According to Jeremy Clarkson, star of Top Gear and The Grand Tour, you can’t call yourself a proper car enthusiast until you’ve owned an Alfa. Owning an Alfa Romeo is as much about feelings as it is about the car, constantly delivering a strange, intoxicating blend of excitement, frustration, passion, and adrenaline. Drive a great Alfa, and you’ll understand why owners overlook the electrical gremlins, quirky ergonomics, and occasional breakdowns. Because no matter what era you’re talking about, Alfa Romeo has always approached cars differently than everyone else, as they’re lighter, sharper, more soulful, and somehow always flawed.
If you ask ten car enthusiasts to name the most passionate carmaker in history, at least half will say Alfa Romeo. They won the first Grand Prix in 1925 and dominated touring car racing for decades. Their engines powered some of the greatest race cars ever built, and their road cars — even the weird ones — carried that same emotional DNA.
With that said, let’s dive into some Alfa Romeo road cars every enthusiast should drive at least once, as they showcase everything that makes the badge legendary: creativity, motorsport DNA, beautiful design, and unforgettable engines.
Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale (1967)
If you need proof that Alfa Romeo belongs in the pantheon of exotic legends, look no further than the 33 Stradale. What we have here is a hand-built, mid-engined, V8-powered masterpiece widely considered one of the most beautiful cars ever designed.
Born from Alfa’s Tipo 33 race program, the Stradale used a 2.0-liter DOHC V8 that revved past 10,000 rpm and made around 230 hp. The car weighed just 1,540 lbs thanks to a magnesium-and-aluminum chassis and impossibly thin aluminum body panels. The butterfly doors were a first for a road car, too. Only 18–20 of these beauties were ever built, which explains why a Stradale today goes for eight figures. Our chances of ever driving one are slimmer than Kate Moss in her prime, but you don’t need to drive one to realize this Alfa shows you what the company is really capable of.
Alfa Romeo 2600 (1962–1969)
The 2600 was Alfa’s last inline-six flagship, a proper, old-school grand tourer with elegance baked into every line. Under the long hood sat a silky 2.6-liter DOHC straight-six making around 145 hp, paired with a 5-speed manual and rear-wheel drive.
It wasn’t the fastest GT of its time, but the 2600 delivered a uniquely Italian blend of comfort, balance, and sophistication. It also paved the way for the later Montreal and helped maintain Alfa’s prestige in the post-war era. Overlooked today, but an essential chapter in Alfa history.
Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA (1965–1975)
This is where Alfa flexed its racing muscle hardest. The Giulia Sprint GTA, or “Gran Turismo Alleggerita,” was a lightened street car that dominated the touring car circuits.
Alfa replaced the steel body panels with Peraluman 25, a lightweight aluminum alloy. The twin-cam engine got twin-spark ignition, hot cams, bigger carbs, and up to 170 hp in race trim. Weight dropped to just 1,640 lbs. The result? A car that ate BMWs and Lotus Cortinas alive and built the legend of Alfa handling, lightweight engineering, and razor-sharp balance. The Giulia Sprint GTA is the purest Alfa ever made, and it’s not without reason Alfaholics used it as inspiration for their excellent restomod.
Alfa Romeo Spider / Duetto (1966–1994)
If the Giulia GTA was Alfa’s racer, the Spider was its movie star. Immortalized in The Graduate, the Pininfarina-designed Duetto is one of the most timeless soft-tops ever created.
Engines ranged from a 1.3-liter DOHC four to a lively 2.0-liter, and while none of them were particularly powerful, the lightweight chassis and lively steering made the Spider surprisingly fun on tight roads. This is the Alfa that teaches you about the brand’s true magic: speed doesn’t matter, joy does.
Alfa Romeo Montreal (1970–1977)
What happens when Marcello Gandini designs a GT car and Alfa installs a detuned version of their Tipo 33 race engine under its hood? You get the Montreal, one of the coolest, most underrated V8 cars ever made.
The 2.6-liter DOHC V8 revved like a superbike and made 197 hp. Quad cams, Spica fuel injection, dry-sump lubrication, all on a road car in 1970. The NACA ducts, slatted headlight covers, and fastback silhouette still look futuristic today. The Montreal deserved more love, but collectors are catching on fast.
Alfa Romeo GTV6 (1980–1987)
Few cars in the world have a soundtrack as glorious as a GTV6 at full tilt. The 2.5-liter Busso V6, one of the greatest engines ever built, sits up front, but the transaxle gearbox in the rear gives the GTV6 superb weight balance.
It became a Group A weapon, winning back-to-back European Touring Car Championships in the early ’80s and starring in touring-car series across Europe. Sharp steering, communicative chassis, and a howling soundtrack make this one of the best affordable classic Alfas to experience today.
Alfa Romeo 75 / Milano (1985–1992)
The 75 is the last “true” old-school Alfa featuring rear-mounted transaxle gearbox, 50/50 weight distribution, torsion-bar front suspension, and a selection of brilliant engines, including the Busso V6 and rev-happy Twin Sparks.
It’s raw, communicative, and deeply characterful, making the perfect ending point for classic Alfa engineering, and driving one feels like discovering a lost era of mechanical purity.
