Alfa Romeo had two gorgeous 4Cs on display at Radnor Hunt this year, each with a white over red color combo. White looks fantastic on these cars, and I think I’d even have it over red, especially with that red leather interior.
The Alfa 4C is such a great little car, just a shame they don’t offer it with a stick.
-Nick
And now we bring you our second round of highlights from the 2015 Radnor Hunt Concours d’Elegance. These were some of the more modern cars on the field, everything from supercars like the Porsche 959 seen above, to a Dodge Charger with a 426 Hemi under the hood. The Radnor Concours was really great this year.
Enjoy the gallery!
Continue reading HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE 2015 RADNOR HUNT CONCOURS D’ELEGANCE: PART 2
We attended the 2015 Radnor Hunt Concours d’Elegance last Sunday, and were stunned by the array of Alfa Romeos and Packards they were featuring this year, among other things. It was a phenomenal show, with awesome cars of all types and tastes present. This is the first highlight gallery, with much more to come.
Enjoy the photos!
-Nick
Continue reading Highlights from the 2015 Radnor Hunt Concours d’Elegance: Part 1
We went out to eat right on Woodward Ave at Duggan’s Irish Pub, and this brand new Alfa Romeo 4C pulled in. This is the first 4C I’ve seen out in the wild, but it was unsurprising in Birmingham, MI with an Alfa dealer right up the street.
The Alfa Romeo 4C is basically a miniature Italian exotic, with a mid-mounted turbocharged 1.7L four cylinder engine on tap. That may not sound impressive, but 237hp grants plenty of performance in a car that weighs just 2400lbs. It’s also quite fuel efficient for a high performance car, capable of an EPA-rated 34 MPG on the highway.
The 4C’s one big drawback is that it only comes with a dual-clutch paddle shift gearbox. For me, not having a manual takes a lot away from the experience of a lightweight sports car, and it could be a deal-breaker if I’m ever in the market. That said, I have hear the dual-clutch trans works pretty well, so it’s at least worth a test drive.
Although it isn’t perfect, we should all be very glad the Alfa Romeo 4C exists. It is the car that is bringing the Alfa name back to the US, soon to be followed by the new RWD Giulia sedan. The 4C is quite a pleasant sight in person, too, with a lot of design inspiration coming from the legendary Alfa Tipo 33 Stradale.
Enjoy the photos!
Continue reading Alfa Romeo 4C Spotted on Woodward Ave in Michigan
This is our highlight gallery from Day 2 of the 2015 New Hope Auto Show last weekend. Sunday is always about supercars and other european cars, and this year was WAY better than last year.
Everything from a Renntech Mercedes SLR McLaren, to a Lexus LFA, to a Porsche 959 were present, along with the most minty Lamborghini Diablo SV I’ve ever seen.
Enjoy the photos!
We spotted this very rare Alfa Romeo SZ in the parking lot for the Greenwich Concours. The SZ came out of a concept design study with Zagato, and is one of the more far-out cars from the late ’80s-early ’90s. Just over 1000 units were produced. This is the second Alfa SZ/RZ I’ve ever seen, the first being on the highway in Switzerland a few years ago.
Such a cool car, quirky, but damn cool! Enjoy the pics.
-Nick
Behold! Our second round of highlights from The Elegance at Hershey 2015. The show is always a spectacle of some of the finest pre-war cars around, with a few post-war cars thrown into the mix as well.
Enjoy this second highlight gallery, and look for even more from Hershey to come!
The Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 Stradale is one of the cars I’d seriously consider selling my soul for, but I had never laid eyes on one in the flesh until the New York Auto Show this year. It was a massive surprise for me, as I had not heard it would be present, and I literally flipped a shit when we came across it.
Our friend, Nathan Corry, shot this same Tipo 33 Stradale at Amelia Island this year, and he let us use his photos from the event. I was beyond thrilled to be able to see the car for myself in NY, though, as you might imagine. It is a truly magnificent machine.
Also present was a Scuderia Ferrari Alfa Romeo 8C Monza as well as one of the handful of Alfa TZ2’s built. Along with the 33 Stradale, the Alfa Romeo stand, with just these cars, was probably worth as much, or more, money than all of the rest of the cars at NYIAS combined. Think about that.
