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11.08.2005 Four seriously fast cars, eight car-nuts and six speed-conscious countries – The Autodelta European Tour by Roberto GiordanellI

This feature appears courtesy of Roberto Giordanelli and Auto Italia magazine

Four seriously fast cars, eight car-nuts and six speed-conscious countries – Autodelta's first European Tour was on. The Tour was the idea of London-based independent Alfa Romeo specialist Autodelta. Founder Jano Djelalian has built a first-rate reputation in the Alfa tuning business. Our convoy consisted of three Autodelta-modified cars and one brand-spanking-new Maserati GranSport. With the slowest car in the convoy capable of 170mph, it was going to take a lot of self-control to creep along at legal speeds. In case you had forgotten, or in case you live on another planet or in America, motorway limits are 70mph in the UK, 75mph in Belgium, Luxembourg and Switzerland and an eye-watering 81mph in France and Italy. Refreshingly, the Germans, the French and some other nations refuse to grass-up their citizens if they are caught speeding in the UK or get caught entering Commissar Ken’s Congestion Zone. It won’t last: the EU’s energy commissioner Andris Piebalgs has proposed an EU-wide 100km/h (62mph) blanket speed limit to save fuel and cut accidents. If he really wanted to achieve the above, then an EU-wide blanket 20mph would be much more effective. In the meantime, let’s get on with some anti-social behaviour.

Day 1: The Start

06.00hrs. Park Royal, West London. It’s decision time. We need to get to Folkestone for our Euro Shuttle to Calais. Do we opt for the 79-mile straight-through-London route that would take all day or do we go for the M25/M20 route which is 115 miles but takes well under two hours. We take the motorway route and we all behave. We are still in the UK. We are at home, we know that our Bobbies play with a straight bat, we know where the cameras are, we know the rules and, like everyone else, we speed… a bit. Speeding is like farting. We love our own, we hate other people’s. It is this factor that makes the whole speeding issue so difficult. Bringing in statistics makes it worse, as you can justify either side of the argument. For instance, the more people we convict for speeding, the more the UK death-rate rises. Therefore, law enforcement increases the death rate. It’s true. See what I mean?

We roll into Le Shuttle terminal and have breakfast (negating the time advantage compared with a leisurely P&O Club Lounge sea crossing). On the train I bring out my new map that identifies French motorways with tolls, and those that are free. Yes, there are many free motorways in France and we choose a route through France and the Benelux countries that takes us to the Swiss border without paying a centime.

Ex-RAF man and Editor Phil Ward is my navigator – roger wilco. We lead the convoy. Occasionally one of the pack gets frustrated by creeping along at an illegal 90-100mph and briefly rockets off into the distance map-less, only to have to wait to be overtaken so as not to get lost. We have an Alfa Romeo dealer party to attend in Basel in Switzerland at 16.00hrs. We pick up our eighth crew member in Belgium and press on. Our average speed is very high but there is no way we can get to Basel before 19.00hrs. Our high-speed train sets off a speed camera like a machine gun. In the olden days it was different, as speeding was not dangerous, despite the fact that cars were not fitted with handling, grip or brakes.

We eventually arrive at the Swiss dealership and all make illegal left-turns across a solid white line onto its crowded forecourt. Another victimless crime is committed. Bonnets are opened and the three Alfas in the convoy are engulfed as we enjoy that first-beer moment. Together with the dealership staff we reminisce about when motorists were not targets and discuss international motoring differences over dinner. When Uzbekistan and China join the EU it will be even more complicated. Switzerland is not in the UK and you can feel that it isn’t. A Swiss Maserati 4200GT owner at the table tells us that he has just paid £6k to have the old boomerang rear lamps retro-fitted. Please discuss…

Day 2: Under Arrest

09.00hrs. We are on the Swiss motorway that will eventually lead us to the Italian border at Como. I notice that the Swiss get annoyed and flash their headlights if you speed, so I keep a lid on our quick convoy. Suddenly, and totally out-of-character, a Swiss-registered hot-hatch hurtles past us on a quiet stretch of motorway. I accidentally hit the accelerator pedal on the Supercharged Alfa GT. After a few seconds I ease off only to be overtaken by the other three cars in our convoy as they show the hot-hatch how to speed properly. I blame the garage food. Junk food causes anti-social behaviour – it’s true.

