Re: Figment of an (Alfa) imagination?

[Simon Favre <simon@domain.elided>]

I kind of doubt it. The 4R wasn't available until the 60's. Hardly a
car that made the US fall in love with Italian cars after WWII. That
honor would have to go to the Giulietta Spider, but the author does
say it's a 4-seater. A Giulietta Sprint, perhaps? Wire wheels were
available on these. I suspect a large portion of creative license is
involved. Since when did Alfas come with wide whitewalls? Perhaps on
a 6C2500, but then what's a Giulia engine doing in there? This is
kind of like trying to figure out what model that huge bronze sculpture
was that appeared on eBay a while back. Just a diversion.

What does he mean by wire-rimmed hubcaps? Alfa didn't make any, AFAIK.
A true Borrani wire wheel does look stunning on an early Alfa, like a
1900, or an iron-block 2000, or even a Giulietta Sprint. Unfortunately,
at this point, you would end up paying Ferrari prices for such hardware.

Also, I thought the 4R was based on the Duetto chassis with 105 running
gear.

Tony Stevens wrote:

>Sounds like a 4R Quattroruote, a replica of the pre-war Zagato with
>Giulia 101 Spider mechanicals, including the 5 speed box.
>
>Tony Stevens
>
>In message , Robin Boyar <rboyar@domain.elided> writes
>>You know you're an Alfa geek, when a novelist describes an Alfa and you
>>can't figure out what it is.
>>  
>>In Robert Hellenga's The Fall of a Sparrow there are some references to Alfa
>>Romeos.   Alas, in the following passage, I couldn't figure out what vehicle
>>he was describing.  
>>
>>"..he and Woody drove to Civitavecchia in a vintage Alfa Romeo, a stunning
>>coral-colored four-seater
>>with wide whitewalls and wire-rimmed hubcaps with coral colored spokes- one
>>of the models that had made
>>America fall in love with Italian cars after the war....  A new Giulia
>>engine, but exactly the same as the original..."

------------------------------