“They range between £15 and £30k,” advises Tom Falconer of Claremont. Don’t buy one expecting practicality, though, because there’s no boot – the most you’ll get on the rear shelf is a toiletries bag. Inside, the cabin features heavily raked seats alongside a profusion of black plastics and gauges set so far forward that they might well be in a different State. Provoke the rumbling V8 with a prod of the throttle and it’s easily possible to spin the rear boots. Gatecrashing our roadster party with all the of a subtlety of a powerslide in an Ikea car park, the C3 is in a different time zone when it comes to power – even if somewhat blunted by a hefty 1472kg kerb weight. That it remained in production – in ever-more-strangled output – until ’84 showed just how good Shinoda’s aggressive styling was. Big-blocks were still available at a premium and customers could spec cars to their heart’s delight. Under the hood, there was an all-new, compact 350cu in V8, which in 300bhp form provided the base unit. The sharp-edged C2 Corvette entered Larry Shinoda’s design cocoon in 1967 and emerged the following year transformed beyond all recognition. The TR5 sits typically £20,000 higher, although that gap narrows for usable cars.” Price in your running costs and this one’s a four out of five. “You’re looking at the high 20s for a really nice one,” says Dan Allen of Revington TR.
With a fuel-injected 150bhp – or a lowly 104bhp in twin-carb form for the USA – the TR6 continues to offer a healthy dose of old school thrills ’n’ spills. Due to its somewhat unpredictable nature, reining it in takes a bit of practice and crossed fingers, mind. Manoeuvring the small Moto-Lita steering wheel is hard graft, as is utilising the heavy clutch, but you never bemoan either because the package is just so satisfying. Its straight-six is a gruff and throaty wonder, with the short-throw gearbox at all times a faithful partner to it. Time spent behind the wheel of a TR6 is life-affirming: it’s a properly thrilling experience. Hey, presto! One modern British sports car ready for sale – never mind that, underneath, the mechanicals remained identical to its predecessor's.
This ‘new’ model was actually no more than a remarkably clever ‘top and tail’ refresh of the TR5 design, by German coachbuilder Karmann. As a lesson in subterfuge, Triumph’s morphing of the TR5 into the TR6 remains at the top of the tree.
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It’s the ultimate manufacturer’s quandary: how to keep your ageing output looking fashionable and fresh when the purse strings are tight. “A front-runner, though, will be closer to £20k.” Factoring in maintenance costs, it’s probably a 3 out of 5 on value. “In good, usable condition with an MoT, you’ll pay between £8000 and £10,000,” says Stuart Taylor, 105 Giulia Registrar at AROC. Sure, it’s no hardcore bomber à la TVR or Triumph, but a smooth, punchy siren – with performance that’s both sporty and accessible.
While the Alfa does city posing with aplomb, it excels on B-roads. Stopping power is smart, although the pedal lacks feel. The engine begs to be revved hard and rewards with a rasping note, while that canted gear lever snicks through the well-defined gate with limited resistance. As for the driving position, it’s ultra legs akimbo, exacerbated to the point of Italian comedy by the floor-mounted clutch pedal’s high biting point. The interior is wonderfully evocative of the era, but it’s best to check that it suits your style before buying. Like most Alfa Spiders, they adhere to a familiar formula of fizzing twin-cam engine and handling as delicate as those looks. Try the 105/115-series S2 variants that arrived in 1970 – identifiable by their truncated tail. And yet to non-Alfisti the sheer number of drop-tops built by the marque can be bewildering: Giulia, Giulietta, Duetto.
‘Think Spider, think Alfa!’ should have run the advertising campaign, so integrally linked is the manufacturer with the moniker.
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