First stop was Brighton
I have a friend who lives close to Chipping Sodbury in Bristol. Jay Martin is an Italian car nut just like myself, our car fantasies surounds old Lancia Fulvia´s attacking rally stages in Col de Turin or Alfa GTAm´s lifting their front wheel at the race tracks the likes of Spa Francorchamps. Getting in just in time to grab some beers and talk about life and cars was great. Next day we went to see his Fulvia 1,3 HF and fantasizing of going to Monte Carlo with it. I hope one day we really will do it.
 
Alfaholics is better than alcoholics
Later the same day, I got together with some old friends. You may have heard of them. The boys from Alfaholics, the brothers Max and Andrew. It´s been 12 years now since last time, but somehow time has stood still. Their business has grown immense, but the passion is still alive. From humble beginnings, the brothers now operate the biggest classic Alfa dealer in the World (Yep Clarkson -  I said it). They seem to have anything for an old Alfa. How about a complete shelf of Alfa gta parts? Max says with a twinkle in his eyes he is a complete hoarder. And seeing all this stuff, I do believe him. Two big industrial buildings are brimming with cars, car builds and endless shelfs of Alfa parts. How about four freshly build Alfa gta engines in a row? The finish has to be seen to be believed. Before seeing their cars up close, I would think of them as expensive overpriced toys. But when you know they have 2500 man hours in to them before they are finished you do understand. Everything has an immaculate finish. Carbon fibre and titanium parts everywhere. The restomod 50-year-old Alfa keep up with a modern Porsches on the Nürburgring -  they are definitely worth every penny. I hope to drive with the guys this spring at their trackday at Castle Combe.
 
Tired from all the experiences and quite a long drive, I end up in Brighton looking at the sea. No cars here but it is a beautiful town, with vibrant nightlife and stunning views.
 
MrSpeedlux when luxury is made simple
The last car connected stop is in East Sussex. At a picturesque place called Little Parkin Ninfield. This is smack in the middle of the beautiful countryside of England. Fare south with narrow lanes and lovely houses. In this English fairy tale father, Clive, and son, Theo, runs the classic car business MrSpeedlux. And the Winstone guys do it well. They have become a trusted strength on old classic Italian motors. Their garage sits beside their house, and you instantly feel welcome and passionate. Clive comes from the design / marketing business just like myself, and during lunch we share car stories and ups and downs in the business. The hours just flies away, and new friendships are made.
 
Next stop is London, Soho. But that has nothing to do with cars so we live that one alone.
 
Five days in England well spent I say, Cheers!

Drive, drink and dine with us. During 7 days and 6 nights we will travel Sicilia with classic Italian cars. This will be an adventure of driving and enjoying the finer things in life. The experience is unique for Benzina and co-arranged with our Dutch friends at www.hiddensicily.co.uk
 
Price: Euro 2399 or NKR 23.900 per. person
 
Event must be paid in full before April 15th 2018. Exclusive only 12 places. First ordered first served.

What is included

• The car (Vintage Alfa Giulia or Fiat 124 Spider) two people share the cars. It is possible to change cars during the event.
• 6 night’s stay on basis of B&B.
• 4 dinners
• a 60 pages roadbook with all the itineraries in dot-arrow style including maps, tips and tricks and a heap of information and addresses on things you pass along the trip.
• The aperitivi, parking and police escort in Palermo.

 
We can order airplane tickets for you to Catania airport. However, that is extra.
 
THE PROGRAM
 
Catania Airport 14th of October (Sunday)
Upon arrival at Catania Airport you will be welcomed personally by our staff and escorted to the vintage cars in the parking lot of the airport. After an hour’s drive you will arrive in Linguaglossa on the northern slopes of mount Etna. After checking in at Shalai Resort there will be an aperitivo and time to fresh up I your room.

Linguaglossa on the northern slopes of mount Etna
Chef Giovanni Santoro of the hotels Michelin Star restaurant will be preparing dinner that night. The special 7 dishes menu will let you explore the Sicilian and international cuisine in a very pleasant and from time to time surprising way. All that accompanied of course, by a nice selection of wines.

Castelbuono 15th of October (Monday)
The first day of driving will take you partly over mount Etna and then crossing the inland towards the town of Castelbuono almost right on the classic Targa Florio Circuit. After the 200 km plus drive that will take you some 5 hours you will be welcomed in the old Abbazia di Santa Anastasia.

Abbazia di Santa Anastasia.
Dinner will be different this time. After a refreshment in your room the sommelier will show you the cantina and let you taste the fine wines Santa Anastasia has been producing for many year. Wine that will also be leading the dinner this time as the food will be adapted to the wines of your choice. 

Targa Florio 16th of October (Tuesday)
Next day we will get to the real driving experience. The Targa Florio is the oldest street circuit in Europe that exist far longer than the Mille Miglia or the La Mans track. 148 Kilometres of normal road. Nowadays on race-days in the road-track would be closed to public traffic. The practicing however was on the road when it was open to the public. In that same way you are going to round the track. No competition in speed here but all the more in regularity. Control posts will check if you did right, we do need some competition after all.

Abbazia di Santa Anastasia.
Dinner will be at the Abbazia again but different. A big table, timetables and scores. Food and drinks will be served while you discuss the reason why you missed the second check point for example. And in the end of course there is the little trophy for the one that did best.  

