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Scarabeo is the Italian word for ‘beetle’ but for a few Alfa Romeo connoisseurs, it is also the name of one of the most tantalising ‘might have been’ chapters in the marque’s history. The story of Project 105.56 began in February 1966, less than a month after Giuseppe Busso and Alfa's experimental department had begrudgingly surrendered development of the Tipo 33 sports prototype to Autodelta, Alfa’s racing division headed by Carlo Chiti.
Alfa plus rusty Alfasud? This 1980s Glassfibre replacement body package was one solution. Story by Richard Heseltine OBSCURATI CURIOSITIES FROM THE AMAZING WORLD OF ITALIAN CARS Body conversions now comprise a significant sector of the British specialist car industry. Some are produced by kit car outfits, others by more highfalutin, cough, ‘coachbuilders’. Such reimagining is nothing new, though. Among the earliest such makeovers was the Alfa Plus which emerged in 1984.
Alfa Romeo is no stranger to producing distinctive and desirable cars, but the Type 916 GTV and Spider are on another level when it comes to standing out from the crowd. Designed by Enrico Fumia while working at Pininfarina, with the interior penned by Walter de Silva, these wedge-shaped sportsters were launched more than a quarter of a century ago, yet they still look fresh and are thoroughly usable modern classics. Words: Richard Dredge. Pictures: John Colley.