The Aesthete's wanderlust

... has taken him from Auckland to Oamaru where the local Alfa Romeo club met their Canterbury counterparts for a weekend of eating, drinking and telling lies. The crowd was hushed for the redoubtable Alan Dick, now a fixture of that town, who told them all about getting the bum's rush at Ferrari headquarters during their imperial phase.

The little man that used to control the rear end of the GTV from an extra steering wheel in the boot has finally gone after the addition of a few UK£s worth of neoprene bushes. He was a indecisive fellow, or hard of hearing. If you yelled 'left!' he would steer hard right or straight ahead before directing you into the fields. I am pleased he has found himself another post.

1988 Alfa Romeo 33 1.7 QV. No-one much loved the 33, or at least no-one who had ever owned a good Alfa Sud. The final sporting versions were a great improvement over the basic car and the carburetted four valve engine is a spirited thing that makes all the right throbbing and heavy breathing noises, if you can hear them over the rattling plastic trim. I am not doing a very good job of selling this car, am I?

For: A great engine in a so so car.
Against: Has been let sit around since 2007 but looks decent enough.
Investment potential: 2/10 and not a mad keen following to get prices on the move.

1965 Alfa Romeo Guilia 1600. As I suspected, the fellow who was bidding like a man trying to put out a fire in his hair has pulled out of the sale and this very attractive Giulia is back on the market again. Draw your own conclusions.

For: A great engine in a great car.
Against: The must be something...
Investment potential: 3/10. 10K did not seem excessive but look carefully.

1966 Sunbeam Rapier MkV. This is the penultimate Loewy-style Rapier with the smoother and more powerful 1725 engine and overdrive gearbox. Massively over-constructed compared to their contemporaries, they feel a bit tedious around town but are great fun on the open road. The pillarless side glass is a touch of glam, the automotive equivalent of Babycham and a quick snog against the chip shop window.

For: The last hurrah of Billy Rootes.
Against: As they might say in Coventry, 'Nothin, ya great ....!'
Investment potential: 2/10. They do not tend to appeal to the young folk, sadly

1974 Ford Capri 1600 GT. Speaking of glam, here we have the aging Rapier's dashing challenger, the multifarious Capri, available with every engine under the sun from 1300 feeble ccs to 3000 or more in rare track mode. This is purported to be a one owner car, unusual as most endured a short life at the rough hands of many inconsiderate lovers.

For: Look at those stripes!
Against: A bit flash for the Aesthete but good if you like this sort of thing.
Investment potential: 4/10. This seems a bit on the cheap side seeing as there are so few nice ones left.

2000 Toyota MR-S. When Porsche responded to the challenge of Totota's affordable midis with the Boxter, Toyota quickly responded by... making a Boxter. Brilliant! Hardly anyone bought one and they languish on Japanese import lists today at cheap sake money. I would buy one in bright yellow which, along with this acid lime, adds to their searing ugliness.

For: The kind of hopeless Japanese car the Aesthete actually likes.
Against: Why aren't you buying an SLK then?
Investment potential. Bwahahahaha.

Out in the wilds of Wyoming...

Resides this one-owner 1949 Hudson Pacemaker Brougham, the sort of post-war streamliner that is the Aesthete's not so secret passion. If I had one, I would put a parting in my hair, wear a flannel shirt and adopt a squint somewhat like George Clooney.