Top Gear: The Perfect Road Trip 2 - Amalfi Coast with 1960s Alfa Romeos

[colcol]

Great Ocean Road, was full of potholes, the last time the club went for a run along there, poor old 33 broke a front suspension on the potholes, it would be best on a early Saturday morning, a few money camera's along the way to spoil any fun, Colin.

[Craig_m67]

I did Amalfi by Alfa a couple of years ago - rented a 1963 Giulietta Spider. Was terriffic. Lovely little car - heroic little single carb 1300...

Really.. Got a link/memory for the rental?

We stayed in Minori (on Amalfi coast) for three weeks a few years back, had a new Fiat500 as a rental. Fantastic fun. I want to go back!

[LaStregaNera]

http://www.zephyrus-classic-car-rental.com/classic-car-hire-italy/index.php/en/

There's a couple of classic rental joints, but this is the one we used. Picked it up outside the train station in Chiusi in Tuscany, and one of their staff collected it from our hotel in Rome. Was great fun blasting around Tuscany, was happy enough on the Autostrada running down past Naples, and just lovely around Amalfi. Got plenty of thumbs up from people too.

[sportyone]

I did Amalfi by Alfa a couple of years ago - rented a 1963 Giulietta Spider. Was terriffic. Lovely little car - heroic little single carb 1300...

fotos or it didn't happen  lol

[LaStregaNera]

Picking the car up in Chiusi


Somewhere in Tuscany (Montalcino? Montepulciano?).


Chasing a very slowly driven California up the hill to another medieval town in Tuscany - Cortona maybe? The driving gloves made excellent sense.


Parked outside our hotel in Sorrento


Positano:


Road to Amalfi


Time to say goodbye in Rome:


I don't have a photo of us being interrogated over an expired rego label by the Carabineri, submachine guns and all - although we do have a photo of that somewhere.

[Craig_m67]

FFS... To cool
Was it extraordinarily expensive (PM if you want)?

Just adding this to my todo list

[Evan Bottcher]

Actually, yes, yes I am. Wow.

[pasey25]

you win the internet today

[LaStregaNera]

FFS... To cool
Was it extraordinarily expensive (PM if you want)?

Just adding this to my todo list

It wasn't outrageous - I think they have their current pricing on their website somewhere - but I seem to remember it was ~1100euro for a week?

[1750GTV]

Maybe one day I'll get to drive my Giulietta Spider from Positano to Amalfi 

One can but dream ...

Chris

[LaStregaNera]

There are two cars I'd sell my GTV for - a Giulietta Spider, and a Montreal...

Would give my left nut for a Giulietta spider - they really are fantastic to drive. Utterly unfadeable drums (they squealed a bit when cold - which was all the time, except when I got a clean run on a mountainy bit - then they got up to temp, stopped squealing and were magnificent). Beautifully direct, communicative steering, willing, suprisingly torquey 1300, and it was amazing how much stuff you could load into it.

Suprisingly physical car to drive though - they feel an era older than a 105 behind the wheel - which is still lightyears ahead of anything else from the 60's and 70's i've driven.

[alfamisa]

Wow great drive choice! If I'm not mistaken the Two Greedy Italians used the same hire car for one their shows.

When I saw the gloves (BTW they were a necessity on the shinny slippery and sometimes hot steering wheels of the day) you reminded me of the guy in this Italian movie...the Giulietta, the gloves...the gestures??? haha...

http://youtu.be/OREhw9sCdbw?t=4m6s

[LukeC]

Spent 10 days in Praiano in September in 2013. Quieter town in between Positano and Amalfi (See photo). The villa had views of Capri when Positano was in the shadows. Every evening we would sit on our balcony watching the sun set over Capri drinking the local red.

We did not have a classic Alfa, but an Alfa it was (Giulietta TD 2.0). A bit big for the roads around there, but a good drive. We drove all the way from Nerano (Western tip of the Amalfi penninsula) to Salerno and up onto the plateau behind to Bomerano (couple of close shaves, but the only damage was some gutter rash from my left hand drive parking exploits).

It is spectacular drive (particularly the stretch going into Positano from the west), but far from relaxing... You will rarely exceed 60 km/h, and be regularly be passed by swarms of teens in singlets on Vespas: plus lots of other tourists crawling along.

What few people talk about is the absolutely spectacular walking in the hills behind. We walked up 600 m vertical to the plateau one day for the "Walk of the Gods". Awesome, apart from a close encounter with one dodgey dude that I think was the Amalfi "Man with Axe".

[Craig_m67]

My fav memories of the drive are the short busses.. Flat out, lean on the horn before a blind corner and just keep going.  The walks in the mountains were amazing as were the people - defo going back. Quite like Cinqueterre for walking too (no cars).

[1750GTV]

The town of Amalfi - from my 2007 trip to Italy.

Chris