Weird, Advanced and Uncompromising: Celebrating the Alfa Romeo

Many now forget, but Italy's most desirable cars were always red,  were built in Milano NOT Maranello, and were badged with a child eating snake rather than a prancing horse. That's right: the Alfa Romeo.

Ferrari? Why, the upstart used to work FOR Alfa and "only" started building cars some 60 years ago, and even then it was mostly race cars. Alfa Romeo has been doing it for 100 years. To celebrate the Italian Alfa Registry, FIAT organized the enormous meet in Milano I stumbled into at the end of June.

Traffic was blocked, people cheered and rare Alfas of all sorts were parked all over the city. The event ended in front of the Sforza Castle in the heart of the city, where 3,000 enthusiasts' cars, literally from all over the world, from Russia to Germany to the Holland, the UK and even the USA, were parked for all to enjoy.

Cars ranged from sublime 1930's 8c spyders to lowly Alfasuds to the super rare SZ "Mostro" of the late Eighties. I always loved that car: so weird, so advanced, so uncompromising. The SZ had a suspension that could be adjusted for stiffness and height years before it became an option on a Porsche GT3 RS. it had more grip than a Ferrari of the same vintage and featured the same two tone color scheme as used on the 2010 599 GTO. I had never seen one of these Zagato bodied rarities in real life, but there were almost a dozen in attendance at the meet. Fantastic.

But if I had to choose one to own, I would have chosen that gorgeous 1300GTA Junior race car.... OK, maybe along with the Ex Carabinieri Giulia Station Wagon as a tow vehicle!

Photo Credit: Andrea Cairone

Read more from Andrea Cairone at Axis of Oversteer