Written by Máté Boér
Photography by Máté Boér
Who could say no to an invitiation to take part in a drive with four classic Alfas?
Owners of local Alfa Romeo restoration shop Alfarium in Budapest, Hungary, and two of their friends grabbed their beloved cars (and I grabbed my camera) to head out of the city without any particular destination. We simply wanted to enjoy what might be the last warm and sunny Sunday afternoon of this year. The four participants were a Montreal, two Alfettas from the first series, and an Alfa 6, also from the first generation: all different characters but each one easy to love. It was nice to experience all four of these Alfas, but would be very hard to choose the best.
The Montreal has a phenomenal Italian V8 and the beautiful lines from Marcello Gandini. The Alfa 6 is the behemoth with its 2.5 V6 and six carburetors. The two big Alfettas glided through the countryside, but on the twisting roads outside of Budapest these two showed their true, playful colors: the silver one pictured is from the early first series and fully restored, while the black one is an athlete in a grandfather’s coat—over the past 15 years, it was slowly transformed into a street legal track car with 2.0 Twin Spark engine and some other modifications.
The setting sun, the fall colors at their peaks, the vineyards, the golf course, and the sycamore trees were perfect elements and backgrounds for our drive. These are the moments we’ll remember during the coming cold days while the classics have their winter sleep.