Alfa Romeo 164 (1987–1998)
The 164 was Alfa’s entry into the executive car market, but don’t let the clean Pininfarina styling fool you, this sedan had real bite.
The top-spec 164 QV made 230 hp from a 3.0-liter 24-valve Busso V6, and the chassis tuning was surprisingly sporty for a luxury car. It’s also one of the most reliable modern-ish Alfas, thanks to its shared platform with Saab and Fiat. If you want every-day Alfa Romeo soul with grown-up usability, start here.
Alfa Romeo 155 Q4 (1992–1998)
Underneath the boxy 155 Q4 body sat the soul of a Lancia Delta Integrale. Same drivetrain. Same turbocharged 2.0-liter. Same AWD system. And thanks to that heritage, the Alfa Romeo 155 Q4 became a touring-car monster.
Alfa won the DTM Championship in 1993 with the 155 race car, beating Mercedes and BMW on their home turf. On twisty roads, the Q4 feels like a rally refugee with its explosive boost, active handling, and endless grip. It’s the greatest Alfa sleeper ever built and one of the sickest European sedans from the ’90s.
Alfa Romeo GTV (1995–2006)
There’s a lot to like about the Alfa Romeo GTV that debuted in the ’90s. Sharp styling from Pininfarina, a busso V6 that revs and sings, and a surprisingly stiff chassis that rewards enthusiastic cornering. Haters will tell you it sends its power to the wrong wheels, but don’t listen to the naysayers.
The 916 GTV may be front-wheel drive, breaking the tradition of front-engined RWD Alfa Romeo coupes, but it’s one of the most characterful FWD performance coupes ever made. The 3.0-liter and 3.2-liter V6 models in particular are rising classics, and they still feel special today. In my opinion, this is one of the prettiest ’90s coupes money can buy.
Alfa Romeo 156 GTA (2001–2005)
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The Alfa Romeo 156 GTA may look tame, but don’t be fooled, this is one of the most exciting sports sedans of the early 2000s, and easily one of my favorite cars of all time!
A 3.2-liter Busso V6 with 250 hp sits under the hood, backed by a quick-shifting manual and a chassis tuned to perfection. The sound alone is worth the price of admission. In the right hands, a 156 GTA on a back road will embarrass modern performance cars. There’s no doubt that the 156 GTA is a future classic with cult energy written all over it.
Alfa Romeo SZ (1989–1991)
Nicknamed Il Mostro, “The Monster,” the Alfa SZ is one of the boldest designs to ever reach production. It’s fair to say that people either love or hate its looks, but whichever way you lean, the SZ certainly is unforgettable. Built by Zagato using early CAD technology and composite bodywork, the SZ is wild, angular, and unapologetically different.
Underneath the sci-fi styling sits a transaxle chassis and a high-revving Busso V6 tuned to 207 hp. The handling was shockingly good for its time, thanks to revised geometry from Alfa’s racing department.
Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione (2007–2010)
If the 33 Stradale is Alfa’s most beautiful classic, the 8C is its modern equivalent. I know it’s a cliché by now, but the Alfa Romeo 8C is automotive art, designed with flowing curves, carbon bodywork, and perfect proportions. It’s not all show and no go, either.
Power comes from a Ferrari/Maserati–derived 4.7-liter V8 making 450 hp and spinning to 7,500 rpm, creating an eargasm-inducing sound that’s pure aural pleasure. Couple that with the driving feel, and you have unadulterated Italian emotion. Prices are skyrocketing these days… for good reason.
Alfa Romeo 4C (2013–2020)
The Alfa Romeo 4C is definitely not the car for those looking for a practical sports car. However, suppose you’re an Italophile looking for a sports car, but can’t afford the 8C Competizione, or even a Ferrari or Lambo, and you don’t want to deal with the unreliability of older Italian sports cars. In that case, the 4C makes perfect sense.
This is the rawest modern Alfa you can buy. It has a carbon-fiber monocoque, no power steering, and a tiny 1.75-liter turbo four-cylinder mounted behind the seats. The 4C weighs under 2,500 lbs, making it more Lotus Elise than Porsche Cayman. It’s loud, twitchy, and uncompromising, all the things most modern sports cars aren’t. And that’s what makes it so special.
Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio (2016–present)
If you want the best-driving modern sports sedan on the market, this is it. The Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio uses a Ferrari-derived twin-turbo 2.9-liter V6 making 505 hp, backed by incredibly sharp steering, a near-perfect chassis, and one of the best-balanced setups in its class.
It can be gentle on the street or absolutely unhinged on a mountain road. It even set a Nürburgring lap record for four-door sedans when it launched to prove it. Sure, owners have reported some issues, but who cares? This is Alfa Romeo at full power!
Why Every Car Enthusiast Should Drive an Alfa
Alfa Romeo doesn’t always build the fastest cars, or the most reliable ones, or even the most sensible. However, no brand mixes emotion, engineering ambition, and pure driving pleasure like Alfa Romeo.
Drive any Alfa, even a flawed one, and you’ll understand why the company inspires such fierce loyalty. These cars may not be perfect, but they induce emotions when you’re behind the wheel, and that’s the magic of Alfa Romeo.
