RE: "Calling the Alfa Scholar,Jon Hertzman"

[JHertzman@xxxxxxx]

In AD7-479 Terry Akins asks "Velocissima" questions-

First, there is only one "Jon" (that I know of) on the digest, a very
respectable Englishman who abbreviates his 'Jonathan'. I am not fussy, but he
might be - guilt (or, if you prefer, gilt) by association and all that.

Second, 'Scholar' is a bit strong. Try 'Trivia packrat'

On to the questions, easy one first:

"3.Jon, do you have the fax number for Elivera Ruocco at the Alfa Romeo
archives?"

The name is Elvira, not Elivera.
Sig. Elvira Ruocco,
Centro Documentazione
Alfa Romeo
Viale Alfa Romeo
I-20020 Arese (MI)
ITALY
Fax (+39) 0 29 31 57 46 

"1.Does anyone know how many of the Alfetta "Velocissima" editions were
produced and sold?Were they all California editions? (VIN starts with
AR116-15,denoting US California emissions models from the VIN decoding guide
in the IAP catalog)"

There was a brief period when emissions regs in the rest of the country were
more lenient than in California. The "49 State" Alfetta coupes were 116.29,
while 116.15, initially California, became "50 State." And no, the Velocissima
would certainly not have been all California editions. ARI would have sold it
only to anybody who had the money.

"How many of the Alfetta "Velocissima" editions were produced and sold?" I
have not seen numbers for the Velo, but the relatively common GTV-6 "Balocco",
early in the model run, was 350, while the GTV-6 "Maratona", late in the run,
was 150. With the exception of the Callaway Twin Turbo all US 'special
editions' were primarily cosmetic packages, occasionally with an Ansa exhaust
and/or Koni shocks added, often with 'aerodynamic enhancements' but never with
any actual hard benefit attributed to them. Generally they were attempts to
goose-up sagging (or definitively sagged) sales, and with the exception of the
Balocco I would assume production and sales in the neighborhood of 100-150
units, perhaps less; both the "Mille Miglia" and "Velocissima" special
editions were tag end, 1980 variants of a car generally understood to have
ended in 1979. The last Spiders sold here were a "Commemorative Edition" and
the one at our local dealer accumulated a thick layer of dust in the showroom
for about a year. If you can't sell something, hype it.

"2.Where can I find any photos of these cars?Do they have "Sprint Veloce"
badging on the sides of the front fenders?"

The one in Joe Benson's "Illustrated Alfa Romeo Buyer's Guide" does have the
"Sprint Veloce" badging, raised and with a large Alfa badge beneath it, but it
also has non-standard wheels and its badging may be owner (or dealer)
enhanced, or just an added distributor bangle.

As for "Where can I find any photos of these cars?", I have a large (14.5" x
21.75", unfolded, suitable for framing) ARI reprint of a May 19, 1980
"Autoweek" article and cover which includes six photos with at least one
priceless detail, the typography of the "velocissima" (lower case) script
across the boundary-layer device. (And no badging on the front fender.) The
article is generally quite favorable, although it mentions that they knocked
the vulnerable front air dam off when parking (bet Terry won't find an intact
one soon!). "People seemed to either love or hate the styling-" If Terry wants
my absolutely pristine copy, suitable for framing, he can have it for sending
an extra $10 contribution to my favorite charity, the Richard Welty fund. 

Terry mentions that his Velocissima is still nameless. If I had it (and if I
didn't strip it down to pure stock Alfetta) I would probably call it "Fred",
or perhaps "A-One", or, if I wanted a more Italian name, "Ferdinando". "Alfa
Owner" mentioned this was the first 'special edition' named after an AROC
chapter newsletter; the newsletter 'Velocissina' (of the Alfa Owners of New
England, A-ONE or A-1) was edited, published, and largely written by Fred Di
Matteo. In one article he had fulminated about Alfa degrading the once-literal
"Veloce" to merely denoting a trim level; I picked up on that with an Alfa-
Owner article about model-name protocols which I ended with a suggestion for a
"Fred Di Matteo" special edition Spider which would be absolutely bare of any
tack-ons other than a shop manual and complete tool kit, and available only
with factory delivery. There would be some incongruity in naming the lavish
Velocissima after a very down-to-earth Di Matteo, but I am sure he would
accept it in good humor.

Cordially, 

John H.
Raleigh, N.C.

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