped to Mexico for the Cadillac SRX.Expect to see it around October.

The Carsguide diary has been full for more than a year with the latest and greatest from the 40-plus brands with showrooms in Australia, but June is quiet. And it's not just the winter chill.We're seeing things go quiet as all the big brands concentrate on doing big numbers through one of the two biggest months of the year. They know June is the time to cash-in on end-of-financial-year splurges, boosted this year by the Federal government's 50 per cent investment allowance.June is also the time to take stock and plan for a second-half splurge, with Toyota and Holden planning major back-end action on the Camry and Commodore and everyone from Alfa Romeo to Volkswagen — the MiTo and Golf GTi — promising something good before the end of 2009.We're also moving into the mid-summer launch season in the northern hemisphere, and will be reporting soon on everything from the new Kia Sorento coupe to the Porsche Panamera and BMW's super SUV, the X6.And then there is Great Wall, which is just about to preview the first Chinese utes and cars to be sold in Australia.So it's quiet now but the chill will fade fast in coming months.

Cancer as a boy left him blind in one eye, but it hasn't slowed him down. The 51-year-old Gold Coast businessman has owned a host of performance cars from a Mini Cooper S to his current 400 horsepower Trans-Am Mustang and has raced since he was 40. Except for the years 1998-2001 when CAMS took away his race licence because of his sight.Rigon loves a good stoush, so he took CAMS to court and won and is now the only one-eyed driver licensed to race in national events. His first car was a 1968 Mini Cooper S former NSW police pursuit vehicle."The police had GTHOs, Chargers and Mini Cooper Ss back then," he explains. "It had great handling and was very quick, but I eventually blew the engine up driving it too hard."He then moved to a Mazda RX4 Coupe "rocketship", followed by several company cars, a GTV6 Alfa Romeo in 1989 and a Porsche 911 Carrera. "The Alfa stayed with me for some time and was picked up by a collector in Western Australia, an 81-year-old lady who had it fully restored it," he said. "Being Italian it never stayed together and spent more time in the repair shop than it was on the road, but it was a great car to own."His current everyday cars are a 2007 V8 SS Commodore and an ex-police Ford Typhoon F6: "I like to buy ex-police cars because they are looked after and have a few trick bits."Rigon was a late starter to racing at the age of 40 competing in the WA Formula Ford series against eventual winner Garth Tander. He's made up for it since with a host of race cars, including two Subaru WRX STIs. But the Trans-Am Mustang he bought early last year is his favourite."It's the most pleasurable car to drive because it is not as technical as a modern race cars which are very forgiving," he says. "Modern race cars take a lot of technology to make them run quick but there is a lot more driver skill required in old cars. They tend to go sideways quite a bit.""It's something about our age group. It was the car that always appealed to me. "I was heavily inspired by Steve McQueen in Bullitt and always loved American Trans-Am (1964 to '74 American V8-powered cars) racing series as well as the Australian equivalent with Bob Jane, Allan Moffat driving around in Mustangs and Comaros. That was the style of racing I could really identify with."He's now the treasurer of the fledgling Australian Trans-Am Series which, not surprisingly, doesn't operate under CAMS licensing. "The average age of the racers is 45 to 60 and those drivers wouldn't necessarily get a CAMS licence which can take a year to get a full licence," he says.The series has 24 members with about 12-14 cars lining up on the grid. "We believe that will grow to a full field of 24 in about six months and about 34 in 12 months at any race meeting making it the largest Trans-Am series outside the US."Needless to say, his dream machine is a race car. "One of those limited edition GT3 Porsches," he is quick to answer. "I have always had a love for Ferraris but Porsches can take a pounding. They are a bullet proof car. For my driving style - while I love Italian cars - they just don't stay together." 

