Full speed ahead on the flaming red fast lane to fun
RADDA, Italy: It's sunny, but not too hot, and I am behind the wheel of a glorious, flaming red, 1965 Giulia Spider Veloce. There's an olive grove to the left, a vineyard to the right and not another car in sight.
I double-declutch from third to second, turn with a satisfied grin to my wife, who thinks a headscarf is enough to impersonate Audrey Hepburn, and veer into a series of twists. Grip is great, the engine's growl invigorating, and though my top speed rarely goes much above 80 kilometres per hour, I feel like a budding Stirling Moss.
After our afternoon tour of the unspoilt Tuscan countryside, it is time for a well-deserved glass of Chianti back at the hotel. Tonight, we are being treated to homemade tagliatelle with truffles at mamma Gina's Bottega di Volpaia restaurant, one of Richard Gere's favorites. As far as dream holidays go, they don't get much better than this.
The idea of offering Dolce Vita-style vacations behind the wheel of vintage Alfa Romeos is the brainchild of Gert Pichler and Walter Laimer, two childhood friends and Alfa enthusiasts from southern Tyrol.
Four years ago, with only a 1962 Giulia Spider and very little money in their pockets, they founded Munich-based Nostalgic GmbH.
Today, their fleet is composed of 18 Alfas, including two powerful 2600 Spiders and four 1974 Duettos - the kind Dustin Hoffman drove in the movie The Graduate - and annual turnover is in the region of 800,000 euros ($1 million).
"We aren't a car rental company. What we want to do is try to provide our customers with a real taste of the 1950s Dolce Vita. And what better way than explore Tuscany behind the wheel of a vintage Alfa, the car that embodies the Italian style of the period," Gert says.
Nostalgic's four-days-three-nights package begins at the Florence or Pisa airport, where clients are met ahead of being transferred to Borgo di Vescine - once a medieval hamlet and now a delightfully friendly and elegant hotel north of Siena, in the heart of Chiantishire.
After lunch, guests are given a pair of car keys, along with a map of selected scenic routes and a few driving tips.
Those with no experience in old bangers look somewhat puzzled at first: There is no power steering, ABS or automatic gears. And, apart from a poorly functioning knob radio, there isn't anything remotely electronic about.
But, however noisy, smelly and temperamental the cars may be, the drive is simply exhilarating. There just doesn't seem to be anything more natural than exploring one of the most civilized corners of the civilized world in a vintage Alfa.
Routes are specially selected to avoid traffic and large built-up areas. What's more, there's always a spare Alfa on a trailer discreetly following you about should anything go wrong.
At 2,000 euros ($2,728) excluding the flight to Florence or Pisa, the four-day package may not come cheap. But it isn't as expensive as it first looks once you consider that accommodation, meals, petrol, insurance costs, transfers, wine and grappa are all included.
Most Nostalgic clients are corporate - usually businesses offering the tours as incentives to their employees - but Gert and Walter would happily cater for non-corporate groups of at least 12 people.
"Our typical clients are middle-aged managers for whom a convertible Alfa was a dream car when they were young and couldn't afford one back then. But even non-enthusiasts soon fall in love with our cars once they have a go," Gert says.
DPA
(China Daily 06/20/2007 page19)
