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SPIDER COUNTRY Continued {rom page 17 grin. The kind which could either mean "I'm having a wonderful time, could there be a nicer day?" or "That's it, you suckers, just a bit farther from home and I'm going to detonate into a million pieces!" The pavement underneath the radiator remained bone dry, however, and as usual we just looked at each other and shook our heads. Biting the Big Apple Heading south along No.9, the Alfa took us into the Big Apple for our first time. In weather identical to the previous day, we moved slowly in traffic-through the Bronx and into mid-town Manhattan. By this time both our necks were in need of chiropractic attention. I think we spent 80 percent of the time in traffic trying to figure out if the liquids on the pavement behind us came from the Spider or others' air conditioning units. We gave up when I pointed out that we were following another Alfa Spider with air conditioning! It didn't take us long to agree that New York City was both terrific and terrible. One thing was for certain, the sheer size Custom Embroidery for the Alfa Enthusiast Golf Shirts Sweatshirts Jackets ALFA PARTS EXCHANGE Specializing in Used Alfa Romeo and Jaguar Parts LICENSED DISMANTLER GUARANTEED PARTS "The 22nd largest coUection of Alia parts in the world." 510-471-7132 2436 WhiPple Road #2 Hayward, California 94544 18 ALFA OWNER and density of the area is spectacular. It kind of made us feel small and helpless, although Ian maintains that it was the car that did that. After a brief drive around, we found the Lincoln Tunnel and took it vowing to return again soon in a more suitable vehicle to really see the town, probably in a '71 Parisienne. The plan was to stay at a friend's house outside of Jersey City and an hour and a half later, Richard met us at his front door. The AHa and Richard's Ferrari 308 got a bath in preparation for the next day's vintage car festival. We had the great American meal of oversized hotdogs, garnished in our host's gourmet-like fashion, after which we soaked up the splendor of James Garner and friends in Grand Prix on a Texas-sized TV with surround sound. Richard's idea of a round-robin driving schedule for getting to the festival was a big hit with these two mouth-foaming enthusiasts, so the day's success was positively assured when first Richard, Logos Many Alfo Designs Alfo Emblems & SUCH No Order Too Small Call or Write for Price and Styles 1 0 Raskin Road Morristown, NJ 07960 (201) 285-9625 ALFA PACIFIC Service & Repair for Alfa Romeo Cars (310) 828-2291 1209 19th Street Santa Monica, CA 90404 then Ian and finally I slid into the driver's seat of the Ferrari. We found Fairmount Park in Philadelphia with no great problem and proceeded to have one of those days you don't forget. There must have been more than 400 cars representing their makers proudly. Anyone who turned up with anything remotely interesting was invited to display it. It was a day of many firsts for us, including the first time Ian ever saw an F40 at a gallop. There were no competitions, although one chap suggested we be awarded a medal for driving an Italian car the longest distance without a fire extinguisher. Late that afternoon, we said all our goodbyes and headed north through Pennsylvania. Many cars were leaving at the same time, so we had the opportunity to listen to and see these rolling history books at speed. We diced it out for awhile with an Alfa Giulia Sprint Speciale, ate a couple of MG TCs and were in turn eaten by an Aston Martin DB4. What It's All About The Spider ran gloriously all the way home (like there was any doubt it would) and the fire extinguisher we never bought was never needed. On the contrary, in northern Pennsylvania we were caught in a torrential downpour. Having never driven the car in the rain, I had no idea that (and not a lot of textbooks mention this) you actually stay drier if you leave the roof down. Luckily, Ian has his Bronze Cross and I'm not a bad swimmer either. We survived. The top of Pennsylvania has some wonderful landscapes, not to mention some roller-coaster roads. That day, with a pretty much broken-in engine, driver and passenger, the Spider let us know just what it was all about, aside from being a pretty Italian sports car. Of course, I'm speculating, but I think an Alfa Romeo dealer in the area can expect to sell a Spider to a guy with a metallic purple Camaro with tinted windows and Yokohama A-D08s. The rest of the trip went without incident and was almost restful. Two days passed before I got a chance to do a 'once-over' on the Alfa. Running a soap-lathered cloth along the sleek Pininfarina body I caught myself smiling excessively. I took it on a short evening jaunt north of the city and on the way back, the clutch began slipping. I shook my head and kept on smiling. 0
