1974 Alfa Romeo GTV

[1974Alfa5spd]

On a scale of 0-5
Overall: 4

Handling: 5
Engine: 4
Transmission: 1
Comfort/Ride: 1
Fuel Economy: 2
Style: 4
Practicality: 2
Fun: 6
Reliability: 4
Chance of Sexual Encounter (Sexability): 2

Handling: This car handles like a dream. Locked to the road and you need to go pretty damn fast to get the rear end to let go. The drilled and slotted disc brakes have no problem bringing the car to a halt very quickly. It has no ABS, so locking the wheels can be a potential issue.

Engine: The engine has an indicated redline of 5800 but will turn all the way up to 7000 on stock internals. The little 2L IL4 is a torque monster. The engine has very little power on the stock cams and mechanical injection system. This is resolved with Euro-spec cams and carbs. The car produces about 140hp with Hi-comp pistons, race tuned carbs and aggressive cams. It will pull very strong up to the redline and beyond. It starts making a lot of power around 3000rpm and will pull the car to 60, 100 and beyond.

Transmission: The 5-speed manual transmission is extremely delicate. If you're not very careful going from first to second you're going to get a nasty grind. First gear synchro is 100% shot and it takes a precision double-clutch to get into it while moving any faster than about 1-2mph. It's honestly better to stop, put it in first, and go again.

Comfort/Ride: The ride is much more sport and handling oriented, so the ride is very hard and every bump in the road is felt. Okay for short trips, but you're going to be in agony on the long haul.

Fuel economy: The engine is small but is very thirsty. Only gets 14-15MPG on a tank. It will only run on premium so a fill up can be costly sometimes.

Style: The car is designed by Bertone and has very nice lines but is not very aerodynamically oriented. The nose points out a little bit and creates a nice scoop to force air through the full brass and copper radiator.

Fun: This car is over-the-top fun to drive. It has a very light clutch which makes it easy to drive. The car will go very fast very quickly and will settle down to a nice every day cruiser just by letting off the gas. Get back on the gas and the car will pick up in an instant. It almost has a personality that just begs to driven and driven quickly.

Practicality: A normal sized bag of golf clubs doesn't fit in the trunk, and a saxophone case does, but only barely. In other words: if you have to take something big, take another car.

Reliability: It is a very reliable car that is easy to fix. It rarely breaks down and when it does it's something very simple and easy to fix due to a completely mechanical setup and you can be back on the road in an instant.

Chance of Sexual Encounter (sexability): It's not a guaranteed pussy wagon like a Lambo is. Not a lot of f**king is going to be happening inside the car either. It's very small inside and requires some modification to fit the average height American. Even if it happens it cant happen inside either due to some controls in the way. The shifter comes out into a nice reachable position and the handbrake in the "up" position will interfere with any head given. The steering wheel comes very close to the driver and cannot be tilted out of the way. A much better option would be to have a blanket in the trunk and do it outside.

[AHTOXA]

Can't believe there were no comments on this car including from myself! I actually really like it but there is no way I could ever fit into it. As far as the space inside and headroom how does compare to a Miata, for example?

[94Corolla5Speed]

IM F*CKING JEALOUS. I WANT AN ALFA. :/

You're super lucky Chris. Please find the time to make us a video of it if you have a camera, I'm sure it sounds amazing.

and LOL! You gave it a 4/5 for reliability! ....BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!

[1974Alfa5spd]

Can't believe there were no comments on this car including from myself! I actually really like it but there is no way I could ever fit into it. As far as the space inside and headroom how does compare to a Miata, for example?

Well, I'm 6'2" and I fit perfectly with room to spare. It might not be hard to shoehorn you in there. There's about an inch of headroom though.

IM F*CKING JEALOUS. I WANT AN ALFA. :/

You're super lucky Chris. Please find the time to make us a video of it if you have a camera, I'm sure it sounds amazing.

and LOL! You gave it a 4/5 for reliability! ....BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!

I need to get a new LCD to put in my PnS and then I can make a video.
And I gave it a 4/5 for reliability because it is very reliable for me. Other people, not so much.

[Rope-Pusher]

On a scale of 0-5
Fuel Economy: 4

Fuel economy: The engine is small so it uses very little gas. The carbs are tuned for performance so the engine uses a little more gas than the usual 2L. It will only run on premium so a fill up can be costly sometimes.

Reminds me of the SNL Martin Short sketch on Synchronized Swimming, were he sez "I'm not a strong swimmer" and you see him wearing a PFD. Didn't you say lately that it only gets 12-14 mpg on a US gallon?

Maybe you should have used euphemistic units like "ton-miles per gallon" to make it sound more frugal. I'm thinking the M1 Abrams tank gets 27 ton-miles/gallon of diesel fuel - doesn't sound too shabby, does it?

[1974Alfa5spd]

Post updated ^^^

[eggwich delfiero]

Seriously, like was already stated, pretty amazing there were no comments for a while on a good review of such an awesome car.

Have I told your car lately, that I love you?
Have I told your car there's no other Alfa above you?
You fill my heart with much Do Want,
Take away all my sadness,
Ease my trouble with tribbles, that's what you do.

[theholycow]

I just watched The Trouble With Tribbles yesterday.

Anyway, regarding the song...I have a much better parody:

Have I told you lately that I hate you
Have I told you there's no one else below you
You kill my heart with sadness
Take away all my gladness
Cause my troubles, that's what you do