1978, how Alfas became beefier

[Cool Jesus]

Was conducting some research for a uni assessment when I came across this little pearl about the backroom dealings between the Oz and Italian governments of 1978, brokering a trade agreement involving Alfas and oz beef.

[kartone]

Ducati, VM (diesel engines) and Augusta elicopters were also owned by IRI in those days; in the early, mid-seventies my father was offered a promo Augusta!

[colcol]

Yes, i am so old, i can remember this happening, then Prime Minister, The Late Malcolm Fraser agreed to it with the Australian Manager Director of Alfa Romeo Australia.
It was not such a secret as it was in the press, even i knew about it!
It makes you wonder how the then current suppliers of meat flavoured products to the Alfa Romeo Canteens took to it in Italy, and whether there were any reactions from crime bosses in black suits.
From what i have heard, was back in the olden days, some shady individuals had a bit of say in what components from what companies were used, Colin.

[Paul Gulliver]

Yes, i am so old, i can remember this happening, then Prime Minister, The Late Malcolm Fraser agreed to it with the Australian Manager Director of Alfa Romeo Australia.

Malcolm Fraser had a soft spot for Italian Cars. I remember some Christmas photo's from Nareen at the time with Malcolm and his son in the barn / garage /shed / mechanical compound working on an old Lancia  after one Christmas lunch.

[pasey25]

he was a big Lancia fan. The Lancia Club had events at his place as recently as a few years back.

Famously dropped into a Castlemaine Lancia rally by Helicopter one year too I'm told.

[vin sharp]

Yep, he was just a bit of an Italian car fan; from the olden days.........C & S March '79, when my 1750GTV was only a ten year old car!

[LukeC]

From the SMH:

Retired Canberra car dealer Ray Gulson has fond memories of stealing Malcolm Fraser away from the Lodge "for an hour or two" in the 1970s and early 1980s so the Victorian grazier and Italian car enthusiast could indulge his need for speed.

Mr Gulson, now 72, founded Fyshwick's Gulson Motors in the late 1960s and first met Mr Fraser when the member for Wannon was defence minister during the Vietnam war.


Malcolm Fraser looks on as David Mawson, 14, Hugh Withycombe, 10, and David Freney, 20, polish his car back in 1981. Photo: Canberra Times

"Malcolm had a BMW at the time," he said. "I got on with him immediately because he was obviously a man who was knowledgeable about cars and who appreciated real drivers cars. We ended up looking after all his cars during the time he was here."



A shared interest in motoring exotics led to friendship and after 1975 it wasn't unusual for the car dealer to turn up at The Lodge in Ferraris and Maseratis to take the prime minister out for a quick burn.

"We used to go out around the Cotter and, of course, there would always be police cars following us," Mr Gulson said.

He recalls saying `you don't want these guys behind you all the way' on more than one occasion.

"He would put his foot down and leave them well behind," Mr Gulson said. "Malcolm was an excellent driver and never scared me once. Tamie [Mrs Fraser] was better though."

While Mr Gulson managed to persuade Mr Fraser to buy a succession of Alfa Romeos (which were more readily available than the 1.92 metre tall PM's beloved Lancias in the 1980s) he was never able to sell him a Ferrari or Maserati.

"He just wouldn't fit into one," he said. "It was all right for a short drive but not to own."

The last two cars Mr Gulson sold the Frasers were a pair of Alfasuds in the early 1980s.

He drove the second car, a five-door hatch, from Canberra to Nareen, the Fraser family property in Victoria, in late 1983.

"It was a present for Tamie so the first thing he did when I got there was wash it."

The Frasers kept the cars until 1987 when they were returned to Gulsons to be sold.

Mr Fraser's love affair with the automobile was no secret and in 1976 he test drove a Ford Fairlane, then the staple of the Government's executive car fleet, for Wheels magazine.

A follow-up article was published in 2008 when Ford ended Fairlane production.

"It's got a lot of lift, hasn't it," the then 78-year old said of Ford's 220kw curtain call.

Hot Fords were something he knew a little about. On October 2, 1977, Mr Fraser presented the Bathurst 1000 trophy to Allan Moffat after Ford's dramatic one-two finish. Moffat and Jacki Ickx had crossed the finish line one metre ahead of the sister car driven by Colin Bond and Alan Hamilton.

Mr Fraser's signature car is probably the immaculately restored 1963 model Lancia Flaminia V6 that was, for a short time, on display at the National Car Museum in Birdswood, South Australia.

"I don't think I'll ever sell it," he once told a reporter, "I've put too much into it."

The museum confirmed on Friday the car had been returned to the family some years ago.

His Lancia Flaminia Zagato Supersport was awarded the Lancia Factory Trophy for the best post-war restoration at the national Lancia rally in 2005.

One of the Alfasuds was a black twin carb. I saw it advertised a few years ago, so it still may be around. I worked with an ex Gulson mechanic who said it was not standard and went a lot harder than all the other TC Suds.

Keating was also a car guy, but into Mercs. In the first 8 months I lived in Canberra in 1994, I worked on them (yawn...). Went out to the Lodge once to bleed brakes and get a car going. I worked on about three of his cars.

[Craig_m67]

What great history

I'd love to see the black Sud if there are any pictures about.