Remember the 1935 German Grand Prix? OK, ever read about the German GP at Nurburgring in 1935? Nuvolari took his much-outclassed Alfa Romeo to victory over the Mercedes and Auto Union teams. It was quite a surprise to the Germans. They didn't even have a record of the Italian national anthem to play. No problem: Nuvolari always carried one with him. Well, in 1993, the Germans better have copies of the Italian anthem at every track rack where the German Touring Car Championship runs. It is likely that Alfa Romeo will do to the GTCC what it did to the Italian series, the CIVT, in 1992totally dominate: first prediction. Alfa will also win the Italian Championship again: second prediction. And, if there are privateer Alfas running in France, they will do well, although they probably won't get enough support to win the championship: last prediction. The Really Big Show In Europe, touring car (sedan) racing is a big deal. Next to Formula 1, it draws the biggest crowds and TV audiences. The competition is much better than the Fl parades-it's kind of like NASCAR. As with several national series, the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) looks as though it will be the most popular, displacing the German series from that position. The BTCC's format is for twoliter cars, a formula that is becoming favored around Europe in general. The more technically challenging (and also more costly) 2.5-liter formula is definitely losing popularity. In 1992, the favorite series (best attended with the most competition) was the GTCC. BMW, Opel, Audi and Mercedes Benz were all involved with factory efforts. The 2.5-liter cars gave a great show. So Alfa Romeo decided it would build a car for this premier series. That's when things sort of fell apart in the GTCC. Remember Procar? Alfa was the only manufacturer who actually built a racer, a VlO-powered, mid-engined 164, for the series. Well, the GTCC isn't quite that bad, although it seemed that there might not be a series late last year. First, Audi pulled out-after its engines were declared illegal-to spread their racing efforts throughout their various national markets. Then, at the end of the season, after Mercedes Benz took the series crown, BMW announced that it would not com- Forecast '93: ______ 'll_o_unn_e_g to Victory pete in the series in 1993. It had asked to be able to move its in-line six-cylinder engine back in the chassis to make it more competitive with the V6s. Permission was granted, but only for one year. Reasoning that this was too costly to do for just one year, it would not be particularly competitive afterward. So, BMW was out. Next, Opel withdrew because it didn't think there was enough competition. That left MB and Alfa-still enough factory interest for a series. In early January, Mercedes dropped its bomb: At least it was a bomb for fans of the three-pointed star. MB would concentrate its development on its two-liter car for the 1994 series. Teams running 190s would be in 1992 cars. Alfa Romeo will have the only current factory car in the series. MB will still be there, a $2 million prize fund has been established for privateers, and BMW will continue to support privateers running their three-year-old racers, but an Alfa victory looks assured. Therefore, my first prediction was easy. Oh, there was one more piece of information: Francia lapped Nogero .3sec faster in testing than the GTCC series runner-up in his 190. A Few Specs Thanks to Don Black of Fiat R&D, U.S.A., I have some specs on the GTCC 155. Built by Abarth, the car will have a longer nose, narrower track, biplane wing and higher ground clearance than the CIVT car. In sprint trim, the engine will produce 440bhp at 12,800rpm (woofl). Normally, it will put out 420bhp at 11,000rpm. It will use a non-synchro 6speed gearbox, with the Ferrari F 1 "automatic" as an option. The four 16in. wheels will all be driven through viscous, limited slip differentials. Last year, there was a wonderful comparison in Autosport of the turbo twoliter 155 GTA and the MB 2.5-liter 190. Will Gloy, the 1992 BTCC champion, did the comparison. He tried the Alfa at Verano, a twisty, demanding track north of Firenze. The car was set up for Monza and had been run hard toward the end of the season, but he still got a pretty good taste of the Alfa's potential. First, he was taken by surprise by how late he could brake with the Alfa's ABS system. Apparently that took some getting used to. He was most impressed with the fourwheel drive. Together with the ABS, it was possible to go into corners hard and use the car's unbelievable grip to get through, something he apparently would never try in a BMW. Also, he liked the air conditioning. Yup, it seems that it gets really hot in a red turbo racer in Italy. Gloy liked the Mercedes, too, but he was much more impressed with the engine than the car's handling. ·The MB 16-valve, four-cylinder develops 375bhp and the 190 is a sophisticated car: It uses lots of trick components, like a carbon fiber drives haft and some interesting software controls. The anti-roll bars are changed by the computer at each corner to maximize grip and the cowls on the radiator are closed on the straights to reduce drag. Back on the Continent The CIVT and French Supertourisme series will be much the same as last year, following the two-liter formula. It is easy to predict that Alfa Romeo will continue to dominate the Italian series, returning with a factory effort and drivers Giorgio Francia and Gabriele Tarquini. It will be most interesting, though, to see how the drivers from all the various series do at the FIA International Touring Car Challenge for Drivers at the end of the season. Watch for the Alfas! 155 News Here is some related information about the 155: For the privateer who wants to go racing in Group N in his 155 Q4, Alfa Romeo has released a competition package. The kit takes engine output to 245bhp at 6000rpm; revises the suspension; adds a special clutch, free-flow exhaust and additional cooling for the intercooler. Finally, Don Black provided the speeds of the 155 Q4 that set a new world speed record at Bonneville in Class G/PS (G < 122 cit, P = Production, S= supercharged, or turbocharged, in this case). 0 9124192 (invalid one-way run) l.Omi. 177.176 l.Okm. 181.379 2.0mi. 181.865 3.0mi. 183.712 9/25/92 (valid downwind 1-3 mph; valid upwind 3-8mph) l.Omi. 180.081 180.971 1.0km. 183.332 179.747 2.0mi. 183.613 180.971 3.0mi. 184.794 167.195 APRIL 1993 19
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