Even so, this is the sort of stuff only true car nerds would appreciate, so there were very few people stopping to see these incredible cars. I found it funny because hundreds of people would walk past, and then every so often you’d see someone just loose their mind with excitement over the cars (as I did).
Alfas don’t get much better than these, so enjoy the pics!
Continue reading The Stunning Alfa Romeo Display at NYIAS 2015
What is a hypercar? A hypercar is a supercar among supercars.
What is a supercar? A supercar is a faster, more extreme sports car.
What is a sports car? A sports car is a driving-focused machine in purpose with transportation being a secondary concern.
That is a very simplified rundown of the status that hypercars have in the world of automobiles. Supercars are what most people dream about, hypercars are what supercar owners dream about. They are the automobile fully turned up to eleven!
But where did it all begin, and how has this ultimate class of cars developed over time? Let’s go back to the 1950s.
We went to the 2015 New York International Auto Show this past weekend to get up close with all of the cars we’ve been hearing so much about and commenting on in the last few months. Â NYIAS is always a fantastic time, but this year was the best it has been in 10 years. The show is a bit of a tradition for us to do with our friends, and this year we chose to forgo the press days so we could go with the group. I’ll admit up front that we didn’t get to everything that was at the show, but we had a blast with everyone. Here are our highlights and opinions on the cars we saw.
Continue reading Our Highlights From the 2015 New York International Auto Show
We, regrettably, did not make it down to Amelia Island this year. But our photographer friend down there, Nathan Corry, did make it over on Saturday to get some shots, and he has been kind enough to let us use them.
The car you see here is a 1968 Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 Stradale, and it is one of my all-time favorite automobiles. I still have yet to actually see one in person, though. So when I say photos of this one at Amelia this year, I was extra pissed that I couldn’t make it this year. Naturally, when Nathan offered to let us use his photos, my first question was, “OMG DID YOU SHOOT THE ALFA TIPO 33?!!!!” Nathan had, and here are his beautiful photos of it.
I consider the Alfa Tipo 33 Stradale to be the first incarnation of what we all know today as the “hypercar.” Hypercars sit above the level of mere supercars in their technology, performance, or sheer exotic appeal, and they usually cost obscenely more than an obscene amount of money.
The Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 Stradale was the road going version of Alfa’s Tipo 33/2 racing cars. It shares the same advanced 2.0L V8 as the racing versions, but the engine was detuned from 270hp to around 230hp in the road car. That engine revved all the way up to 10,000 RPM, and it sent power through a 6 speed transaxle gearbox. The Tipo 33 also still only weighed just over 1500lbs in road form, with the same basic suspension as the racing Tipo 33/2. It could see 160mph, and go 0-60 in 5.5 sec, fast numbers today, but in 1967 it was the record holder for the standing kilometer. So all in all, the 33 Stradale was a technical masterpiece in it’s day, literally a racing car for the road.
Adding to it’s advanced technical design, the Tipo 33 Stradale was also arguably the most exotic car in the world in 1968. It was the first road car to feature gullwing doors, which featured a unique curved glass window as well. It’s price in 1968 was close to $20,000, or a little more than the price of a Lamborghini Miura. But with only 18 examples built, each Alfa Tipo 33 Stradale is worth many millions today, probably tens of millions. So if you love modern hypercars like Paganis and Koenigseggs, then recognize this stunning Alfa as the “Original Gangsta” that it is.
I firmly believe the Tipo 33 Stradale is one of the most beautiful road cars ever built, and it happens to be a technical masterpiece too. You can find more info about it in a previous article I wrote. I still look forward to the day I get to see one in person, but I’m thrilled that Nathan was able to supply us with his photos so we can share this one with you. Check out his photography portfolio and his services on his website.
Also, if you’re reading this, and you own a Tipo 33 Stradale. I’d be happy to buy your car from you, provided you can accept my everliving soul as payment.
-Nick Walker
If you love cars, then you have to love old Alfa Romeos. The Tipo 33 was a legendary racing platform for Alfa Romeo, and this Tipo 33/2 lit up the track at Laguna Seca this past summer. Such beautiful lines can indeed be functional for speed.
Enjoy!
-Nick Walker
Mind Over Motor 