GTAm

Got a call from Ron I guess? I've never seen a car slow down so much especially when protecting 4th place!

Ecstacy one moment, agony the next. We were on our feet jumping up and down at the time the chequered flag was waved....... The next moment I had to sink deep into the sofa as the Mclaren liveried fans erupted! To think that it was a damn Toyota that decided the championship! Smash all Allions and Corollas? But what a tense finish. Unbelieveable. Anyway too much vino meant I woke up today only at 9.30am wodering if it was all a bad dream The BBC put an end to all that though! Massa handled the interviews great despite all the pressure and emotions being on his home track. Hats off to him. He's still champ for me as he had unforced retirements due to mechanical failure unlike Lewis. And won more races. Thankfully the season is over. Or else I might smash my TV with the Brit biased commentry from that ass Steve Slater! Btw that guy Karun is a star!

Oh I'm sure Autodelta wouldn't mind selling you one

Great review by Autocar. Seems like they've done it again!!

There's a new suprecar out called the Gumpert Apollo. It looks quite hideous too. Then there are the Gemballa Porsches sound a bit Sinhalese eh?

Has to be the 240Z for me. Perfect proportions minimal fuss.

Sure no prob. - [email protected] (no smiley neccessary !)

I think it's the over-fussy head and tail lamps for me.....as the basic shape seems sound. What do you think? Neater lamps would've been better!?

Thanks dhp. Really don't have time to look into doing it myself. Btw you would not know someone who might know more on the subject?

I thought Furai was not a bad name. And it does have a meaning in Japanese, doesn't it?

I also find "MY ROAD" also quite ridiculous.

Great collection there SN. . There's also a buddy van called Joy-Pop I think it's a Suzuki....

It's the angle of that C-pillar I think. The 240Z was my dream car in the early 90's. I could never find one though. At that time I knew nothing about the Classic car club etc. Then in Year 2000 I found a 260Z and was desperate to buy. But the dodgy car sales guy showed very little interest in doing a deal with me. My guess was that he had a better deal elsewhere and probably quoted less for me prior to the other guy. Anyway on the day I decided to up my bid without any provocation from him, I took a cash advance and went there. The car was gone. It was only after that, that I stumbled upon the Alfa GT Junior. In the end though I'm glad everything worked out the way they did although 240Z would have been nice to have as well!

Nice facelift. Somehow it reminds me more of the original 240Z and that's great!