The hot-hatch turns off the motorway and we all slow right down and fall into line. As we approach the border I look forward to the more creative driving that you find in Italy. At the border post I feel a disturbance in the Force. The Swiss border guards are waiting for us and we are detained. Our passports disappear and we wait. And we wait. "You were road-racing. We have you at 150mph," says an official. "Absolutely impossible, you have made a mistake," I reply. "Don’t give me that, we know what you were doing, we have two police reports," says the guard. Knowing that we were facing imprisonment, car confiscation and massive fines, I continue to deny the charge and wave my Press Card like a get-out-of-jail-free card. Eventually and surprisingly, they say okay, you can go.

Once over the Swiss border and into Italy our pace increases. The Italian police are enforcing speeding laws but we still ‘fit in’ as we head down the Autostrada at 100mph. What is more, we are in the way. A white Fiat Doblo van totally fills my mirrors. We move over and gauge its speed at 108mph. Just past Piacenza we turn off the motorway to take some snaps of the Maserati GranSport. We are near the hill used for the Silver Flag Hillclimb (www.cpae.it/silverflag). We can’t resist a spot of free practice.

Time to wine and dine and reflect on the day’s adventures, so we head for our night-stop. It is a hotel that Auto Italia regularly uses when in the Modena area. You could be standing right outside Hotel Zoello in Settecane (www.zoello.com) and miss it. Italians don’t do marketing, neither do they have a word for it. Those with local knowledge are dining in the huge hidden restaurant. Prices are low, quality is high and there is no menu – unless you count the talking menu, ie the waiter. Say Lambrusco in the UK and you are a social pariah – how ghastly! But this is Lambrusco country and the fizzy red wine fits.

Day 3: Modena

We motor into Modena and are taken on a guided tour of the refurbished Maserati factory. There is a disproportionately high number of Alfa Romeos in the executives’ car park. Maserati’s shift from Ferrari to collaboration with Alfa Romeo is happening. We watch the cars being built at the rate of 4600 per year. It works out to 18 Quattroportes and 14 4200s per working day. The central Modena factory is a listed building so, during renovation, the exterior had to remain the same with the interior being brought up to date. An interesting statistic – only 10% of Maserati production has manual transmission; the rest are Cambiocorsa paddleshift.

The Autodelta Tour has to continue without us as Editor Ward and I have a plane to catch – roger wilco. At Bologna Airport it’s all tears and hugs as we say goodbye. The four cars continue to Rimini for the <I>My Car<I> show where the Supercharged 3.2 Alfa GT is on display. The Autodelta Tour eventually returned to the UK without incurring any fines. Check the Autodelta website for next year’s dates. Motoring holidays are fun. It is what they did in the olden days because they couldn’t afford the air fare. If you told them then that one day it would cost more to park at an airport than to buy an air ticket, they would have locked you up.

THE CARS

Maserati GranSport:

Proper GT car. Capable of eating countries effortlessly. Motorway manners are quiet, stable and comfortable. The real fun comes with empty Continental back roads. Don’t like the shiny wheels or the low rear ride height. Engine note is Ferrari-esque but deeper. A very posh everyday supercar.

Alfa Romeo 3.2 Coupe Supercharged:

Autodelta has done it again. A production Alfa power unit transformed with no negative side effects. Drive a standard 3.2 Coupe after this supercharged charger and it will feel broken. Fashion statements, such as the low-profile tyres and hard suspension, spoil the ride but increase cornering speeds – which were already adequate. 

Alfa Romeo 147 GTA AM 3.7 (blue):

A young man’s dreamcar. The chassis copes well with the extra horsepower. A fast, eye-catching mile-eater and a creative alternative to a BMW M3. Why didn’t Alfa Romeo make it like this?

Alfa Romeo 147 GTA AM 3.7 Supercharged (red):

Can a car be too fast? Surely this is the ultimate hot-hatch. It minced the opposition at the Top Gear test track, and that was before it was fitted with a supercharger and even more radical suspension. A new exhaust means you can’t creep up on anyone. A mental machine.

FURTHER INFORMATION:

Auto Italia Magazine: www.auto-italia.co.uk

Roberto Giordanelli: www.roberto-giordanelli.com

Autodelta European Tour 2005: www.autodeltatour.com