Final Verdict
“You are doing a big mistake cucciolo, don’t force me to get the spoon now!”
Those words from his mama resonated in Marco’s mind, as he was rubbing the back of his head. However, his friend Lorenzo and him came to the same conclusion - he can buy any used car later to replace his S3 and it would be way under 50k. It’s his heritage and he should do what he desires most with it. He wants to have fun with that car. With that in mind, he reviewed the proposals one more time…
@HighOctaneLove - BSB Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA
Looking at the BSB one last time, the lack of interior rendering bothered him, he wanted to know how cool and comfortable it would be. The style, uniqueness, authenticity, drivability and lack of offroad really was a huge letdown.
He decided to not reply to Boot Scootin’ Bodyworks.
@AMuteCrypt - BRM Guilia 33
Going through the Bespoke Restomod entry again, it really was not sporty enough for his needs. He also really disliked the small embellishments made to the bodywork, but at least it had an interesting interior.
He decided to not reply to Bespoke Restomod.
Everything was down to ALFAworks and Mons Customs, two reputable restomoding firms.
@cake_ape - Mons Customs Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA (Stradale)
Deciding he did not need a daily driver anyway, he looked again at the Mons entry in more details. Looking at the bodywork, it was really clean and modern. It was unique for sure, and while not really authentic, it was ahead of the ALFAworks render with the two tone and kind of raw plating techniques. He loved the lights in front and on the back, and looking at the animated video submitted, it looked so cool! The interior was clean and usable, but overall it was not very prestigious - more of a low key modern take of the Alfa.
Looking at the engine bay again, the original 55 years old engine was retained. It was completely rebuilt to a 20 valves DOHC, multipoint EFI more modern engine. However, even the projected HP of 176 was a bit low. Granted, it was way lighter than the ALFAworks, but still bothered him. A turbo really would have helped here he thought. However, knowledgeable friends told him he could have a purer experience without a turbo and with a light vehicle, it could still be exciting. Sure. But 176 horse power… his S3 got way more. Still, the handling and performance on the track was really good, not as good as the ALFAworks, but still acceptable.
The tires really bothered him tho - sport tires are good on the tarmac but that was it. Having to constantly change tires is not fun, and even if he decided to put a medium compound in after he received it, he was still paying 50k for something he would have to swap out. Looking at the simulation, simply having medium stock would have given much better offroad performance and still would remain pretty sporty and driveable. Oh well. The fact it was now FWD and a dual clutch system screamed over engineering. He could brag about that, sure, but with such a small engine and good agility, it felts a bit overkill. AWD could have probably helped here, especially on the rough.
The 17 inch alloy rims looked good, tires would not be a pain to service, and promised to be super high quality. Large vented disc front and rear promised no brake fades. The sporty and premium HUD interior, with 4 seats looked better than the ALFAworks interior, even if the other promised more luxurious infotainment. HUD as super cool tho. The suspensions, according to his uncle, looked to be a good middle ground and steering at low and high speed pointed to a very controllable machine.
So it all came down to a lack of power and prestige, and having the wrong set of tires offered.
@HelloHi - Alfa Romeo Giulia GTA-Z by ALFAworks
Now the ALFAworks. It was lowkey, some interesting modern changes to the bodywork but screamed Alfa GTA still, however it felt empty, with a weird touch of retro with the mirrors, and some small clipping and rought sports on the rendering work. It did miss the lip also, which he liked in the original. The interior was very simple, only 2 seats, a very visible roll cage, and similar interior quality, with less modern but more luxurious infotainment. Still did not look as comfortable as the Mons. Original gearbox was retained, Marco had no issue with a stick, he might even enjoy it more. While the Mons only offered an open differential for a purer driving experience, the electric LSD of the ALFAworks would probably help Marco while he learns how to handle such a beat - having 550hp at his disposable sounded scary, but exciting!
The more modern 8C V8 looks to be a monster. 4.7L litres, VVL, turbocharged with a huge turbine and direct injection. This beast literally took the whole engine bay to itself, and his uncle told him it would be a pain to work with. Still, this is not a 55 years old engine like the Mons, it should be pretty reliable right? Services costs are a concern, but he will most likely use it only on the weekend and for some late night extravaganza. The medium compound and super wide tires were a much better fit here than the Mons, but the small 13 inch stock steel rims were not impressive, but the WRC also had smaller rims for the offroad races - however, those were 15 inches and this is a paltry 13 inches, smaller than the original rims.
A big difference with the Mons was the carbon ceramic front disc - that promised to be grippy but he’ll have to learn to master this to get the projected lap times. In aero, it does have some kind of active front lip, or whatever that is. Clearly not authentic, but Marco guessed it helped on the track. It did have launch control, might be handy to leave his friends on the starting grid. The suspension was much sportier and had active modes for track, offroad and road. It promised to scream through corners and get over 1g of lateral force.
The less stylish and authentic look and feel of this proposal was a letdown compared to the modern take of the Mons. While it will most certainly not to be used as a daily driver, it would be such a fun toy on the track and the dirt, much more so than the Mons. What would his mama say?
This was a very hard decision to take, so much pressure. He wished he never inherited a classic car and a ton of money. He moved his mouse over the winning proposal and clicked reply.
And the winner is...
… the Mons Customs proposal. Marco decided a track and rally car would be super fun, but his mama would probably be furious, so he went with the saner choice. It did not have a beast of an engine, but performance was adequate.
The difference came down to the styling uniqueness and engineering authenticity of the Mons. The ALFAworks was first in many categories and last or near last in others. It just was too all over the place, while the Mons was surprisingly average (compare to typical Mons workmanship), but with enough upside to win by a slim margin. However, it was super, super close. A slight change on one side or the other could have changed this to a landslide win OR a tie breaker exercise.
Congratulations to @cake_ape for another ARM win - someone will have to dethrone him at some point. It did came really close this time.
The ranking order, in case the winner skips his turn, was:
Here are the stats breakdown for anyone interested. The second part is secondary stats. Daily Driver/WRC would have some into play if someone had a really high score in one of them - could have swayed Marco if the stats would have been good enough on their own. The BRM entry came close, but his lack of any kind of performance was too much to ignore.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I certainly did and I did not have an easy job here.
