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Re: Interesting Note / Alfa at Bonneville

To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: Re: Interesting Note / Alfa at Bonneville
From: KGROWLER@aol.com
Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2001 09:31:13 EDT
WSpohn4@aol.com wrote:

<<<Subject: Interesting Note from a Vintage Racing group.

Last week at Bonneville Speed Week, some guys from the Midwest took a stock 
looking Alfa Duetto onto the salt - a 1600 cc engine with twin turbos putting 
out over 400 bhp (though one would not think it would do that for a very long 
time). They managed to hit 194 mph, and will be back to try for the 211 mph 
record next year.

Pretty impressive, I'd say! 

Have a look at http://speedvision.com/classics/index.html

Bill>>>

And there was an LBC connection in that I was on the Chicago Alfa crew as 
photographer and general gopher. But a slight correction - the car is a '91 
Alfa Spyder with a turbocharged (custom installed AirReseach) 2.0 litre Alfa 
engine. The amazing part is that the turbo went in with just weeks to go to 
Speed Week. The car was supposed to run last year with a supercharger but the 
bearings on the supercharger imploded on the dyno a week before we were to 
leave. That lead to scratching for last year since it was custom made and it 
would take a month to get another. It was eventually replaced and this past 
July at the national Alfa Romeo Owners Club convention in Nashville, it went 
on the dyno again - and the supercharger blew again. That lead to a last 
minute effort where Jim Steck of Auto Components in Ohio installed the turbo 
- which performed exceedingly well. There was a little disappointment in not 
getting the two drivers into the 200MPH Club - yet. And the surpassing the 
2.0 litre sports class record held by a Porsche at 211 would have been a 
double whammy - it would have given them a record AND been the fastest speed 
ever recorded by any Alfa, currently 210 or so as mentioned in the arrticle 
on the Speedvision site. But they are the fastest four cylinder Alfa on 
record.

I was disappointed that, as billed, MG Rover did not bring EX255 over again. 
Rumors persist that they will be back next year having deferred this year due 
to entering LeMans. I hope to see them there. About the only British car I 
saw at all was a greatly extended Spitfire, but I never located it in the 
pits and I have no idea what class or what engine they were running. Mention 
was made on the event radio broadcast several times about cars going up 
against the still standing record of the Chevy-powered Waddill MGA from 
Michigan. Bonneville is an amazing event in an amazing place.

Kim Tonry
Downers Grove, Illinois, USA

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