The 159 came here in 2006 sans not only the automatic transmission option — crucial these days if you’re serious about attracting more than a few hundred punters (such as myself) — but also the refinement, efficiency, performance and various other things hoped for by those of us who, against all reason, hold Alfa Romeo in some regard. Some embellishments and functional enhancements between first appearance and mid-life revision are par for the course, of course. Yet it’s the glaring improvement between model year 2008 and this one that’s so striking, so much so that if this were the work of Volkswagen they’d tell you it belonged to a new generation. Put it this way, there’s far more substantive improvement between this year’s 159 (Ti editions and conventional ones alike) than has been claimed between the Mark V and Mark VI Golfs — not so much in terms of bits and pieces added on in, but for how the thing goes. I drove the top-line diesel 159 this week over precisely the same bits of bitumen as every previous 159 to date. The five-cylinder turbo diesel is still far, far too gruff and loud for anything priced around $61K, but despite this and the same knee-weakening Giugiaro design and driver-centric cabin as before, you have a tough time believing it’s the same car. Skinny Ti edition 19s notwithstanding, it rides the same bumps on which the last Ti in this garage just about scraped its chin off. Moreover, despite being dropped and stiffened it suffers altogether fewer instances of skittering and general ill-discipline. All this without comprising the connectivity one feels with the road or that excellent turn in. And all that while channeling 400Nm through the front wheels. Only 10 years ago, grown men were simpering in relief at having survived Saab’s manically torque-steering 9-3 Viggen with its 350Nm going through the pointy end. Yet the Alfa’s front-wheel nature comes to the fore mainly in terms of a bus-like turning circle. The truly extraordinary leap forward, however, is Aisin’s six-speed automatic tranny. So maladroit was their previous effort it worked with the car about as harmoniously as a transplanted organ that the body is rejecting. Well, they’ve fixed it to the extent that it bears comparison with the benchmark ZF of BMW’s rival 320D. There’s another car about which you might be entitled to feel sour if you’re among the first-up buyers. The BMW E90 – the fifth incarnation of the 3-Series — started life here with the previous generation’s 2.0-litre turbo diesel only to get the new, more efficient and faster engine in 2008, with further marginal improvements in output and efficiency for the 2009 range. Says something doesn’t it? All things really do come to he who waits.

...but fell through a sort of time warp and ended up, instead, in the cockpit of the oldest in existence. Though its body and certain components cannot with conscience, or by connoisseurs, be called strictly authentic, the chassis, essentials and - dare we say? - heart and soul of the only 1921 Alfa Romeo G1 most assuredly is. The only remaining of the 52 built, this glitteringly and hideously-expensively restored olde world roadster has spent much of the last decade of its almost 90 years occupying the foyer of Ateco Automotive, which has recently taken to importing Chinese econo-cars in addition to Italy’s best and proudest. The showpiece and occasional joy toy of Ateco’s formidable head and super-maxi yacht owner and skipper, Neville Crichton, the G1 is literally priceless. As in, no-one’s quite sure what it’s worth. Just that it’s a hell of a lot and that handsome overtures to take it back ‘home’ to Italy have been soundly spurned. Amid the sleek anonymity of modern driving devices, this leviathan is almost a visual scandal. After you take in its imposing, sunlight-blocking majesty, it’s the ‘missing’ things that make the greatest impression. You reach for the door handle; there’s none. Nor a door. No roof, either, to protect the dark green leather should the heavens frown on this rare outing which Ateco mechanics take to keep the old banger’s vital fluids fluid. Clambering way up and in – in itself no mean feat for the outsized citizen – you reach for the seat belt; not a one to be had. Check mirrors; the only reflection to be had is off the blazing red paint. Indicators? Try hand signals. Reach for the ignition key and there’s a starter pedal (and another to switch off) on the floor. As to the pedals that drive this 2.6-tonne automated carriage, they’re arranged to further frighten the already nerve-wracked wretch sliding into the right seat (European cars were RHD back then) for his go. Some practical joker has configured it so the clutch is on the left (I can live with that), the brake to the outside right and the accelerator slightly below and in the middle. This too was the way, back in the day. Oh, and the four-speed H-pattern gearshift is – even more quixotically from the modern perspective – hard up against your right leg, making for yet more counter-intuitive contortions. Like most near-nonagenarians, the old beast takes a bit of enlivening first thing in the morning. Daryl, whose duties include trotting the G1 out from time to time, has to more than once unbuckle the thick leather bonnet straps and have a word with the whacking great 6.3-litre inline six. However, once up and away it’s remarkably refined, certainly not much less so than the five cylinder turbo diesel of the newest 159 Ti. With Daryl having got us off the main road, I wipe damp hands on my car coat, and lurch forward. Grasping the silver stick, I grind my teeth and those of the unsynchronized transmission into second (“just shove it through”), ensuring that the stick ends up wedged under my leg – clearly the marque’s famously awkward driving position has early origins. We putter with something approaching confidence along a long straight piece of road, stumbling when I cleverly apply the accelerator rather than the brake, until – oh, God – here comes a corner. Wrench that enormous steering wheel with the determination of Ahab helming through a cyclone (and to think how we moan about today’s over-assisted and feel free tillers) and arrrrrrround we go. Easy when you know how. Except we’re in a cul-de-sac and a three-point turn must now be achieved. Indeed ‘achievement’ is the mot juste. When reversing, the steering loads up to about double its regular resistance; and with much crunching and shuddering this elementary manoeuvre is achieved with all the grace and dexterity of an elephant on roller skates. Back on the straight and wide, we gain a bit of momentum, reaching a heady 30 miles per hour (50km/h) in fourth. Motorists of yore might have needed to travel distances with their mechanic in the passenger seat, but they surely knew driving in its rawest, most exhilarating and enervating form. Of course, even if its mighty power-plant were never again to roar, the G1 would be an aesthetic triumph. Already eye-widening from without, it’s when you get within and examine the white-faced dials, the glittering metal and upholstery that you see the point of history at which the lingering elegance of the belle époque belatedly met the industrial age. Mere functionality was left to the likes of Henry Ford – the Italian prestige automobile had to be something more. That this unique example endures is due not just to devoted restoration but to no little amount of good fortune. Prior to its acquisition by Crichton, the G1’s history was more checkered than a finishing flag. Once of seven imported to Australia, this one was bought by a grazier near Winton who proceeded to become bankrupt. He might have lacked cash, but not wits – hiding the beauty on a neighbour’s property. It was a smart move, foiled only by the grazier’s death three years later. So it was the Milanese aristocrat spent the depression powering a water pump in outback Queensland. Around 1947, cockies got the thing going as a paddock basher until the new owner undertook its first full restoration, using the G1 as a daily driver and on a regular commute between Brisbane and Melbourne. Crichton collared it at auction in 1999, sending it to Christchurch for a ground-up restoration, where it acquired the current body. Its most notable outing was in 2005 under the auspices of Sydney car classicist and journo David Berthon, when it won its class in California’s ultra-prestigious Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. Look, I don’t do nostalgia. I don’t pine for those good old days, which after even cursory research turn out not to have been very good at all, merely old (even at the time). But anyone who is not in the thrall of this singular experience – however brief – has lost the ability to be impressed. I’m not an unfit fellow, but I’m simply in awe of those weedy little chaps who steered these mighty machines in competition. I mean: do Le Mans in something like this? Phew … Back at Ateco, I slip into the 159 Ti, Alfa’s remarkable recent reinvention of its slow-selling midsizer. Engaging drive (it’s still somehow difficult to grasp the notion of an automatic Alfa), I segue onto the rutted, ruined bitumen of a Sydney main road and head home among the variously inept and arrogant, but uniformly unschooled, motorists and muse that in terms of driverly sense, cars may have become cleverer, but we are surely dumber than those who drove in the era of the G1.

