“When you last came to us to feature my
car, it was a) your article; and b) the stage-by-stage build of my car on the Alfaholics website that rekindled people’s demand in wanting us to build them a car. At the time in Devon, we didn’t have the time and resources to be able to offer turn-key cars to people,” says Max.

    “However, rather than rush it through at that point and build bits ’n’ bobs for people, we had a bigger plan in hand – to be able to predetermine a spec for a car which was a turn-key product. It’s really high-spec and the customer just has to choose the exterior colour and the internal trim colour – as long as it’s tasteful! Plus a few optional extras on top of it, that people can have.

    “After your original article. The development of the car in the photos put a lot of the product lines on our shelves, as upgrades. So this turned into a development car where we learnt what breaks, what doesn’t break, when it breaks and how much power certain components can handle. That was the development process for what became the standard spec for our Works GTA Replicas. In a similar, but smaller way to how Porsche brings out their latest iteration of the 911 GT3 – they go and thrash it around the Nürburgring to determine their spec – that’s what we’ve done with these Alfas.”

    Rather than opt for a limited spec, the GTA Replica comes with such an impressive array of performance modifications – click here – that it leaves precious little room for optional extras. As a matter of fact, there are just nine further cost-options on this £65,000 model.

    “Our whole company principle is based on quality and this applies not just to our parts on the shelf, but to cars we build for people. The car has been Nürburgring developed to find the perfect balance and match of components for both speed and reliability. For this reason we chose not to offer a lower standard spec and give customers more options; of course if someone ticked a box for a 198bhp Twin Spark, but not the box for the race propshaft conversion or race LSD, they would end up with a car inherently less reliable as well as lacking the ultimate balance; this would never have been an acceptable approach for Alfaholics.

    "As a result the mechanical spec is predetermined to a very high level and the only options are cosmetic and ‘toys’ such as a billet machined cam cover and a close-ratio gearbox. In doing so, of course, it will fulfill fewer orders each year but it’s a number we can handle building and finding donor cars of a high enough quality to match our company ethos was always an important consideration. Realistically, we thought we could take orders for three cars per year, but when we launched the Replica on the website, we sold four cars in the first two months... Now it’s looking like we’re going to have to build between six and 10 per year!”

    Given the immense workload ahead of them, when I ask the question about the company’s other plans, I expect to be put in my place – however, there are plenty. What though, about the company’s long-term future? Will we see Alfaholics expand into other series of Alfas?

    “The next one is probably the 916. The problem with Alfettas is/was they did suffer badly from rust – worse than a lot of the Alfas. They were valued so lowly for years, that there aren’t many left. It’s a bit like the Giulia Super scenario, that was always of a lower value than the GTs and although Alfa made more saloons than two-doors, you hardly ever see them now. Then it’s the way cars get treated because of their low value.

    “There are hardly any 116 series left now, and I don’t think the parts market is very big and we don’t really know the cars very well. Then Alfa didn’t really do anything significant – 75s are so hard to find and again suffered the same sort of value issues as the 116. We’ve owned 916 GTVs and Spiders for nigh

on 10 years, so we know them inside out. It’s the next obvious model and it does have a really good following with modern Alfa enthusiasts,” says Max.

    Undoubtedly, there will be people who will baulk at the cost of a GTA replica, but if you add up the sheer expense of the hardware alone – never mind the labour – and you missed out on buying a Giulia Sprint GTA first time around, then it is a tantalising prospect.

    Looking around at a couple of the cars – and drooling over the quality of the workmanship – which are awaiting completion and delivery, and I do find myself asking what else would I buy for the money? To me, the GTA always has been and always will be, a superbly blended concoction of style, badge, performance and unquestionable coolness – free of the ‘try too hard’ image and depreciation of modern tin.

    By buying an Alfaholics GTA Replica, yes you are buying a replica, but you then find yourself freed from the burdens of reliability worries and maintaining a precious piece of Alfa Romeo history. Instead, you’re free to turn up to a track, humiliate far more modern machinery and put a very large smile on
your face.