Alfa Romeo is very good at making ordinary cars exceeding good-looking. There are far too many to name here, but the Giulia turns just as many heads now as it did ten years ago while the Stelvio is one of the few D-segment SUVs that isn’t totally deprived of style. Even those that aren’t conventionally pretty, like the SZ and 156 GTA, still draw a crowd of giddy Alfaholics like a month to a flame.
Nothing exemplifies that Alfa magic better than the 75. It’s far from the company’s prettiest cars, and the proportions don’t seem to quite work no matter which angle you view it from. But compared to other three-box saloons of the '80s and '90s, the 75 was pure theatre. The unapologetically blocky proportions, chunky lights and black side stripe running from nose to tail made rivals such as the E30 BMW 3 Series look rather plain. It got even wilder when Alfa turned the wick up, with Twin Spark packing beefier arches, deeper skirts and a boot spoiler, followed by the brutish 3.0-litre V6, similar to the car you see here.
Again, it’s not the prettiest Alfa but, boy, does it look right. The chunky air dam at the front, the even meatier arches and bulky rear bump all accentuated the 75’s less flattering angles, but the Turbo Evoluzione-mimicking looks just oozed purposefulness. It (arguably) sounded better than the racers, too, with a 3.0-litre Busso V6 burbling away to a 5,800rpm and 192hp being sent to the rear axle through a five-speed manual gearbox. Coupled with that was a properly sorted chassis, some might even say over-engineered, with inboard rear brakes and a limited-slip differential coming as standard. So while it may look a bit all over the place, everything underneath was much more considered.
This example, however, is no standard 75. This probably doesn’t come as a surprise, because even the most cherished examples don’t look as tidy as this. It’s been treated to a comprehensive restoration by Alfa specialist Alex Jupe, which involved stripping the car back to the bare metal before fixing glass-reinforced plastic wheel arch extenders and Veloce bodykit. The whole thing was then resprayed in the original colour (AR555 for you Alfa geeks), and finished off with anti-corrosion protection for its underbody, cavities, inner arches and chassis rails. The interior’s been given a spruce up as well, with crisp-looking Recaro seats and an immaculate three-spoke Momo Prototipo steering wheel.
Everything you can see looks to be in superb condition, and so too should be all the bits you can’t. Along with a cosmetic makeover, part of this 75’s restoration included an engine rebuild at 87,000 miles. A few upgrades were thrown in for good measure, including high compression pistons from the SZ, plus uprated cams, tensioner, hoses and a lightweight flywheel. On the chassis side, the diff has been rebuilt to factory spec, while the brakes and suspension have been upgraded to AP Racing and RS Racing items respectively.
Restomod has become a bit of a dirty word these days, but perfectly sums up what’s been done here. It looks just like any other V6-engine, Veloce-kitted 75, though it’ll likely drive a whole lot better, feel considerably more spritely and surely won’t be as high maintenance as an original, unrestored version. The ad claims the seller has spent £50k getting it into its current state, which makes the £34,995 asking price seem a little easier to swallow. It’s still on the high side for a 75, as the old four-door hasn’t appreciated in quite the same way as, say, a 156 GTA has, but that just means you’re getting the full classic Alfa experience (hopefully without the headaches) for the same price as a used Giulia Quad.
1 / 6
