For Sale 1988 Alfa Romeo Milano 3.5 Track Car

We've had many fun times with this car but it's time to find it a new home. I thought I would post it here to see if there is any interest before I submit it to BAT. It was built in the style of Alfa's 75 Evoluzione touring cars of the late '80s, but of course is not in any way an exact replica.

The car started out as a 1988 Alfa Romeo Milano Verde (3.0 liter), which was gradually modified into a car for running track days and open lapping events while remaining street legal and registered. It is also frequently driven on the street - it's great for a canyon run or Cars & Coffee but not much fun in traffic, and the interior is partially stripped

It currently runs a 3.5 liter high compression "Savali" overbore engine conversion, which gives the car some serious punch, even at our altitude.

Here is a quick list of the car's specifications. (More details available on request):

3.5 Liter "Savali" overbore V6 engine
Short ratio "Platinum" limited-slip transaxle
Shankle Super Sport suspension with adjustable Watts link
Modfied "75 Evoluzione" body kit with real CF hood and trunk
Girodisc big brake kit, vented rear rotors
Autopower bolt-in roll cage, OMP front seats, Scroth harnesses
2 sets of Team Dynamics wheels

Overall, the car has been extremely reliable and is easy to drive on the track. For a track car, the fit and finish is pretty good, but the paint definitely shows signs of age/use. I would love to see it go to someone who will continue to use and refine it as we have.

$22,500 OBO.




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Also, I should mention: The car currently passes smog (dyno-based test) and is street registered in Colorado. It has headers and twin "bullet" type cats. However I can't guarantee it would pass (visual) inspection in other states.


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The car has been a lot of fun. It was originally built to run Alfa Romeo Club track days and time trials. It was the perfect build for that - drive to the track, take fastest time of the day, and drive home... sadly our local Alfa Club doesn't hold their track days anymore.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to drive the car at Laguna Seca. We sold the car to a friend who ran events in California with the car from 2016-2020, and then sold the car back to us. In complete transparency, he was a far better driver than I am, being an instructor with various car clubs. I felt it was a good testament to the stoutness of the car that he used it for 4 years without any mechanical issues other than routine maintenance.

 

I've gotten a lot of questions about this car - it seems some are confusing it with the 164, which was a few years later, slightly larger and a completely different chassis that was front wheel drive.

This car uses the legendary "Busso" V6 in a rear wheel drive chassis. It has a rear mounted transaxle and inboard rear brakes, with a deDion semi-independent rear suspension. This all makes for great weight distribution, tons of rear grip, and very predictable handling.

The engine in this particular car started out as a 3.0 LIter engine but was converted to a 3.5 liter with a kit from Savali (Sam Van Lingen) in the Netherlands. It uses big 101mm Cosworth pistons but the stroke is untouched. This gives a noticeable bump in power/torque but the engine still loves to rev. Everything about the build is fairly conservative, as the car is street registered and passes smog. There is certainly more power in the engine with more aggressive cams, less restrictive exhaust, and standalone engine management.

These cars are uncommon in the US but were raced extensively in Europe, and these factory 75 Evoluzione or the more outrageous "IMSA" cars were the loose inspiration for this build. This car, being black, would make a great tribute car if done up in the Beretta livery that was used in period.



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That is the rub, there are tons of people looking for a lightly modded street Milano they can take to the track occasionally. But a more heavily modified track car you can drive on the street is a more specialized proposition.

 

Art - it's been up on the AlfaBB since last fall. Lots of interest but nobody has pulled the trigger yet.

 

It's partially stripped; no carpet or headliner, Autopower bolt-in roll cage, OMP seats, and Scroth 5-point harnesses. Additionally, the A/C has been removed and sunroof has been replaced with a plexiglass panel. The front windows work but the rear window motors have been removed.

I have talked to several people about reverting the car back to a more civilized street build. This is certainly possible and I will include any and all parts I have for the car to assist with this. However, this car came to us already mostly stripped, so there are some parts I simply don't have. Some, I do have from other cars (I have had over 10 Milanos over the years).

For example, I can include:

The original headliner from this car
The original sunroof motor and panel
An A/C compressor
2 rear window motors
A new windshield (there is a crack, not a big deal on a track car but you would want to replace for a nice street car)
More street friendly clutch components



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It weights about 2,700 lbs - which is about 250 lbs less than stock. A lot of that weight was from the removal of the stock bumpers, the stock hood and trunk (both of those were replaced with real carbon fiber panels). The 75 Evoluzione body kit is fiberglass and is fairly light. It does sit a little higher than we would like after removing that weight, especially in the front - but if you look at period photos of these cars from events like the Giro D'Italia they were not slammed. They start out with pretty close to 50/50 weight distibution, so it is probably a little bit rearward biased now.

The engine makes about 225 hp at the crank. We're at 6,000 ft so it loses some potency due to elevation, but still feels quick and pulls hard. We use a 6,500 rpm limit although it will pull well beyond that. It is still running the stock Bosch L-Jetronic engine management, with a few tweaks. Primarily, we are able to achieve enough additional fueling simply by using an adjustable fuel pressure regulator.

Ultimately, I think the Savali 3.5 liter engines can make about 300 HP with more aggressive cams, less restrictive exhaust, and standalone engine management. We always sought to keep this one fairly conservative, and it has rewarded us with great reliability and it runs clean enough to pass smog. But the engine runs great - it doesn't ever get hot on the track and has perfect oil pressure. So the "bones" are there if someone wants to turn up the wick...

 

This car is still available if anyone is looking to run some late season laps, or just have fun on the street.

It's been rather bizarre but I have negotiated deals three times over the last couple of months. In all cases, the "buyer" was super enthusiastic throughout the process and then simply vanished. It is indeed a strange time to be selling unusual vehicles...

So - I am definitely open to offers, just please follow through!

 

Thanks, I've always thought it was cool, too.

It's been really, really reliable and with a good driver it's able to harass cars that are a lot faster on paper. It just needs a new home.

 

I'm not afraid to admit, I think I was often the weakest link in the car.

It's been quite a while, but I seem to remember running consistently in the 2:18s at High Plains. Embarrasingly, I did have a friend jump in the car and immediately knock off a couple of laps in the 2:16s with his girlfriend in the passenger seat, so there was definitely a lot more time in the car.

I never ran any seriously sticky rubber - we would use either Toyo RA-1s or R888s. I seem to remember the R888s were a little faster but the RA-1s were more consistent and lasted longer.

 

While that sounds like fun, I am really trying to get the vehicle count down, sorry.