■ Alfisti Issue 158 ■ October 2013

Inside this edition:

Aero Club Open Day

Karting Contest

Alfas at Frankfurt Motor Show

September Meeting

Alfa New Model Plans in Flux

. . . and more

Alfisti is edited and produced by

John Griffiths AROC East Midlands Section Secretary

Tel: 0774 8881317

e-mail: john.jhgcs@gmail.com

See our website for latest news and more:

www.AROC--UK.COM/EASTMIDS

Alfisti production sponsored by

ALFISTI / EASTMIDS Free to club members

Alfa Romeo Owners Club

EAST MIDLANDS SECTION

Formerly Central & East Midlands

Now look, is it me or does it only feel like five minutes since we were getting sunburnt at Stanford Hall at the beginning of July? Back then we were looking forward to a crammed agenda of activities ahead; The Fun Concours Night, Mallory Park AROC racing and parade, National Alfa Day, MITCAR, the Aeroclub Open Day, you name it, - and now in a flash they are all behind us! Incredible. Still, though we look forward (?) to the clocks going back in a few weeks, we’ve still got some time left to enjoy driving our Alfas before the councils start hurling grit on the roads.

It’s certainly been another terrific year for events, and as I type we’ve still got a few good ones to look forward too this side of Christmas. It was a shame that our trip to the Morgan factory was limited to 24 people, we could have nearly doubled that from the requests received. Sorry to everyone we’ve had to turn away, still it’s double the number of people we used to be allowed to take. Thanks again to Viv Stephens (who is doing some work for Morgan) for organising this special tour which goes over and above the normal public offering, and is being done for free too. There will be a full report next time including photos where we’re allowed.

Before we know it the NEC Classic Show will be on us too. That is a Petrolhead’s paradise with hundreds of cars to look at and things to buy. I was skipping through my photos from last year’s show and believe me the Bugatti and Lamborghini stands are worth the admission price alone! We’re

planning to have some really good cars on our club stand as well of course. It will feature a celebration of the Cloverleaf racing symbol, which is in its 90th year since appearing on the RL of Ugo Sivocci at the 1923 Targa Florio. We’re going to try and secure a 4C for display too, assuming one has arrived by then. If we get one the Cloverleaf badges may have to be stuck on to it of course, but the fantastic sportster is certainly in the spirit and there are rumours of a possible one-make race series for them too. The photo above shows the 4C in an Alfa Romeo promo shot, looking terrific. Back to our stand, and aside from the 4C expect some beautifully presented cars from the 1960s to date anyway, it’s something to really look forward to.

Well, as you’ll see inside, we had a very decent day weather-wise for another very enjoyable Aero Club event with another super turn-out of Alfas along, then a blinking horrible evening weather-wise for the Twilight Drive - so bad it didn’t happen! Still we won’t let that dampen our Spirits.

A quick word here now about our Section Chairman, Bryan Alexander. It came as a huge shock when we heard he’d suffered a Stroke just a week after MITCAR, that he did so much to arrange. Happily it appears to have been relatively mild, and he is bearing up very well. Many best wishes have been sent by email, card and club Forum. Suffice to say Bryan we’re all thinking of you. Get well soon!

Section AGM & Alfa Quiz At the George & Dragon, Thringstone

Wednesday 9 October Our Section’s only formal meeting of the year. We will be electing our committee, reviewing the year’s events and looking forward to 2014, the club’s 50th anniversary no less!

The formalities begin at 8pm, and are followed by our annual Alfa Quiz, organised by last year’s winner, Alan Lathwell. (Don’t worry, it’s multiple choice!)

Though we are one of the most active Sections in the country, if you have ideas for new things to do please bring them along.

Classic Motor Show NEC, Birmingham 15-17 November Early warning about this popular event. The Classic Motor Show is the largest of its kind in Europe. The show celebrates all ages, marques and models, with a huge and diverse display of 1,000 cars ranging from the popular classics through to outrageous and rare exotica. The show also hosts the biggest single gathering of UK companies and traders offering every conceivable product and service to the classic car owner/enthusiast plus some superb and unique show features.

Expect some superb cars on the AROC stand this year which is celebrating 90 years of The Cloverleaf racing symbol.

If you can spend some time helping there, please contact John.

