Miguel Sánchez
Yes, we would love to drive it. Drive the Alfa Romeo Alma Sprint and remove prejudices towards “r” because, even through a few simple photographs and some technical information, he has already managed to remove our never-veiled animosities towards not restoring any notable historical automobile to production condition.
And this modification carried out by the Alma company - commanded by the engineer Rafael Soares in its workshops located between Aveiro and Porto - exudes a powerful appeal capable of exciting even the most purists. Furthermore, both the care dedicated to the mechanical section and the interventions in the bodywork and cabin convey to us the sense of the best racing Alfa Romeos.
An event preceded by various jobs on units of the brand, being also very interesting what Alma has done previously with a 75, a GTV6 - whose suspension was worked hard on - and a more current 147 GTA with a V6 Busso engine. A whole panoply of examples capable of clearly illustrating the passion and good work developed by the Portuguese company in relation to tuning of Alfa Romeo models.
Furthermore, after all this they announce the production of up to 20 units of the Alfa Romeo Alma Sprint with a weight of only 880 kilos combined with the everlasting boxer engine drilled here up to 1.8 liters to produce 160 HP. A project to keep track of and which, for now, we are going to get to know through this brief introduction that may also question the natural antipathy of other fans towards the projects "r”. Beautiful!
AROUND THE ALFASUD SPRINT MECHANICS
Manufactured from 1976 to 1989, the Alfa Romeo Alfasud Sprint is undoubtedly one of the most emblematic light sports cars for all European production. Defined by its light weight and spartan character - many define it as a “card”suitable for the road-, this car managed to dazzle those looking for direct sensations without the need to resort to large displacements or particularly high-performance mechanics.
What's more, its four-cylinder boxer engine positioned in front of the front axle displayed obvious elasticity when it came to revs, making it perfect for practicing sporty driving. through twisty paths. Those same ones where it is not necessary to have great power in order to link curves, therefore the displacement of 1.7 liters is sufficient.
What's more, this was only available in the latest evolution of the model -Quadrofoglio Verde, available in both carburetion and injection- since, until then, the range of the Alfasud Sprint I had only known the versions with 1.3, 1.4 and 1.5 liters fed by single or double carburetion as the case may be.
In short, considering the strict series units, the normal thing in one of these Italian sports cars would be to have under the pedal around 85-95 hp, being able to go down to 76 HP in the case of the very first units while rising to 118 HP if we talk about the 1.7 with two double-body carburetors.
ALMA SPRINT, THE PROPOSALS OF THIS PORTUGUESE RESTOMOD
That said, the work of Rafael Soares has increased the displacement of the Alfa Romeo boxer to 1.8 liters including new cylinder heads and custom camshafts. Regarding power, two Dell'orto carburetors ensure the same while both the lubrication and exhaust systems have been updated.
Regarding the suspensions, their geometry has been substantially varied along with the incorporation of adjustable shock absorbers. If we add to this the installation of more generous brake discs as well as the configuration of the gearbox based on closer, more energetic ratios, the result is that the 160 HP delivered by the four-cylinder engine reaches asphalt through a really sporty design.
Likewise, the work carried out on the Alma Sprint also affects the bodywork section, having worked on the side panels - the wheel arches are reconfigured with a more muscular appearance– along with the adoption of new Hella headlights that, despite being respectful in their aesthetics towards the Alfasud, contain state-of-the-art lighting technology.
Finally, the interior has been completely reupholstered and a large amount of aluminum panels have also been installed. All this in pursuit of achieving a solid and spartan appearance, thus seeking an atmosphere “racing" very typical of the eighties in which new seats, steering wheel and four-point harnesses fit. Honestly, everything about this restomod exudes a taste for sportiness in its strictest sense. We will continue to monitor its evolution.
