The most beautiful car ever made? Quiet possibly
Alfas are really growing on me since this being on this forum, now imagining a V6 Spider with gold tele-dial wheels :lol
Good to hear Lewis, they are the car that got me hooked on Italian cars, a 1999 GTV Phase 2 Lusso TS (2L)
I came from a Renault background and had had Renaults in my early years of driving. They were cheap, and came with elec windows, central locking and nice interiors, with a lot of though into design. At this time everyone else were buying Chevettes and Escorts and the Renaults really stood out as modern against the British boring stuff. Needless to say the Renaults broke down alot, but I cut my mechanical skills so was not too bothered.
Then as I got into my mid 20's I started my business and had a fair bit of cash...it was the mid 90's, start of the boom.
Anyway, I treated myself to a new car and being brand loyal, I went for a Renault Megane Coupe 1.6e. It looked the nuts, but I kept having problems, then after someone kicked in the front wind, door and rear quarter, I moved it on after only a year as a lemon (for what I paid for it funnily enough) and went for the Megane Coupe Cabriolet. This was quite possey and one of the first on the road, so it got a lot of looks, and all was going fine till someone keyed it, the drivers door handle snapped off in my hand, then the aux belt got sucked up into the timing case and that was game over. Coupled with all the brake issues and electrical gremlins, I ditched it and worked out that all Renaults, new or old, are cr@p.
This is when I turned to Alfa, and all my mates laughed at me, saying "you thought the Renault was bad, you just wait!"
This turned out to be totally rubbish and my GTV served me for 3 years and apart from a broken electrical ariel, was the most reliable and exotic car I had had. I then went to the GTV(a) 3.2V6 which in the 1300kg car flew like the wind, and still is one of the best, if not the best (GranSport on a par £/£) I have had.
Lewis, you look back 50 years and Alfa were the business, with the 80's being arguably their worst years and the 90's being somewhat of a revival.
Unfortunately theses days, their mass produced cars are really not that good and with the end of the GT, nothing really interests me. Ok, I have a deposit down on the 4c but this is something a bit special, and not classed as mass production. I am hoping for some of the kudos of the 8c rubbing off on it.
So Lewis, if you ever fancy parting with some cash, take a look at 50's and 60's Alfas, not cheap, but held in very, very high regard.