John

AROC East Midlands Section Events 2013 Gazetta News Snippets

The Small Print: ‘Alfisti’ is published primarily for the enjoyment of members of the Alfa Romeo Owners’ Club East Midlands Section. Chris Variava Alfa Romeo Nottingham supports the cost of Alfisti’s printed production carried out at cost rate by a Section Member’s company. Alfa Romeo Owners’ Club UK ltd cannot endorse or recommend services or products advertised in its publications. Any opinions published in ‘Alfisti’ or its sister website are personal ones. Alfa Romeo Owners’ Club Ltd registered Number 01106134. Please contact John Griffiths if you have any queries about the club or our active local Area Section. See cover for contact details.

ALFA SCRAPYARD

Keith Millard reports that Auto Salvage on

Beverage Lane in Ellistown has a significant

number of Alfas in being broken. He has

spotted Alfasuds, 156s, 155s and more.

May be of interest to people with older

models perhaps.

ASHBY FOLVILLE CLASSIC MEETS CEASED

THIS popular car and bike meeting which

attracted thousands of people to its

monthly

gatherings

has been

halted

because

of safety

concerns.

Up to

5,000

people and hundreds of cars and

motorbikes descended on the hamlet of

Ashby Folville, near Melton, every month

between May and September. Police were

concerned by the antics of minority wheel-

spinning, pulling wheelies etc particularly at

the end of the meetings. A case of a

minority of idiots ruining it for the majority.

ACTIVITIES FOR 2014

2013 has seen some excellent events for

our Section, but we like to have a balance

of regular favourites with new things. If you

have any

ideas for

places to

visit or

different

activities

for us to

do please

bring

them

along to our AGM night at the G&D on 9

October. One we’d like to consider is an

alternative Spring display to the one done

at the Coventry Transport Museum for past

2 years…. but where?

CONGRATULATIONS TO PAUL JONES

Well done to Chris Variava’s Paul Jones on

his promotion to Brand Manager. Paul’s a

massive supporter of our Section and the

club as a whole. He’s been in the motor

trade for about 21 years and 17 have been

with a FGA brand, mainly Alfa Romeo. His

new role As FGA Brand manager includes

sales, service & parts for Fiat Group Brands,

mainly Alfa Romeo, Chrysler & Jeep. He

says he’s looking forward to the challenge!

Fly the flag! AROC East Midlands Section Merchandise Polo shirts with full colour embroidered logo, in mid or dark blue.

All sizes - Just £15 each. Fleeces from £25 and Soft-Shell waterproof jackets from £30

All items are genuine high quality and an absolute steal at the price.

TO ORDER contact our man Brian Smith at Bryant.marketing@hotmail.com

AMAZING RARITY

Many enthusiasts really rate the 1750 turbo-engined Alfa Brera… but how many are there out there? Well, after researching the Doomwatch feature, I was absolutely staggered to find that the number registered in UK is just 64! An immediate rarity. John

Date Event

9 October from 7.30pm

Section AGM & Alfa Quiz at The George & Dragon in Thringstone - starting at 7.30pm. The official business including a review of events and plans for 2014 starts at 8pm.

14 October from 10am

Visit to MORGAN CARS in Malvern. A very special tour that is not available to the public or to other clubs. Sorry - all 24 places have been taken.

13 November Regular Monthly Meeting at The George & Dragon in Thringstone - starting at 7.30pm.

15 -17 Nov. Classic Motor Show, NEC Birmingham. AROC display will feature a host of interesting Alfa Romeos old and newer. A special advance ticket discount code is published on the Club Forum. Please contact John for the codes if you cannot access that.

11 December Regular Monthly Meeting at The George & Dragon in Thringstone - starting at 7.30pm.

Please keep an eye on our website for updates and additions

4C delivery approaches! Viv Stephens is one of a few very lucky people awaiting delivery of the

Limited Edition 4C. Of the choice of two colours, metallic matt white or

traditional Alfa Rosso, he went for the latter. The order was placed earlier

this year through Chris Variava Nottingham, and after a few phone calls

from sales manager Paul Jones into High Command, number 62 of 500

was secured—the same number as Viv’s superb Limited Edition GTV Cup,

also in Alfa Rosso of course! We can’t wait to see the real car in the flesh,

and of course Viv is as excited as anything. To help with the wait, Alfa

Romeo sent him this superb numbered 1:18 scale model of his very car.