Palermo 17th of October (Wedensday)
On day number four we will take you to Palermo. Not a long drive but exciting nonetheless. Coastal roads, winding through Bagheria and passing the famous Villa Cattolica. Upon entering Palermo you will be escorted by the Stradale to the Grand Hotel et des Palmes. Valet parking of course at this illustrious hotel where in in 1957 Lucky Luciano and Joe Bonanno settled their French Connection.
No dinner organised here. At seven you are expected to show up for aperitivo in HIC, la Folie du vin. Drinks and snacks will do as a start. The rest is up to you. In Palermo you want to decide for yourself where to go and with whom. In the roadbook you will find a vast selection of options to entertain yourself or to be entertained. Still worried, ask our staff in the hotel, they will be more than happy to check things out and make a reservation for you.

Baglio Caruana 18th of October (Thursday)
Breakfast at Et des Palmes is a must as it is being served in the hall where Bonanno met Luciano made theis deal so is said.  So no way you can skip that. Then it’s off to the south coast and the beach. You will be staying at Baglio Caruana, a winery on a stone’s throw of the Beach. Opon arrival we start with a tasting besides the pool here, dinner however is served at Capitolo Primo. Chef Damiano no doubt is going to try and “over-cook” Shalai’s Michelin chef Giovanni. Since “don’t drink and drive” is our policy, we will take care of getting you back to the Baglio.
Modica 19th of October (Friday)

From Baglio Caruana, Primo Capitolo and Montallegro it is almost a straight stretch to Modica, Straight in a Sicilian way as you can imagine. 175 km And some 3 hours to get to the town of Modica. Get there in time. Dinner is served at eight across the street from the hotel. And as it is only a 5 minutes’ walk back to the hotel, the menu is including wine.

Brucoli and going home 20th of October (Saturday)
Depending on the time of your outbound flight the last trip is scenic or highway. Up to you to stretch the last day as much as you can. We would suggest a lunch- stop in Brucoli, which leaves you with a 20 minutes’ drive to cover after that to get to the airport.

Order here.

A couple of months ago, while looking at a Ford 32 coupé project, the owner and I chatted about the rich racing heritage of the Italian car maker Alfa Romeo. During the conversation, the owner shows me a car he owned about 20 years ago. He wonders if it is still alive, where it is and if it still drives. The car in question is one of Alfa Romeos holy grails, the famous Alfa Romeo GTAm. Unfortunately, not the real one which is only made in 40 something cars, but a really well-made tribute with all the right bits. The Ford owner shows me an old photo and by some strange reason I memorize the licence plate. At that moment, I did not really know what to do with the info.
 
After two nights of restless sleeping and waking up with sheets wet from sweat, I realized I had to find this old GTAm. I contacted the Central Register of Motor Vehicles in Norway and got the current name of the lost Alfas owner. But the car had been unregistered since 2002. It was still in the system, but this kind of information often is a sure sign of neglect and that the vehicle now is a wreck. Who wouldn´t drive this Alfa for almost 20 years? The yellow pages gave me the owners number, and after developing courage I called him. The man on the other line was a very nice and polite gentleman. – Sure, he had the car, and yes there had been lots of troubles. Garages had given him big bills but nothing to show for. The car had most of its mechanics new, but could not be started. It had stood non-moving in his garage since 2007. - But selling it, never! Well, I am not a man that gives easily up. And after a long talk about cars, life in general, he softened. I convinced him to send me some photos. In my mind, I thought at least I could help him to get his motor up and running. Standing still is not good for any car.
 
A week went by. No photos neither calls came. I messaged the gentleman and politely asked for pictures again. Finally, after some hours I got them. It was really not much to go after. The pictures where low in resolution and taken in a dirty and dark garage. But the “want” for the car was stronger than ever. I decided to go for it. Maybe it was a complete wreck - but after all it was a classic Alfa Romeo. Anything could be restored and rescued. I decided on my max bid and instead of thinking too much, I offered him that amount of money come what may. In my mind the bid had to be high enough to be interesting and low enough to make me be able to sell all the parts and maybe go in zero.

However, he politely declined my offer. Well, that´s life sometimes. You do not always get what you want. But I really wanted to see the car, so we arranged for me to come and us to have a chat. We hit it off imminently and he understood my good intentions of saving the car. A firm handshake and the Alfa was mine. Just getting it home was a pain. Five men had to help getting it on the trailer. The wheels where firmly stuck after all those years lying dormant. The first night I did nothing, just sat in my garage in an old sixties chair thinking and looking at the green machine that appeared brown from years of dust. Thoughts about barnfinds presented at auctions and getting silly prices honestly crossed my mind. But this car deserved more, it deserved returning to the tracks and screaming in fury at 7500 rpm. So, the next day I got up early, had a proper look at what I had bought and carefully started to clean one side of it. I wanted to see the transformation from dust to shine. The restoration had started. Hopefully we will return for road and track during the spring of 2018. That is my goal.
 
One thing is for sure, the sleep is over dear GTAm, and your heart will beat again.
 
Benvenuti nel mondo, cara Alfa Romeo!

We are still buzzing from the experience of flying a Dakota DC3 from Norway to the Goodwood Revival 2017. A huge thanks to Dundas Footwear, Helge and Liam, for making this happen! Words are still not enough so you have to make do with pictures.

Benzina Autumn Blast 14. – 15. October 2017
 
We are repeating last year´s success. What a great weekend!
BOOK HERE
 
This time the event will start on Saturday with a scenic drive around Østfold, Norway. We will book a hotel / food / party package for a limited number of persons. This will be pre-booked and first order first served.
 
Join us for a Saturday and Sunday of “La Dolce Vita” on beautiful roads in Norway. This is a gentlemen’s rally for cars between 1950 and 1985. Important: We want you to dress in the style of the car and year. