Talk Morgan Forums Community Vehicle Talk (non-Morgan) 50 Years of Alfa Sud

I totally agree with the comment made by Bervie1.

I am a serial car changer and have had countless exciting vehicles over the decades, Morgan 4/4, Plus4 and 8, E Type, Porsches, etc but the 1981 Alfasud Sprint Veloce 1.5 that we owned back then is still referred to as the most enjoyable drive! It was very poorly screwed together and with very thinly applied paint but it was a car that we would always want to drive just to exerience the sounds, responsiveness and handling. No car before or since has given my wife or myself greater driving involvement!

I loved the fact that they had such a well balanced combination of grip, power, brakes and revs. Each drive was easy to rag it equally and not exceed (totally) the road you were on. The engine was a little underpowered by todays standards but the way it rev'd and the noise it made was everything. I had several runs in a friends 1.5 cloverleaf (105bhp?) and always enjoyed it. My car at the time was the Dolomight. Might start, might stop, might have indicators and brake lights that worked. It was great in a straight line but the brakes were made of feta and the handling was like two different cars at the front and back!

In the late 70's I drove a Giulia 1.6 that I had bought second hand.
I was so pleased with that car that 2 years later in 1979 I decided to buy its successor.
The Alfetta 1.6
The first and only new car I ever bought.
What wonderful cars Alfa's are has already been described in detail here.
What stayed with me the most were the fantastic brakes on the Alfetta.
But...!!!
7 years later; 1986 I had to jack up the car to replace a flat tire.
And came to the conclusion that the jack went up but the Alfetta did not.
The jack just went through the chassis beam.
And that's where my Alfa adventure ended.
Such a pity.

A glowing account with a brilliant finish Paul, thanks for the

I have fond memories of an Alfa 33 that I bought off a friend. Parked it at Oulton Park on a windy day and came back to find it had been damaged when one of the empty oil barrels marking out the area had blown over. Minor dent and the paint was scraped off. As I was just about to relocate for a new job it was months before I got it repaired but it didn't rust. One quirky feature was that, when you washed it, the roof was like a wobble board.....must have been very thin steel!

If only the Suds had been built with the same steel as the 33s...

Sorry, I know this thread is rather old now.
But, many years ago my father in law phoned to tell me he had bought an alfasud. I was so pleased for him but when I got there to see it it turned out to be a Datsun with alfasud badges. I don't know how long they were made for or what it was all about but I've never seen another.
Nick

I remember some strange Datsun/Alfa hybrid

Was it this? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfa_Romeo_Arna

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.autoexpress.co.uk/alfa-romeo/97620/alfa-romeo-arna-the-worst-cars-ever%3famp

Yes whilst the Sud and it's various descendants had the benefit of great styling and driving experience the Arna rightly died quickly. What a gaff.

I think it was Dave. Worse still, it was the five door one.....