(Incidentally, Chris V has a white one on order himself too!)

More of our Alfas set for 5th Gear TV Appearance

On 30 August Simon and Clare Addison (pictured centre with show host Vicki Butler-Henderson) spent a long

day with the Discovery Channel’s 5th Gear crew while Clare’s V6 GT was subject to various driving and filming

activity. This being as per Dave Atkins’ Brera Spider mentioned in last month’s edition. Again, I cannot go

into details about the planned show, suffice to say it will not be aired until 2014. We’ll print in here as soon

as we know more on a date. (Stop Press; next up will be Bob Woodward’s 166 3.2 V6!!)

Sutton Circuit near Broughton

Astley was the scene for this year’s

karting action. The FIA upheld John

Griffiths’ appeal against George

Bunney’s overtaking manoeuvre on

him last year, and George was given

an immediate one race ban.

OK, Ok, it wasn’t EXACTLY like

that—George was away with work…

anyway it meant the pesky terror

wasn’t on track this time anyway.

He’s far too light and fast for his own

good! :0)

In fact our teams had a different

look across the piece this year. Paul

Boland was able to get three teams

of two together from his place of

work—Rolls Royce Aero Engines, so it

was Alfa versus Rolls Royce - sort of.

Forming the Alfa teams, me and

son Dave, Keith Krog with son

StJohn (FAAAR to light and too fast

also), then Diesel Dave Atkins

partnering (not a ringer-honest) Joe

Sharpe—he of Tarquini be-stickered

155 fame. Rob and Matthew

Galloway also drove over from

Peterborough for their first proper

outdoor karting experience. Paul

Boland was with his son James too,

plus the 3 other Rolls teams. (We are

taking Paul as Alfisti, of course!!)

Before things started we enjoyed

having a look around Joe’s 155 -

This is the car put together originally

by Nick Smith for his charity drive to

the Nurburgring. Since he had it it’s

had various rebuild work and

another owner, now it’s Joe’s pride

and joy, complete with red bucket

seats and removable ‘race’ steering

wheel. It looks sensational, the spit

of the 1995 Touring Car racer.

Anyway, back to the karting.

Before the rolling start, we enjoyed a

few minutes practice and qualifying.

Joe Sharpe plonked him and Dave

on Pole, ahead of StJohn & Keith

and me & Dave. The start saw the

karts stream out of the pits in order,

then the opening laps are always fun

as people get to grips (or slips) with

cold tyres, and spins happened

aplenty… Dave Griff and Keith had

a Titanic battle as Joe pulled ahead.

Eventually Dave just got ahead of

Keith at the challenging end of

straight braking zone, but just

couldn't keep his momentum up and

Keith got him back, only to be

passed again a few corners later.

Epic stuff! Meantime, Matt Galloway

was finding his feet, taking to the

grass on the odd occasion, but

getting the hang of it - it is a

challenging circuit after all!

The race entailed two stints of

around 15 minutes for each driver,

and boy did you feel it! It’s

surprisingly physically exerting, but

very satisfying too when you get the

flow of the bends right and clock a

good time. Between stints it is great

fun to watch too, as you watch gaps

close and overtaking battles

happening.

By the end of the hour’s race, Dave

and I had managed to keep out of

trouble probably the most (no spins

between us) - so though not being

the fastest per se we were the most

consistent, which this format rather

demands. The fastest lap overall was

by Joe Sharpe, a blistering - 39.746

seconds, nearly a second faster than

StJohn who was next quickest. Joe

and Dave A came second, ahead of

Keith & St John and Paul & James.

Rob and Matthew came a

respectable 6th too.

The pub beckoned afterwards

where we compared stories/

excuses. We’ll be doing it again for

sure, and thanks to all who took

part, it was terrific fun.

John

KARTING ENDURO at The Sutton Circuit

Far left; Joe’s 155 Main pic - Paul Boland in complete control - sideways! Below - Matthew Galloway takes the short cut… (“Stewards!”)

