By Cam Tait / Wednesday, December 18, 2024 / Loading comments
Alfa Romeo is very clever when it comes to making incredibly beautiful ordinary cars. There are too many to mention here, but the Giulia attracts as much attention today as it did a decade ago, while the Stelvio is one of the few D-segment SUVs that is rarely completely lacking in style. Even conventionally pretty ones like the SZ and 156 GTA still draw a crowd of Alfaholics dazed like a month in front of a flame.
Nothing exemplifies that Alfa magic better than the 75. It’s far from the company’s prettiest cars, and the proportions don’t seem to quite work no matter which angle you view it from. But compared to other three-box saloons of the ’80s and ’90s, the 75 was pure theatre. The unapologetically blocky proportions, chunky lights and black side stripe running from nose to tail made rivals such as the E30 BMW 3 Series look rather plain. It got even wilder when Alfa turned the wick up, with Twin Spark packing beefier arches, deeper skirts and a boot spoiler, followed by the brutish 3.0-litre V6, similar to the car you see here.
Again, still not the prettiest Alfa, boy does it look good. The big air dam up front, even meatier arches, and voluminous rear hump accentuated the 75’s less flattering angles, but the Turbo Evoluzione-mimicking look simply oozed determination. It (arguably) sounded better than a race car too, with a 3. 0-liter Busso V6 revving to 5,800 rpm and 192 hp sent to the rear axle through a five-speed manual gearbox. Exclusively designed chassis with internal rear brakes and limited slip differential as standard. So while it may seem a bit all over the place, everything underneath has a lot more idea.
This example, however, is no standard 75. This probably doesn’t come as a surprise, because even the most cherished examples don’t look as tidy as this. It’s been treated to a comprehensive restoration by Alfa specialist Alex Jupe, which involved stripping the car back to the bare metal before fixing glass-reinforced plastic wheel arch extenders and Veloce bodykit. The whole thing was then resprayed in the original colour (AR555 for you Alfa geeks), and finished off with anti-corrosion protection for its underbody, cavities, inner arches and chassis rails. The interior’s been given a spruce up as well, with crisp-looking Recaro seats and an immaculate three-spoke Momo Prototipo steering wheel.
Everything you can see appears to be in very good condition, as do all the pieces you can’t see. In addition to a cosmetic makeover, part of this ’75’s recovery included an engine rebuild at 87,000 miles. Some upgrades were added as a smart move, adding high-compression pistons from the SZ, along with upgraded cams, tensioners, hoses, and a lightweight flywheel. On the chassis side, the differential has been rebuilt to factory specifications, while the brakes and suspension have been upgraded to AP Racing and RS Racing parts respectively.
Restomod has become a dirty word in those days, but it perfectly sums up what has been done here. It looks like any other V6 equipped with Veloce 75, it will most likely drive much better, feel much livelier, and actually not possibly require as much maintenance as an unrestored original. The directory claims that the trader spent £50,000 to leave it in its current state, making the initial value of £34,995 a little less difficult to accept. It’s still a steep value for a 75, as the old four-door wasn’t appreciated in the same way as, say, a 156 GTA, but it just means you get the full delight of vintage Alfa (hopefully, without the headaches). ) for the same value as a used Giulia Quad.
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