The cars – which will be built at Chrysler’s North American plants — will be developed as a result of the agreement between the two companies, under which Fiat has taken a 35 per cent stake in Chrysler. Four of the vehicles will be branded as Chryslers, while the remaining three are expected to be either sold as Fiats or Alfa Romeos. Fiat will reportedly supply platforms for four of the products, but there has been no information about design, vehicle segments or estimated launch. However industry insiders have suggested that the product plan being finalised between the two brands will see the Fiat 500 produced at Chrysler’s Toluca factory after the PT Cruiser currently built there is phased out later this year. However Chrysler’s Australian boss, Gerry Jenkins, says the local arm has as yet little detail of what is happening at head office. “All we know is that our top executives are in talks this week with Fiat executives and at this stage there is no further information,” Jenkins says. “I don’t have a whole lot of detail. We are having correspondence with head office but there is nothing concrete I can say at this stage. “But we’re all very excited. (The Fiat agreement) is a tremendous opportunity. “It’s a perfect marriage and I think the prospects are absolutely outstanding.” Fiat’s stake in Chrysler has not included any money being handed over, with the Italian badge’s involvement being repaid by more doors being opened to international markets and shared technology. Chrysler was one of the beneficiaries of the US government bail-out earlier this year, receiving US$4 billion in loans, however experts believed that the company would collapse without a strategic partnership. However a Fiat executive has warned that Italy’s automotive industry could lose 60,000 jobs – around 20 per cent of the workforce — unless the government implements a rescue package. ”If the government doesn't intervene, the risk that 60,000 workers in the automotive sector will have to stay at home is real,” Fiat chief executive Sergio Marchionne was quoted by Italy's Ansa news agency as saying earlier this week. "We are expecting measures for the entire automotive sector, which is currently selling 60 per cent less than last year," he said. “It's not a case of helping Fiat but of re-starting an entire production sector and the whole economy.” Fiat has slashed production recently and cut its forecasts because of the global auto slump, and announced earlier in January that it would not pay a 2008 dividend to shareholders.  

As usual it is interesting times in F1. Interesting in the way a soap opera is …. you know everything about it could be a lot better, but a lot of us still watch it anyway. 2008 was actually a good year except for the final result. No sport should ever put itself in a position where the person who wins the most comes second.  Massa won 6, Hamilton 5. Professional sport is all about winning - seconds should not be rewarded - it's a race. This year it went down to the wire but I am still skeptical about Glock’s sudden slow down. I'm with Jean Todt..... McLaren cannot be trusted. Max Mosley may feel the same.Good riddance Honda, I hope Toyota is next. The matching pair of the world’s most boring auto manufacturers.... I never got it anyway, marketing dull cars to cardigan-wearing, centre-lane hugging drivers via F1. I'd prefer Nissan and Mazda to be part of F1, at least they are building interesting sports cars.Reportedly the Honda team is up for sale for a little as 1 Euro. Lotus - please buy it - we need your creative innovation back in the sport. If not Lotus, Fiat - you buy it for either Alfa or Maserati and pay Ferrari to manage it as their B-team. If not Fiat then VW - for Audi or Bugatti. Bugatti need to be more than a one hit wonder.As we race towards The Singularity we may be entering our period of radical change, and in that vein I offer up two alternate plans for F1;Don't reduce the budget. Let the teams drop to 5 but let them have four cars. Get more money out of Bernie, the manufacturers should get the bulk - not him. Split all the money just five ways. Four Ferraris, four McLarens etc. Here in Australia we can make a better race out of it with just Commodores and Falcons.Don't reduce the budget  .... sort of. Keep the reductions for petrol engines but throw in a wild card rule. If you want to use electric motors you don't need to abide by any of the rules other than safety and size. There's a way to get our real slot cars quicker .. and sooner. Pit stops would become battery pack swaps.... and they can have as many as they need until the technology reaches the point where they don't need any. Oh ..... and get more money out of Bernie, the manufactures should get the bulk - not him.While I don't know what is going to happen, I do know a lot will change over the next five years. A Perfect Storm is forming, Max will be gone soon. Bernie can not last for ever. We are in a period of financial crisis where even Ferrari legend and Honda team leader Ross Brawn can be made redundant. We previously just had a silly season for drivers, we may be about to see a silly season for teams.So back to the question..... who will be next?Rod Halligan

The GT gets the four-leaf clover badge, 18-inch alloys, red painted calipers, red seat-stitching, other shiny bits and rear parking sensors. Fitted with the Alfa Romeo 2.0-litre JTS engine from the 156 range, the GT Monza is $53,990 in manual and $55,990 with the manual-matic Selespeed. The 147 also gets 18s, sports seats and chrome bits. Powered by the 2.0-litre Twin Spark, the three-door 147 Monza is $36,990 for five-speed manual and $38,990 with Selespeed. For five doors, it's $38,990 (manual) and $40,990 (Selespeed) The diesel is $41,990.  