Matthew & Rob Galloway Keith & StJohn Krog (3rd Place) Dave Atkins & Joe Sharpe (2nd Place) John & Dave Griffiths (1st Place)

This was our ninth year supporting

this excellent event at Leicester

Airport which is put on by the Aero

Club mainly for the benefit of local

residents who they frequently fly

over. The first one saw a collection of

about a dozen Alfas, this year a very

varied collection of 32.

Sadly there was to be no Vulcan

along this year as it was grounded

with a technical fault (fuel leak), but

during the day we did get to see a

superb late-model ‘clip-winged’

Spitfire making some low level

passes, an aerobatic display from a

Pitts Special stunt plan and a

thunderous fly-past from a gigantic

Royal Navy Merlin helicopter.

Dave Atkins, our Section regular

who ensures our attendance with the

Aero Club, also entertained us with

his flying skills piloting a radio

controlled mini-Jet MIG-15, a

sensational little thing. His years of

practice making it look so easy. In

built gyroscope or not, with me flying

it would crash within half a minute!

The East Midlands Police had their

‘chopper along too (a very high-tech

Eurocopter EC135) which was

amazing to see and sit in. It’s

crammed full of computer screens,

night vision equipment, and one heck

of a powerful searchlight. I don’t

have enough space here for all the

zeros! Also apparently it burns 4,000

Litres of fuel per hour, so is a little

more economical than a V6 Brera.

The bar, barbecue food, archery,

and bouncy castles meant there was

plenty to do aside too. One of the

Aeroclub members is a TVR fan, and

he organised a line up of the cars

who were also able to do a some brief

fast runs on the runway - we’ll look

into that for next time. The Tuscans,

Cerberas, T350s and Griffiths all

looked and sounded great - which

detracted from the strange smell of

old canoe in the air.. ;0)

Our display of Alfas had several

beauties among it. Totally unplanned

we had three ages of 105 Spider

together; Brian Smith’s S4 Beuté,

Roy Matthews’ red S3 and Steve

Watson’s blue 1750 S1. They made

an interesting comparison. We were

also vey pleased so see long standing

member Brian Taylor with his Alfasud

Green Cloverleaf, a car he’d owned

from new! Brian had also brought it

along to MITCAR and we hope to see

him at some more events in the

future. On newer cars, Darren Astle

had his matt-grey Spider Italia

Independente along again, that

looked great at the start of our front

row. New member Julian Austin had

come along too with his son Sam who

was driving his just-acquired red 147

GTA. That car drew a lot of attention,

ditto my son David’s 147 which he

brought along at lunchtime. Yes, he

has caught the car detailing bug good

and proper - you could very easily eat

your dinner off the engine with no ill

effects!

Peter Vaughan brought his young

daughter along in his Bertone 2000

GTV and they both enjoyed a pleasure

flight, ditto Richard Shaw with the

family in his 159. His post on the

club forum tickled me - I quote:

“Great fun today, including doing a

loop in the banana (never thought I'd

say that). Managed to stop my 4 year

old walking off with a Police night

stick - which he seemed to enjoy

swinging around whilst wearing a riot

helmet.” Yes there were two police

cars along too, and a fire engine. Add

that o the bouncy castles and

helicopters and we have got to be

close to 4 year old heaven! The

Banana? Well that’s a 2 seater open

cockpit banana yellow biplane, which

Keith Krog also went up in early on.

The pilot is clearly a mad enthusiast

merrily pulling stunts all over the

place!

You’ll see comment on a few other

cars on the back page and you’ll see

some of the other cars along in the

pictures here - including evidence of

how many Giuliettas are in members’

hands now. There are more photos

on our website of course.

Next year’s event is already

pencilled in for Sunday 7 September

and promises to be even bigger and

better, but fully expected to keep its

relaxed charm. Thanks again to Dave

Atkins and the Leicester Aero Club for

inviting us along, it was all great fun

again.

John

Leicester Aero Club Open Day - Sunday 8 September 2013

Messerschmitt ME108 - Brian Austin The flying Banana - Brian Austin

Police Eurocopter - Brian Austin

This was meant to be space for a report on the previously advertised ‘Twilight Drive’,

with images of Brian Smith leading an array of Alfas through leafy villages of North

West Leicestershire in the golden light of an autumnal sunset…. only it rained! Hey ho,

so after a collection in a sodden car park we gave up and went in for a pint!

