Alfa Romeo Alfa 75 (1985 – 1992) Review

Launched on Alfa Romeo’s 75th anniversary (hence the name), the 75 was a mixture of Giulietta and Alfa 90. Alfa
engineered the car to use a transaxle (as with the Alfetta, Giulietta and Alfa Six) and this gave it near 50:50 weight distribution.

Essentially the Alfa 75 was an extensive facelift of the Giulietta, but one that you didn’t need to squint to see the shared parts. The flat roof and anglular side doors from its forebear didn’t gel too well with the 33-aping front and rear styling. Despite some amiable eccentricities, such as a U-shaped handbrake and roof-mounted switchgear, there was a good car struggling to escape. Early models were a little disappointing, but the late arrivals of the Twin Spark engines turned the 75 into a very capable sports saloon.

However, the star of the range was the top-of-the-line V6 model. It was the legendary Busso engine that made the 75 desirable as well as capable - especially when the 2.5-litre engine was supplanted by the uprated 3.0-litre with almost 200bhp to call on. Popular with track day fans, so finding a standard one isn't the work of a minute.