Alfa Sei Blindata

[JHertzman@domain.elided]

In AD7-814 Mike Cosgrove writes "Now to the misunderstood question category, 
I was really wondering how many armored Alfa6's there may be out there now, 
not how many stock ones."

Probably none. There are two parts to the question: 1) How many WERE there? 
and 2) Of those, how many survive? 

Giancarlo Catarsi's book on the Alfetta has a couple of pages on armored 
Alfettas. Beyond the expected bulletproof glass, serious fire-extinguishing, 
and twenty-layer kevlar headliner one finds blowout-proof/bulletproof tires, 
(which must do wonders for cornering) but did Alfa build the cars? Almost 
certainly not, and the number built would not be part of company records. 

ANFIA, the Associazione Nazionale fra le Industrie Automobilistice publishes 
an annual "Carrozzeria Italiana" covering who produces what. Its members, who 
range from Bertone to Zagato, include seven companies which produce armored 
cars, one of which (Fontauto) doesn't do anything else, and a second, Repetti 
& Montiglio, which only does armored cars and working prototypes for other 
companies. Two companies which build mass-produced cars are names most of us 
have never heard of- Coriasco and Ilca Maggiora. Nine others build 
small-series cars, like Marazzi, who produced such cars as the Lamborghini 
Jarama and the Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale.

The armored cars shown by the various manufacturers include some Alfa 164s, 
but more Lancias and still more Mercedes. Other makes shown include Renault, 
Opel, Volvo, Jaguar, BMW, Range Rover, Rolls Royce, and Ferrari. 

The armored car game would seem to be for the protection against terrorism, 
kidnapping, and serious business competition; the protectees would be the 
very wealthy, the upper ranks of various sorts of commerce, justices and 
law-enforcement ministers, perhaps other elements of government. The big 
Lancias would seem ideal where a domestic car might be preferable; the big 
Mercedes probably offers an edge where imports are acceptable; the Rolls and 
Range Rover might have cachet for certain levels of society. To answer Mike 
Cosgrove's question, "how many armored Alfa6's there may be out there now?", 
for any of these categories of clients- how many (present company excepted) 
would chose a twelve-year old 2.5 liter Alfa over a Ferrari Testarossa or a 
humongous Mercedes or one of the more sybaritic SUVs? Probably none, 
especially as the technology of protection has probably made great strides, 
as also, presumably, has the technology of attack. You don't want to be 
fighting, or defending, with the weapons of the last war.

John H.

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