We’ll look to do a sunset spin early next year, possibly after the clocks change in April.

Photos Left to right by row:

ROW 1: Keith Davies and Rebecca Lee in matching GTVS! Dave G’s shiny 147 in foreground; Dave Atkins with flying model MIG 15; ROW 2: Neil Fairhurst's G QV; Steve Watson starts Spider line; Kevin Smith’s GTV. ROW 3: Some of the TVRs; Keith Krog’s SZ starts the line; Dave G’s 147 with ultra-clean engine bay. ROW 4: Keith gets instructions in the Police chopper; then gets up close; HUGE searchlight.

Brian’s lovely Brera stayed idle...

Richard Shaw’s 159 avoiding puddles.

More Aero Club Open Day photos

Model 2013 Q1

(SORN)

2012 Q1

(SORN)

2009 Q1

(SORN)

2000 (Dec)

Alfasud

(inc Sprint)

102 (+192) = 294 113 (+206) = 319 102 (+148) = 250 571

33 60 (+202) = 262 78 (+218) = 296 171 (+270) = 441 4,400

75 116 (+217) = 333 123 (+243) = 366 198 (+267) = 465 2,000

155 233 (+277) = 510 305 (+255) = 560 740 (+341) = 1,081 4,100

164 187 (+248) = 435 220 (+273) = 493 496 (+375) = 871 5,600

166 965 (+249) = 1,214 1.2K (+262) = 1,462 2,100 (+201) = 2,301 N/A

156 18K (+2.4K) = 20.4K 22K (+2.5K) = 24.5K 35K (+2.1K) = 37.1K N/A

ARNA 0 + (3) = 3 0 + (3) = 3 0 + (2) = 2 66

ES30 SZ 23 (+34) = 57 24 (+33) = 57 27 (+28) = 55 41

DOOMWATCH ALFA

Alfa Romeo at Frankfurt

Motor Show - including Giulietta 2014 MY launch. Star of Alfas display, other than the resplendent 4C,

was the launch of the 2014 Model Year Giulietta.

It’s a case of a very mildly reworked design with no

panel changes. Grille is changed, front fogs gain

chrome bezels, and there are 3 new alloy wheel

designs. Inside, the steering wheel gains an

aluminium heart-shaped embellishment and new

‘Uconnect ‘infotainment system with 5" or 6.5"

Radionav touchscreen, so needed in the premium

hatch segment now. New seats with new trims

appear too - including optional tobacco leather trim,

including coloured door cards, plus soft-feel

coloured dash trim as an option. As pictured here,

gorgeous Alcantara trim will feature on some

variants. Three new colours too - Moonlight Pearl

(pictured), Anodizzato Blue and Bronze.

Under the bonnet, a new 2.0 JTDm engine appears

with 150bhp and a whopping 280lbs/ft of torque -

the TCT derivative retains the 170bhp unit with

258lbs/ft which the ‘box can cope with. No change

on other engines at this stage. There is no

Cloverleaf model at range launch, though TCT and

more power is promised for it (260bhp possible?

We’ll see!)

Overall it is a good make-over (don’t call it a

facelift!) which brings bang-up-to-date appeal on

technology but which shouldn’t shatter residuals on

the original models. The revised cars will go on sale

in Europe in October and the UK range from

January. We look forward to laying on the

configurator!

Elsewhere, the mildly-revised MiTo featured with the

105bhp TwinAir unit and touch-screen equipped

dash but he the 4C wowed as ever, featured as

standard cars in Alfa Red and white, both with the

optional bigger (18/19”) rims. There’s much

excitement on USA forums and websites about the

4C as you might imagine, the Alfisti there cannot

wait for it. It’s the same here too of course….

There’s still some wait for all new models, but these

revisions keep things fresh. John

An update on Alfas on the critical list

Information availability on registered cars has

improved a great deal over the past few years. What

hasn’t improved is the quality of registration details

and us Alfa Owners are partly to blame. You’ll note,

for example, that we cannot specify certain Spiders,

GTVs with great accuracy, as on the registration

documents you do not, for example, state ‘105

Series’ or ‘916 Series’. Perhaps we can thank Alfa

Romeo to a degree there for repeating model

names.

