SHERBURN-IN-ELMET, England — Alfa Romeo took a break from promoting new automobiles in america after 1995, when the ultimate Spider Veloces and 164s had been bought right here. That beat Fiat and Lancia (each of which departed after 1982), however nonetheless disadvantaged us of the Alfa 164’s good-looking successor: the 166. The simplest strategy to discover discarded 166s is to cross the Atlantic, so that is what I did just lately.
I have been spending plenty of time within the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg in recent times, being the descendant of immigrants from that tiny however proud nation, and there are nonetheless fairly just a few 166s prowling the streets of Luxembourg Metropolis. Regardless of their fame for unreliability and horrifically fast depreciation, the 166 seems so good that I stay tempted to ship one house. The facelifted mannequin within the picture above had its debut as a 2003 mannequin and thus will not be authorized in america till 2028, however the first-year ’99s should not elevate any U.S. Customs eyebrows while you choose one up at your native port.
I hoped to shoot loads of fascinating Italian iron throughout my journey to the scrapyards of Yorkshire in January, so I headed over to Sherburn Motor Spares, situated on the very land in Sherburn-in-Elmet the place the well-known Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers of Bismarck-crippling fame had been constructed. This yard specialises in Italian and French automobiles; it is what we would name a dismantler in america, so clients aren’t allowed to tug their very own elements except they get permission beforehand.
There is a good little breakfast joint situated simply out entrance, which was welcome on a below-freezing Yorkshire morning, and the staff are very pleasant (although a bit obscure should you come from anyplace else within the English-speaking world). Inside, you will discover loads of Alfa Romeos, Fiats, Peugeots, Citroëns, Renaults and even just a few Toyota MR2s; I noticed a particularly uncommon Alfa Romeo Brera S, which was one among a mere 500 constructed.
Vehicles rust shortly and inspections are rigorous in England, so I did not see many machines constructed previous to our present century. Effectively again in one of many rows, nevertheless, was this first-year 166 accomplished up in some form of racing livery.
The automobiles had been packed and stacked so carefully that I wasn’t capable of get nice pictures of this automotive, however Sherburn Motor Spares has included some pre-stacking pictures of their eBay retailer. Its MOT historical past exhibits that it final handed inspection in 2015 with 150,191 miles on the clock, and that it failed a number of occasions earlier than then as a result of electrical issues and extreme emissions.
This automotive participated within the Screwball Rally, presumably whereas it was nonetheless registered. The Screwball seems to be very related in spirit to its American counterparts such because the Lemons Rally, the Rocky Mountain Rambler 500 and the Gambler 500. I could must go over there, purchase a sub-£1000 MG TF and do that rally.
I am unable to discover a lot proof of this staff’s participation within the rally, apart from a single Flickr picture, however I am positive the expertise of driving a 15-or-so-year-old Alfa luxurious saloon via France and Italy was each snug and character-building.
The staff seems to have been sponsored by a restore store in Leeds that works on Alfa Romeos, Fiats, Abarths and… Jeeps?
This automotive had the three.0-liter quad-cam V6 underneath its bonnet, rated at 223 horsepower and 203 pound-feet. It has the automated transmission, so prime velocity was 147 mph as a substitute of the 5-speed handbook’s 151 mph.
Drive it from St. Petersburg to Berlin on a spy mission. As one does.