Press release from the Autodelta website, http://www.autodelta.co.uk/ 27.10.2008 Autodelta leaves its rivals trailing during Time Attack London, England - Putting its core philosophy of developing ultimate performance for practical everyday application firmly to the test, Autodelta scored a resounding success at Autovisie Time Attack, held at the TT Circuit Assen in the Netherlands. A bespoke Autodelta 147 GTA AM 3.7 Super, driven by customer Paul Paggiosi, comfortably posted the fastest time in the class reserved for “Semi-Pro Street” tuned cars, during the timed ‘qualification’ runs. Time Attack has quickly grown into a significant event for high performance road and race cars on the busy Dutch automotive calendar. Featuring a plethora of sports cars in factory production specification, running side-by-side with offerings from Europe’s leading tuning houses, and a helping of dedicated racing cars, the frenetic day-long action is split into four main categories (Semi Pro Street, Pro Street, Non Pro Street and Small Factory). All the leading brands that claim to cater for ‘street performance’ are well represented, and sports cars which took on the challenge a week last Sunday included such as the Nissan Skyline R34, Chevrolet Corvette Z06, Audi R8, Porsche 911 GT3, Subaru Impreza WRX, Lotus Exige, Mitsubishi Evo, Donkervoort D8, Aerial Atom and Chrysler Viper. Organised by leading Dutch automobile magazine Autovisie, Time Attack, which attracts attention from the media and enthusiasts alike, is also televised. Autodelta has always believed that the Alfa Romeo brand can firmly mix it with the best, that the fastest and most powerful pretenders can always be challenged, taken on and beaten; the historic Italian automaker having long since earned the right to its place amongst the most sporting of cars. And so, in conjunction with our enthusiastic Official Authorised Agent for the Netherlands, Sam van Lingen, we were delighted to accept an invitation to take part in this autumn’s edition of Time Attack. The ‘Semi Pro Street’ class, which attracted 28 excellent entries, would be a stiff test of the Autodelta-reworked Alfa 147. Against the ticking clock there is nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. Autodelta is always ready to face up to the challenge, to prove its cars can take on, and thrash, cars that boast a more impressive CV. Time Attack would be the latest, perfect, opportunity, and comes, significantly, at a time when the London-based firm is seeing a major increase in its Dutch market penetration. Autodelta’s principle is to develop Alfa Romeo models to the performance and dynamic edge, whilst the retaining the inherent practicality and driveability of the production model which is now imbued with an all-round enhanced driving experience. Exhilaration should not be reserved just for the track; it should be for everyday use, the daily commute should bring the Alfa Romeo’s driver a sense of satisfaction and wellbeing. We create special cars for people who understand the finest philosophy of performance motoring, and acknowledge that it truly comes at the wheel of an Alfa Romeo. The slogan of Carlo Chiti’s Autodelta historic concern was 'a car for everyday use' and we strive day and night to live up to the legend. And, just as Ferrari is chasing future technological developments through owner feedback from its breathtaking FXX programme, so Autodelta works hand-in-hand with its customers to create cars that are finely honed to the individual’s most detailed requirements. Exclusivity is guaranteed at Autodelta and with the level of exclusivity we achieve, each customer’s needs are catered for, each customer is inbued with what we stand for, and each customer becomes a part of the Autodelta ‘family’. One such customer is Sheffield businessman Paul Paggiosi, who owns several Autodelta bespoke cars, including the famous 147 GTA AM that so impressed that sternest of all motoring critics, Jeremy Clarkson, when the ‘red projectile’ appeared on BBC TV’s Top Gear program. And each car owned by Paul has been evolved to his exacting requirements. The particular Autodelta 147 GTA AM 3.7 Super driven at Time Attack by Paul features a specially developed 440 bhp version of the ‘Arese’ 3.7 V6 engine, although for the long weekend's itinerary the engines peak power was detuned to run with around 400bhp, and instead the midrange torque was further increased to suit the twisty circuit. Pushing the dynamic envelope of Alfa Romeos to the very edge to create sports cars that thrill and challenge the driver is our deep-seated motivation; the search for that very last useable horsepower makes our engineers tick, but it isn’t just reserved for the engine – a balanced, capable package is evolved, and for this unique car, on top of the standard 147 GTA AM 3.7 Super package, were featured revised camshafts and inlet system, re-rated suspension and the first of a new-generation, even tougher, Limited Slip Differential. Although in effect a ‘mobile laboratory’ the car’s inherent driveability and practicality remains undiminished. The technically-demanding TT Circuit Assen in the Netherlands, was the perfect venue to host this special event. The tight and twisty 4.55 km, 16-turn circuit is most famously home to the Dutch round of the MotoGP World Championship and the existing track, first opened in 1955, is always a big draw with the fans. Substantial improvements were made to the circuit in 2006 before the glamorous arrival in town of the then-premier American single-seater series, ChampCar, last year. Amply proving the practicality of this ultimate high performance Alfa 147 derivative, Paul drove the car from Sheffield to the Netherlands via the Harwich-hook of Holland ferry, with the pre-event checks-over being carried in the Haarlem workshops of our Official Authorised Agent for the Netherlands, Sam van Lingen. The 147 also ran on track during the event with the same road tires that it drove over on, with actual changes made for the track programme being limited to adjusting the suspension stiffness (a very simple procedure carried out on the inside of the car on all Autodelta conversions), setting specific tyre pressures and using a correct fuel load. Time attack dawned very chilly and misty, and low air and track temperatures were a feature of the day. The Dutch race track suited the compact front-wheel drive 147 less than many rival cars, quite a few of which were thinly-disguised track specials with stripped-out interiors and fitted with roll protection cages. This particular Alfa 147 though retains the factory leather interior, music system, sat-nav and air-con. As it turned out, Paul and the Autodelta 147 GTA AM 3.7 Super were simply never headed. The fastest time, a lap during the post-lunchtime qualification session in 2:05:968, put the stunning black car firmly at the top of the timesheets, more than half a second clear of its closest rival. Punching above its weight is in the Autodelta DNA and this best time was 0.611 ahead of second fastest car, the Lotus Exige (410 bhp) of Herman Gast, and 0.810 ahead of the Nissan Skyline GT-R R32 (400 bhp) of Marcello Martinez. Other fancied cars left in the wake of the Autodelta entry included several more Skylines (in R32 and R33 guise), Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX (300 bhp), Subaru Impreza GTT (450 bhp), Mazda RX-7 (450 bhp), Toyota Supra MkIII (550 bhp) and Audi TTS (340 bhp). The handling qualities imbued into the compact front-wheel-drive Alfa 147 by Autodelta’s engineers have created a driveable machine, able to humble more expensive cars on the track and yet provide a comfortable ride to the circuit. Paul was thrilled with the performance of the car. “We had to make a few changes to join Time Attack, not least that we drove the car from the UK to the event and so the setup was much more restricted than if we were running say in a UK track event. Plus I’m not very familiar with the track and the conditions weren’t ideal, the track temperature was quite low. But we really wanted to get to the event and take up the challenge. So we have to be highly satisfied with the performance. My laps were slightly compromised so I think we could have gone even quicker as I was beginning to get more familiar with the circuit. However we were able to clearly demonstrate what a fantastic car Jano and the Autodelta engineering team have developed and I’m sure there is still more to come from this car,” added Paul. Also highly satisfied with the outcome was Autodelta Managing Director Jano Djelalian. “This event really proved what great work our engineers have done with the GTA AM programme. Before the event we weren’t sure what to expect so as we weren’t maximising performance in certain areas I would have been delighted to be in the top 5, to go fastest is a real testament to our development programme. I must also thank our Dutch Official Agent Sam van Lingen for organising our entry and for providing their workshops for systems checks and to the organisers of Time Attack for the invitation to take part against a full range of highly tuned Japanese cars in what was an excellent event.” Willem Meijdam, Area Manager, Sam van Lingen Haarlem, and responsible for Autodelta, was also delighted with the event. “It was really good for Autodelta to come over for this event; we’ve gone a long way in quite a short time since becoming their agent for the Netherlands. So with all the talk about Autodelta amongst enthusiasts and the media it was really nice that Jano, Paul and the Autodelta engineers came over for this event. That we proved just how good Alfa Romeos are on track against a lot of fast, tuned Japanese cars is even better. The 147 was the centre of attention, just the way an Alfa Romeo should be. It was good too that some of our customers with Autodelta conversions were able to join us in the paddock, and it was also nice to see the attention that the 8C and MiTo drew. With Autodelta, Sam van Lingen is making a stir here and we look forward to flying the flag even higher in the future.” While the potent Autodelta 147 GTA AM 3.7 Super drew spectators’ attention as it raced to the top of the timesheets on the Assen track, in the paddock it was perfectly complimented by the Autodelta J4 2.2 C, Alfa Brera 3.2 Supercharged, Alfa 8C Competizione and the Alfa MiTo, a line-up of beauty, style and performance that was quite simply unmatched.