It will carry the economy-sized burden of gathering a new generation of Alfisti. Developed off the Fiat Punto platform, the MiTo is a compact three-door coupe with a sports-orientated sexy fun factor ... just ask Alfa. However, what it definitely is not is a spiritual successor to the Alfa Sud of the 1970s. “The MiTo is a very strategically important vehicle for Alfa Romeo, but it is not the new Alfa Sud, despite all the talk about that,” says Alfa Romeo Australia's Edward Rowe. “Firstly, the Alfa Sud was a Golf-sized car that was launched to compete against the Golf and the Sud has a straight-through lineage to today's 147 — a Golf-sized car. “The other significant thing is the Alfa Sud was designed to compete with the Golf directly. “It was a five-door hatch, there was a wagon version — it was a family five-door, five-seat hatchback that just happened to look cute and go around corners well. “It was a thoroughly mainstream model built under instructions from the Italian government (which owned Alfa Romeo at that time) to be Italy's answer to the Golf. Obviously the 147 has strayed away from the Golf competitor role a little but essentially that is still where it sits.” The MiTo, Rowe says, will compete in the hottest sector of the European market; the super-mini sector that sits directly below the Golf, Audi A3, Astra or 1 Series BMW style cars. “That segment is rapidly becoming Europe's number one market sector,” Rowe says. “It is very important for Alfa Romeo to have a model in that sector, but that doesn't mean going after the mass-market buyers in the sector. “The part of the sector that is growing isn't the mass-market section, the Polos, C3s and so on, it is the premium end of that market where people are coming down from the sectors above and want something cute, sexy and performance-oriented with all the fruit and gear. A smaller version of the cars they have been driving in the past.” Alfa Romeo importers Ateco Automotive hope to have the MiTo on sale in Australia by the middle of next year with an entry price around $30,000 moving up to the $35,000 range for the higher-end models. “The details are still being worked out but I would imagine we would take the top petrol engine, a 115kW turbocharged 1.4-litre petrol unit, the 90kW 1.6-litre JTDM diesel and possibly a smaller petrol engine as an entry-level car,” Rowe says. “The gearbox choices will be a six-speed manual and a Selespeed and the specification levels will be high.” Rowe stresses the MiTo is not a family car and will target a youth-oriented audience. “It is targetting a much younger market than the traditional Alfa Romeo market. It is firmly aimed at the 20-30 age bracket. Even the naming is aimed at the younger buyers. It is almost `X-speak' ... a contraction of two longer words, Milan and Turin .” Alfa has already hinted at a rush of further technological additions for the MiTo after its initial launch. Fiat has shown a hot version of the little turbo petrol engine that has been re-fettled to produce a storming 150kWs. There are also suggestions that a convertible version of the car could be available within a year while the Multiair electronically controlled valve lift system and the Fiat's version of the double-clutch automatic, the DDCT, are reportedly already slated for the MiTo. As with many small cars now, the MiTo was engineered to obtain maximum Euro NCAP safety rating and has a full suite of electronic driving aids including non-switchable dynamic stability control, MSR to prevent wheels locking during over-run and dynamic steering torque (DST). The MiTo comes standard with seven airbags, three-point seatbelts with pretensioners and load limit limiters and active head restraints. In-cabin comfort and refinement includes premium MP3 sound and the multi-functionality of the Blue&Me device. That is a system developed in conjunction with Microsoft that offers hands-free operation with a Bluetooth interface and advanced voice recognition, USB port, MP3 player and SMS interpreter.   SNAPSHOT ALFA ROMEO MiTo Price: from $30,000 (estimate) Engine: 1.4L/4-cylinder turbo; 1.6L/4-cylinder turbo diesel Transmission: 6-speed manual, Selespeed auto Rivals: Mini, Fiat 500, Peugeot 207 GTi On sale: July 2009

