When most of us think of Italian sports cars, we probably think about big V12s, but one Italian brand’s engine of choice had half as many cylinders. For much of Alfa Romeo’s early history, their engine of choice was the inline six. They produced decent power and emitted an incredible noise, but they eventually downsized to four cylinders. For purists, the last true Alfa was the 2600, as it was the last car to feature the overhead twin cam inline six. Whether you agree with that view or not, there is no denying that this Bertone bodied 2600 coupe is a lovely machine with lots of potential. These cars are getting harder to find and while this one will need a restoration, it is being offered here on eBay without a reserve, so the market will determine its value! Special thanks to James G for this tip! So do you consider the 2600 to be the last true Alfa?
“Omitted a great noise?” I hope not! Take away the sound and you’ll lose some of that Alfa magic
I think they built way more inline 4’s and used them just as long as 6’s they didn’t build a lot of 2600’s or cars with inline 6’s
The Alfa Romeo 164 is also a true alfa fiat has no interference with it at all Saab and another company and alfa developed the trans axle for their cars the reason Saab had so many problems was because they put it in a spot were there was no air flow and no trans cooler alfa did it so the trans axle got plenty of air flow and a trans cooler the 164 was also supposed to come out a few years earlier but because of fiat buying alfa
Indeed Alfa built quite a bit more 105 chassis cars than the 106 chassis we have here. Part of the reason was the much higher price. Italy charged taxes based on cc with 1300 being the lower taxed and thus most produced that was installed in the Giulia chassis. These were quite pricey in the States and the 106 Coupe due to the extra weight were not as fun as the Giulia GTs. Restoration of these will run much much higher than their 4 cylinder counterparts and the danger of rust still remains. Due to their low popularity rating, the aftermarket segment is not as well stocked as for the 105 cars so a good possibility of running into UNOBTANIUM parts during the restoration. This particular 2600 will look quite stunning in its original color. Id A very cool piece of AR history but for someone with deep pockets and definitely not faint of heart.
This car will definitely needs to be inspected – no pictures of rockers, floor, lower radiator support, trunk and close ups of pillars around front and rear glass areas – all potential rust areas. Cheap wheels are red flags, steelies would look so much better and would go a long way for the return on the investment. The surface rust on the wheels is not very encouraging either. Big plus is that the engine runs but would most likely need to resealed and the carbs (3) rebuilt. Ok, so the seller is showing some problem areas with the left fender, but what about the rest of the car? Figure full bore resto if you want this to be a sharp looking car that would allow you to extract its full driving potential.
I drove a very nice black/black Spyder version of this same car at a known Sarasota, Fl. collector car dealership some time ago. As soon as I went around the first curve, I was horrified. It drove as if it had 3 – 100 lb. bags of cement on top of the engine. Handled as bad as a 1950 Buick. (I owned ’49 & 53 Roadmasters) I was going to buy it, but that really turned me against the 2600 chassis.
“3 bags of cement”…I think that describes it!