They were great mate and I was wondering in what position you might have had to twist youself to take some of them

Yep yep no doubt the 120Y is a "significant" car whose main significance was reliability above all else. That's probably the last criteria considered for classic status to be earned. And that's the problem. It really has no place in the midst of classic cars. Maybe if the theme was different..... Also do you really want to see a car that you see almost every week on the streets in a show? I definitrly don't. Like I said a 120Y coupe if there was one would have been really nice. Yes the guy is in the organizing comittee so I guess the others can't refuse him But then he does have a decent Spitfire. Of course the Moggy Minor and Beetle are more classic than the 120Y. But my question is why have more than one each (?) when we could have had cars like the Ciroen DS, Fiat Topolino, Healy 3000, Ferrari Mondial, Lotus Elan convertible etc etc etc which are all with the membership and are in show condition, and a lot more "classic" than the humble VW or Minor.

Why Bora? Why not a Passat. 1.8T much better.

Thanks guys. My interior wasn't mint but not a disaster either. It will need a bit of neatening up which should not be a big deal. My biggest worry though is that my "Hellabore" wood-rimmed steering wheel is in poor shape. Actually specifically the wood rim. I need to sort out that. Does anyone know if our carpenters are capable restoring such a wheel? I don't want to buy a new Nardi classico as a) It's expensive and B.) Hellabore is rarer and more sought after.

Now in Rosso Giulietta I wasn't very sure about the colour but now I'm relieved. It looks fab. And the finish is outstanding

I like Mazda hatches as well. They look a lot better than the sedans perhaps excluding the current 3. I had a black 2001 Familia with an original body kit before I bought the Alfa 156 and it was a decent car. Being a non VVTi engine performance was adequate rather than great and the ride was probably the best in that class when compared with other Japanese cars. It handles well too with the indipendent rear sus. I gave it out on rent as soon as I got the Alfa, but it will be coming back in Jan. Might keep it for my father and sell the 1.6 156 as he prefers an auto.

Delta Integrale!

Markku Alen won a Swedish Rally in one beating Integrales!

It was this one, but yes the other is blue too - maybe one reason that the colour was changed on this one. Yes President's car. I think it's a good thing. This shows that there's a strong demand for fully restored genuine classics!!

Yes the XJS plate beats me. However the Mondial was brought here a long time ago on a CARNE permit. The then owner had pledged it to a financial institution and the present owner bought it from there. It was offered to me before him. For a moment I went into a dream world and luckily I woke up in time !!