Butchering a Bertone

[CarreraLightweightRacing]

RC1807 said:

If I had the funds, I'd snap it up, too.... However, I know how st the "homologation" people are in Luxembourg - it'd have to have TüV first so they've covered their arses! WTF.

Anyway, best of luck with the sale and your treatment, OP.

It is TüV approved RC1807, HU/AU next due 02/2023. I have literally just completed this last week after spending around €15,000,- total to get it through this process and 18months work. It can be registered in Luxembourg no problem also only 1 hours drive from me

[CarreraLightweightRacing]

scottos said:

I was watching the auction to see what it would do, i was intrigued to see as the majority of people always say modifying a classic in such a way harms the value, this is another one for the ammo bag in the argument against that and im glad people see the value in it. I also had a hankering for a 996 like i've never had before, that's right up my street too!

I remember the Alfa went unsold at £70k first auction and then you stuck it up for sale at £78k, i was sure someone would have snapped it up at that if they were willing to bid up to and around £70k+ fees! Strange none of those bidding didnt snap it up. Like you say, maybe its the thrill off the bidding.

I'm not clued up on the TUV process but it seems crazy you've been able to get such a car through it, hats off to you! Health-wise, i hope you're managing as well as you can do so far.

Thanks Scott, I don't see this as a modified car as such as it has been completely redesigned/re-engineered in every sense, not the typical bolt-on approach normally associated with modifying.

Regarding the auctions; with the first auction it was much more straight forward, it basically didn't meet the reserve which I set, also the bidders contacted me asking for time as they had a house sale in progress, another selling a business... As I don't have the luxury of time, I had to consider other options. The auction company came back to me asking to run it again, so I did and dropped the reserve and this time it sold. If I had won, I'd have been over the moon, phoning up with an opened bottle of champagne in one hand, asking about collection etc within 5 minutes of the auction ending. I've still not heard a single word from the winning bidder. All very strange if you ask me.
Anyway I have to move on and find another solution now and rather quickly.

[CarreraLightweightRacing]

honda_exige said:

Honestly the best thing you can do is let Misha Charoudin drive it for a YouTube video on the ring. You can say it's for sale and get 150k views and the video description can have your contact details via Instagram for eg.

After he drove my Honda powered Elise I've had multiple people offering to buy it even tho its not for sale.

I can ask him for you if you'd like.

You are up bright and early today

I'm very grateful for you offering help and I think it is a great idea speaking with Misha, but I'm not sure he would appreciate being involved for this purpose. How would it work if he wrote it off; is it a case of you broke it you own it? To replace this car is next to impossible, so there is considerable risk, especially so at The NBR. I sent you a message earlier but these are the thoughts I've had since.

[CarreraLightweightRacing]

arguti said:

Fantastic engineering and great thread!

Sorry to hear about your health issues and wish you the best in that department as well!

As someone constantly perusing the "classic Italian cars for sale" sites, there don't seem to be many photos of the underside of the car as she stands today and the state of the bodywork as such; there are obviously also bit of aero aids, spoilers etc that have been removed from the car but again, it's not that clear in text or photos what exactly comes with the car or not - you may well have provided that information so forgive, just an observation from an armchair mechanic and potential buyer type.

The thread and advert also refer to the car having a base map - what more needs doing in terms of further development to make road usable 9other than the remap)?

Has your mystery buyer made contact?

Thanks for your post Arguti, the bodywork/underside detail should all be pretty clear from the pictures on page one of this thread. There is no further corrosion from when all the original bodywork modifications were carried out. There are also around 400 pictures here which may help.
Me taking photos or making videos of any areas specifically would not be a problem. All the Aero kit was removed but can be refitted should someone wish to. My driveway is very steep and for TUV approval various elements were not permitted, hence me removing it.

In terms of mapping, I had the car mapped remotely from an AEM ECU specialist for F20C engines. I was driving with the lap top installed and he did all the mapping from The USA. This is fine for a base map and the car can be driving perfectly normally, I would just spend an hour or so on a dyno or live mapping on the road to get it absolutely perfect. It runs rich at idle so a bit of fuel needs to be pulled out in the lower rev range. This would be minimal outlay, probably only £150 and I have specialist contacts in the UK who can do this no problem.

In terms of further development, I would recommend a Geo to suit taste (either more track or road biased dependent on the user requirements). I have made a manual device to insert onto the throttle for cold start, so there is potential to fit the stock coldstart system, again pretty simple and cheap if someone wanted to do this. Also the level of NVH you want would be subject to fitting or removing dynomat/carpets. I fitted as much as I felt necessary but someone may prefer to have it completely stripped out or go to town and kit it out like a Bentley. So nothing complex, just a bit of finesse to suit personal requirements. All the development work has been completed now. It is both FIA and TUV compliant.

[CarreraLightweightRacing]

200Plus Club said:

Michael @ Lusso prestige has sold some very decent modified Alfa and might be worth talking to.

https://www.lussoprestige.com/about-us/

Thanks Chris, I contacted Michael today

[CarreraLightweightRacing]

Many thanks uk66fastback, I was not aware this company operated outside of The US. All being well I have a guy coming from Stuttgart tomorrow to view the car. He has a wonderful selection of others cars so hopefully it all works out well

[CarreraLightweightRacing]

honda_exige said:

Awesome, hope all works out well mate!

Looks like I spoke too soon. I’ve just phoned to confirm timings etc and he has an engine issue with his 964 so has cancelled.

So back to square one...

Selling cars is so much fun

[CarreraLightweightRacing]

Very special day today, finally after 18 months of graft and battling the finest German bureaucracy, the Alfa has now been TUV approved and registered in Ze Vaterland. For those not familiar with the German system, this post just looks a bit daft. For those that know of the German system will understand that this is not normally possible. In fact everybody I know told me there was no chance I'd ever get this car registered in Germany. Well today the impossible was made possible

This must be the world record for number of 'eintragen'

Edited by CarreraLightweightRacing on Monday 29th March 20:05

[CarreraLightweightRacing]

ReverendCounter said:

BEAMS 162 said:

More concerning,who's 'Greta' ?

Perhaps its the Greta who isn't that keen on combustion engines.

Apologies, a friend of mine made it and decided my garage would be an appropriate place to stick it, can't think why!

[CarreraLightweightRacing]

bolidemichael said:

Well done!

Have you intentionally advertised your full name on t'interweb?

I didn't think about Michael, in the UK there seems to be a lot more concern for things like this. It's the equivalent of a V5, I don't think it is that interesting but you may be right and I should be a bit more careful.

[CarreraLightweightRacing]

Thanks R&C, I've taken your advice and blurred out the address

[CarreraLightweightRacing]

Sneak preview, the Alfa was out testing with a pro race driver yesterday evening, more to follow

[CarreraLightweightRacing]

Apologies for the delay guys, the video has been ready for some time now but the NBR management have to give approval before videos are released:

Enjoy

[CarreraLightweightRacing]

Koolkat969 said:

Watched and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was very well presented and I'm glad it wasn't just a lap of the ring. Enjoyed all the technical aspects of the car. It's a fantastic car and it should get a bit more attention now and hopefully a successful sale. Best of luck!

Thanks for your kind words and great to hear there are still a few of us out there that take some interest in the messy bits.
I've bit the bullet and it is now in the lap of the gods. Best of luck to anyone who wants to continue the special journey with this wonderful machine