I’ve done my best on these, stripping out ‘MiTo 155’

for example, but it is not infallible. There could be a

Giulietta SZ in with the other SZs (for example) but

pretty sure its correct.

I’ve run stats similar to this a couple of years back,

but they excluded ‘SORN’ in the main. I was getting

really worried about Alfa 33s for example (still

bothered at an 11% reduction in 12 months!) but at

least there is a stock of cars on SORN, hopefully

roadworthy ones amongst them.

155s have dropped 10% in a year overall, 166s

dropping at a similar rate, ditto 75s and 164s.

Alfasuds are beginning to enjoy a true classic status,

and its reflected in a lower reduction rate. But look

at the 156, dying at a rate of knots now…

Cambelts? Suspension bills? And HALF the number

of 166s left compared to 4 years ago… That’s scary.

John

New Alfa Model Plans in Flux Alfa Romeo's only new nameplate under firm development is

a rear-wheel-drive roadster. The car, due in 2015, will be

built by Mazda in Hiroshima, Japan, along with the

redesigned MX-5 Miata roadster. The rest of Alfa Romeo's

product plan has been continually revised. A summary from

trusted industry sources follows:

New Mito / 5-door Mito –project shelved. Due to worsening

Italian and European markets, Marchionne has put on hold

plans to redesign the MiTo.

4C: Alfa Romeo is set to debut the U.S. variant of the 4C

coupe in November at the Los Angeles Auto Show. A few units

could be shipped by year end to fulfil Marchionne's promise

to sell the car in the USA in 2013. A Targa variant with

removable carbon roof is expected in around 12 months.

Giulietta: Alfa Romeo shelved plans to take the car to North

America as investments to make the Giulietta USA-compliant

were considered too high. North America could get the car

when the Giulietta is substantially redesigned, but not before

2016 or 2017.

Giulia: The crucial mid-sized car, originally due in 2014 with

underpinnings shared with the redesigned Chrysler 200 that

debuts next year, has been put on hold again. Alfa Romeo is

evaluating whether to derive the redesigned car from a new

rwd/4wd platform that Fiat and Chrysler are studying, but this

could delay the Giulia launch to the end of 2015 at the

earliest.

Large Saloon: Plans to develop the Maserati Ghibli appear to

have been shelved as too expensive. A larger Giulia-based car

is possible post that car’s launch.

Spider: The two-seat roadster is due in 2015 in Europe and

the United States. The car will be built at Mazda's factory in

Hiroshima alongside new MX-5.

Compact crossover: Another model that has bounced in and

out of Alfa Romeo's line-up. Now, the plan is to derive an Alfa

variant from the single model that will replace the Jeep

Compass and Patriot Timing of Alfa variant is unclear.

Mid-sized SUV: Alfa Romeo has been considering a sibling of

the redesigned Jeep Cherokee. The original plan called for

the Alfa to appear about a year later than the Jeep model, i.e.

Q3 2014, but the timing is unclear. A large SUV based on

Maserati Levante appears to have been cancelled.

Maserati Orders Triple Fiat Group's Maserati brand received about

17,000 orders worldwide in the year to end-

July, nearly triple the amount sold last year

as new models started to attract buyers.

The Quattroporte saloon was the biggest

seller. Selling more Maseratis is an

important piece of Fiat's latest strategy to

return to profit in 2016 in Europe, where it

has been making losses in a shrinking market. Maserati has invested 1.2 billion euros in new

models to boost sales. The new Quattroporte went on sale in January, and the new Ghibli,

Maserati’s entry-level sports saloon, also helped boost orders, but does not arrive in into

dealerships until September. While the increased profit from Maserati won't transform Fiat's

bottom line, it bodes well for the company's upcoming re-launch of Alfa Romeo.

As mentioned on the cover the road salt is only a few weeks away now, so what should we do to prepare and protect our Alfas? Well, the many Classics will be going on SORN and being wrapped up for winter, but even with those it’s a good idea to add some protection.

Firstly, get the dirt off. A good jet wash underneath and on top, before paintwork treatment. Autumn is a good time to clay a car, removing the summer build up of surface contaminants, and a good scrub with tar remover on lower

panels is also a good idea.

