The interior of a 116 GTV

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Originally uploaded by gtveloce

There's a bit of cheating here - it's an '82 2.0 GTV with tan interior but with an '84 model's chocolate faux-Recaro "mesh" seats and side panels in the doors. The original seats had headrests on a sliding laminated wooden "slat" - you'd know it if you saw it! Anyway these seats have the "mesh" insert into the headrest. It's a Momo steering wheel seen here of course, but the car came with a wooden-rimmed example that was just too large (but made turning effort more manageable). The leather gear knob is Momo as well, replacing the chunky wooden number so many Alfas had back then...

Alfa Giulietta 2 Oran Pk 82

Alfa Giulietta 2 Oran Pk 82
Originally uploaded by gtveloce

That's me demonstrating understeer at Oran Park raceway, NSW in 1982. It's a 1.8l Giulietta and it could hit 160km/h by the end of the long main straight of the "GP circuit". Alas the track then kinks (going flat here is possible but dicey) before a hard left turn with a concrete wall for company... definitely my most interesting moments were braking at the end of that straight...sideways through the kink at 160 also sticks in my mind.

Alfa Romeo P3 wins GP, parks in Croydon

A startling little story about a car that should be in a museum but has been restored in NZ and is being 'looked after' in Australia..This month Mr Anderson, a plumber by trade, was asked to look after a 1932 Alfa Romeo, a car which once dominated racing, winning 28 Grand Prix races including the 1932 Italian, French and German Grands Prix. The slim-line eight-cylinder car, which carries a price tag of $4 million, was once road tested by a young Enzo Ferrari before he went on to form the company which bore his name. Mr Anderson has been keeping the vintage car, owned by British millionaire Peter Giddings, finetuned for demonstrations at this year's Grand Prix and Phillip Island races, with a last appearance scheduled at next month's Historic Winton race in Benalla.

It looks like a P3, and the description fits, so I'll assume that to be the case. More on the P3 here:
The P3 was first genuine single seater racing car, and was powered by a supercharged eight cylinder engine. The whole car weight just over 1,500 lb (680 kg), very light for the period. Had it not been for the engine block being cast in iron the car would have been even lighter. The P3 was introduced in June 1932, halfway through the European season, winning its first race at the hands of Tazio Nuvolari, and going on to win 6 races that year driven by both Nuvolari and Rudolf Caracciola, including all 3 major Grands Prix in Italy, France and Germany. 1933 brought financial difficulties to Alfa Corse so the cars were simply locked away and Alfa attempted to rest on their laurels. Enzo Ferrari had to run his breakaway 'works' Alfa team as Scuderia Ferrari, using the older, less effective Alfa Monzas. Alfa prevaricated until August and missed the first 25 events, and only after much wrangling was the P3 finally handed over to Scuderia Ferrari. P3s then won six of the final 11 events of the season including the final 2 major Grands Prix in Italy and Spain.

Alfa Mi.To episode1

Fascinating visit to Centro Stile to meet the designer...

Alfa Mi.To: behind the scenes

Interesting example of Internet marketing... and a good look at the Mi.To in cold weather testing.

More on Alfa setting up in the US

Another possibility raises its rustic head: Alfa could simply convert one of its existing US ag machinery factories to making cars ( a bit like tractor maker Lambo making sports cars, eh?)

Full story on another blogger's site (ITSky, I think it was?):Case New Holland, which is actually owned by Alfa, makes agricultural machinery and construction equipment. It already has 11 plants in the U.S., and Alfa could simply expand one of them to make cars. The plant, a location for which will be selected in May, will begin churning out Alfas in 2011 or 2012. At capacity, production is expected to be around 150,000 cars for the North American and European markets. Alfa Romeo will decide on the distribution network and particular vehicles to be made within three months, which makes it sound as if the Italians are definitely coming.

The Alfetta GTV rear transaxle

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Originally uploaded by gtveloce

Another Alfetta feature is the diff and gearbox in combo with the clutch. Yes folks, this is a production sedan, yet it comes with in-board discs and rear mounted gearbox, like an F1 racecar from the 50s, or a front-engined Porsche from the late '70s. The rear mounted gearbox gives 50:50 weight distribution and the resulting 'weight at each end' polar moment of inertia gives a very controllable feel to sideways driving. Nothing sudden here.

You can see the in-board discs on either side of the transmission. Yes, they are out of the cooling wind but for road applications the rear brakes don't do a lot of work anyway. And this arrangement lessens unsprung weight in the suspension.

Underneath the rear end

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Originally uploaded by gtveloce

Alfettas aren't just pretty faces with lovely engines, they are technically interesting underneath as well. In this shot you can just see the rear wheel (by famous bike component maker Campagnolo), the coils, the de Dion tube, the Watts linkage and the inboard Brembo (or is it ATE?) disc brake. An expensive solution that lightens the unsprung load on the rear wheels, so the wheels track the road much better. And keeps the rear wheels perpendicular to the road at all times for maximum grip.

Most cars compromise with rear wheel movement, mounting brakes on the hubs and allowing wheels to easily lift off the deck or go to extreme angles to the road surface, compromising contact with the road surface. This Alfa solution (used in Alfa's earlier 159 GP cars and several other road and race cars from the 50s and earlier) does result in a bit of understeer as the rear end can be hard to break free.

Top Gear GTI W12 650

Obscene yet amazing, it's barely able to lap faster than a 147 GTA.... but it's a bit of fun, eh?

Alfa GTA vs WRX STI

That sinking feeling... and then "my brakes are gone... nothing...". Hmmm. A hot road car at twisty Wakefield Park... not that surprising, is it?