Melbourne F1GP, Alfa SUV ...

[Gary Stark <redbakstark@domain.elided>]

G'day y'all.

Just got back home after my trip to Melbourne for the
F1GP. What a weekend, and what a race. I've been to
several F1 races now, both in Oz and Europe, and this
was by far the best yet. For those who haven't yet
seen the race, beg, borrow or videotape a copy. 

Part of the trip (for me and my son/s) traditionally
includes a visit to the Melbourne Motor Show. Among
the highlights were the BMW Z8 (like, wow!), the new
Lamborghini, and the new Benz SL, an example of which
was also used as the F1 safety vehicle. 

Diahatsu paraded a new hard top convertible two seater
( everybody's doing these, but can you say Audi TT
rip-off?), but there was nothing of any real note on
the Alfa stand.

After the race, the obligatory visit to Lygon St for
dinner (Thai Kangagroo salad followed by tagliatelli,
anybody?) and people watching was just so much fun. I
think that every Ferrari in the city was out on Lygon
on Sunday night.

However, we did the trip in my 33 Quattro, and it -
along with the Subaru stand - set me thinking abiut
the recent discussions on this list about Alfa SUVs. 

My recollection is that the Alfa 33 Sportswagon was
released before any of the Subaru 4WD wagons (at least
here in Oz) but the two vehicles share some basic
design ideas: flat four, FWD/part time 4WD, small
wagon design ...

Remember for a moment that none of the Sud/33 based
cars were ever released in the USA, and so many of
those in that part of the world really have no concept
of these cars.

But if we look perhaps at the similarities that these
early Subies had to the 33 4WDs, perhaps Alfa might,
in designing its SUV, take some of its concepts from
those espoused by Subaru rather than what the really
big cars do, and produce something that might be both
intersting and exciting.

Finally, a question for the Melbourne Alfisti here:
What's the name of Vin Sharp's workshop? Is it that
place right near the Albert Park circuit - Sharp
Performance - with the Lambos and cappucino shop?


g.
Gary Stark
gstark@domain.elided
http://redbacksWeb.com
Back down under in Sydney, Oz.

79 Alfetta Sedan
74 2000 GTV
69 1750 GTV (restoring)
85 Alfa 33 Quattro
Yahoo! Sports - sign up for Fantasy Baseball
http://sports.yahoo.com

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