For Alfa admirer Richard McKee, some phone calls, faxes and emails led to a decision to purchase a 1986 Alfa Romeo GTV6 Grand Prix in Adelaide.But it didn't exactly result in the dream ride back home he had hoped for.“My wife and I flew to Adelaide on a Saturday morning and went straight to the place to pick the car up,” he says. “We then drove it back to Sydney, which was a terrible experience."“It had been in a garage for such a long time with little use on the kilometres. Driving out of Adelaide we got to 80km/h and the car began shaking as if the wheels were out of balance.”A quick stop into a garage and a check of the wheel alignment failed to locate the problem.So it was one wobbly ride home, or as McKee calls it, “the worst trip out.”After making it home safely, McKee discovered that all it needed was a new set of tyres.But being confronted with Alfa problems isn't something new for McKee. His Alfa Romeo appreciation began in 1979 with an Alfetta model, the same family line this GP model belongs to.“They're just unique in terms of their styling, their performance, but I definitely wasn't drawn by their quality control,” he says.Despite some unreliable Alfas in the past, McKee says the looks are just one element that draws him back to the cars. And in the same way that 1980s fluorescent clothing, leggings and teased hair has struck a chord with the younger generation today, the stylish Italian 1980s car still hasn't gone out of fashion. His wife occasionally drives the car to her job as a primary school nurse, and even the kindy kids are impressed.“The kids just love it,” McKee says. “A really young person would never realise the car is 22 years old. It still looks extremely good and that's probably one of the most outstanding things about Alfa Romeo's design. They're timeless ... this could be mistaken for a more current car.”But as the saying goes, looks aren't everything. It's what's inside that counts and that's also an aspect that attracts McKee to Alfa models.“It was about the styling of the car and the performance of the car was second to none when you consider the cc capacity of the cars,” he says.“The engines are so well developed, it's just a pleasure to drive. Their torque, their overall performance, the longevity. They certainly build one strong engine.”McKee says they were built with a 50/50 weight distribution, which was extraordinary at the time.“Everything was about getting the balance of the car right,” he explains, adding this also provides better handling when on the race track.Four-wheel disc brakes also come in handy, something that was also rare at the time. And aside from the initial forgettable road trip, McKee says this model hasn't caused him too much trouble, although as is the case with all classic cars, it does require general maintenance.“It was worth going to Adelaide to get a car that had been extremely well looked after,” he says.Indeed, this Alfa is a model clearly designed for the open road, rather than Sydney's traffic.“The engine is very much geared towards open-road running,” McKee says. “Its potent 2.5-litre V6 delivers exceptional economy.”With the previous owner adding a stainless-steel exhaust, McKee says the sound also adds to an enjoyable overall driving experience.McKee is only the third owner of the car and when he bought it three years ago, it had just 107,000km on the clock. He's now added 8000km of his own, mainly through weekend drives.However, as with many other classic car owners sharing their passion, McKee enjoys joining other members of the Alfa Romeo Owners Club of Australia on some longer cruises.Of course, there's a really good explanation for all this. McKee confesses that he's not just a fan of the marque and says, “it's called being an Alfa nut” — something that can be illustrated by a quick inspection of his garage. The McKee household is not short on Italian machinery.While he's currently restoring a couple of older Alfas, he also races an Alfetta model and his wife owns a 2001 Alfa Spider. So with both old and new models, McKee is considering selling his GTV GP.The car originally sold for $39,812 when it first went on sale in 1986, but McKee believes it would now be valued about the $12,500 mark.And it's not just he and his wife who have caught the Alfa bug. McKee also managed to pass it on to his son.“When we were driving back from getting his first car, he was just 16, and I asked why he wanted an Alfa,” he says.“He said, 'Because they're different'.” Snapshot1986 Alfa Romeo GTV6 GPValue when new: $39,812Value now: about $12,000Verdict: This car still knows how to look cool in the 21st century thanks to its classic, timeless design and powerful performance.