The 5 Greatest Alfa Romeos From The Last 30 Years

1. 75 QV

The old 75 ticks a hell of a lot of boxes for the enthusiast driver. It’s rear-wheel drive, has a near-50/50 weight distribution thanks in part to a transaxle gearbox, and came with a range of zingy engines.

The Turbo Evoluzione homologation special deserves honourable mention, but for us, our ideal 75 would be one of the more powerful 3.0-litre V6 examples, preferably a QV.

2. 155 Q4

What followed the 75 was - for many - a bit of a disappointment. The 155 was the first Alfa produced after the company was taken over by Fiat, and as a result it was built using a bunch of parts from the lesser Italian manufacturer, all on a platform shared with the Fiat Tempra and Lancia Dedra/Delta.

However, not all were front-wheel drive. The Q4 arrived in 1994, using the drivetrain from the Lancia Delta Integrale and putting out 190bhp to all four wheels. So, if you want what’s essentially a Lancia Delta Integrale saloon with an Alfa badge, here’s your car.

3. 147 GTA

If you wanted an Alfa GTA in the mid noughties, you had two choices: the 156 GTA or the 147 GTA. Both were gorgeous, both had the same incredible ‘Busso’ 3.2-litre, 247bhp V6, and neither were particularly known for their handling prowess. So why is the 147 here and not the 156? I can give you two reasons.

Firstly, the 147 wore its go-faster bits a lot more successfully than the 156, and secondly, it was bombastically powerful in its class when launched. the 156’s 247bhp output looked nothing special when you had the M3 of the day punting out well over 300, but a C-segment hot hatchback with that much power? It seemed mad at the time, particularly when the Mk4 VW Golf R32 could only muster 230bhp. And the R32 had four-wheel drive to tame the poke, whereas Alfa didn’t even bother with a limited-slip differential in the front-wheel drive 147.

This makes it a boisterous little so-and-so when it comes to power delivery, but if you fancy buying one, the good news is many examples have since been fitted with a ‘Q2’ LSD. And if they haven’t, it’s a relatively cheap fit.

4. 8C Competizione/Spider

It’s with some reluctance that I’m including the 8C. And that reluctance stems from the fact that it’s a bit of a stretch to call it an Alfa Romeo. Oh sure, if has the right badge on the nose and that trademark triangular grille, but it’s made mostly from bits of Maserati, with a pinch of Ferrari. The Maserati built the damn thing too, and if you’re one of the 1000 people that bought one (500 coupes, 500 roadsters), you’ll drive straight past your local Alfa dealer and go to one with a big trident outside when it’s time for a service.

But, if you’re going to raid a parts bin, Maserati’s is a damn good choice, and unless you’re a bit weird, surely you have to consider this to be one of the prettiest cars produced in recent years, particularly the Spider version. Sounds damn good too, thanks to the same 4.7-litre V8 which eventually ended up in the Maserati Gran Turismo.

4C

Ah, the 4C. Is there another car right now which divides the opinion of the world’s motoring press quite so much? Probably not, we’d wager. Our consensus in the CT office is to give it a cautious thumbs up. And it’s a tentative we dig this because there’s a lot wrong with the 4C: the interior is terrible, it’s uncomfortable, doesn’t sound particularly nice and is unnecessarily tricky to drive quickly.

It’s a car that has the ability to win you over despite its faults, however, and is a much better embodiment of what an Alfa Romeo should be than its Mito and Giulietta stablemates. We certainly hope the Giulia QV is a much more cohesive package, but until that comes along, the 4C is a good stop gap for hot Alfas.

What’s your favourite fast Alfa of the last 30 years?