For paint work protection, AutoGlym Super Resin Polish (SRP) is an ideal base coat that will also remove dirt and help hide swirls. Then the key bit—get a good coat of sealant on so the salt and dirt can’t stick well and will wash away a lot more easily. ArmorAll Sealant is excellent stuff (a current favourite of mine as it is so fast to use start to finish), and AutoGlym Extra Gloss Protection gives a brilliant shiny finish, though you have to wait an hour or so for it to cure before buffing. Adding a coat of alloy wheel protectant is a very good idea too, either some AG SRP, a dedicated product like Poorboy’s Wheel Seal, or a slightly less effective but really easy to use spray sealant like ArmorAll’s Shield will all do the job, also making wheel cleaning easier.

A jet washer (Karcher or similar) really comes into its own in winter to blast off dirt quickly, speeding the whole washing process, and you can play with Snow Foam of course! More on that another time. John

■ Alfisti no.159 will be out in November

- SCOOP! - Unusual news from the world of motoring

Chris is back in the

fold! After a period of

time in the wilderness,

as promised, Chris is

back with an Alfa,

choosing this super-

shiny GTV phase 2 2.0

Twin Spark. He calls it

‘Shabby Chic’, but it

looks great to us!

■ Alfisti’s production is kindly sponsored by Chris Variava Alfa Romeo Nottingham

145 Green Cloverleaf - George Cole When George acquired his 2.0 Twin Spark powered 145 it was with the

general intention of retiring his Terrapin single-seater and trailer combo and

then competing in the Sprints in the raspy hatchback. Well, feeling a lot

more positive in

himself, that’s all

changed! He’s

acquired a special

lightweight trailer for

the race car, plus

removable tow bar for

the 145 and fully

intends to be back in

action in the A-series

powered racer, after

its latest engine

fettling. The 145 will

prove a good back-up

however. We all wish

him the best.

Spider, Brera & GT - Simon & Clare Addison Simon and Clare have been very actively involved in our Section since joining the

club in 2005. Now however they have moved back to their home town of Swansea

so will be taking their collective Alfa enthusiasm down to South Wales to resurrect

the South Wales Section. We will of course see them at different big events in the

year and hope they will be able to join us at MITCAR for instance.

There’s no doubt we will miss them, and I am sure everyone who knows them will

wish them all the very best in their new life in Wales. John

Giulietta Collezione MultiAir - Jason Drury From an Email to John; I have been a club member since 1993 and have a passion for anything Alfa Romeo. Finally after owning 10 ‘used’ Alfas I have purchased my very first new car, a Giulietta Collezione 1.4 TB MultiAir 170 bhp, white with a black roof. It is amazing. I did feel sad when trading in my 147 which I’ve had for six years as it has served us well both practically for the family and stylishly for AROC events. Cheers, Jay.

Spider Italia Independente - Darren Astle

GTV 2.0 TS - Chris Childs

166 2.5 V6 24V - Kev Bunney Great to see Kev out and about again - he’s been out of circulation for

months with really bad sciatica. Happily he was up to driving his 166 over to

the Aero Club

event, it having

auto trans-

mission helping

a great deal!

The 166’s black

paintwork was

gleaming as ever

- he’d got his pal

to wash it for

him! Kev’s coats

of AutoGlym

Super Resin

Polish helping...

Alfa’s Brilliant Camouflage at Frankfurt Show

Alfa’s revised 2014 Giulietta was stealthily driven into the Frankfurt Motor Show with a fantastic job done on disguising the modified elements. You’d never guess where the changes were coming would you?

Darren has owned this

splendid limited edition

Spider 2.2 JTS from new.

It’s just due its first MOT

now but has only 9,000

miles on the clock!

Darren is a serial Alfa

owner and has just got

himself an 8C Red

Giulietta 2.0/170 too!

The Spider ‘II’ certainly

attracted a lot of

attention here at the

Aero Club event looking

superb in the sunshine.

147 GTA - Sam Austin Sam came along to the Aero Club event after only having owned the car for a

week - His Dad Julian

being a bit of an

Alfista too has just

bought a Giulietta

2.0/170, and with

that on the way

promptly joined

AROC. Spot on that

man! Sam is just 21,

his previous car

being an MX-5. He’s

just adjusting to

250bhp and FWD,

but the Q2 diff helps!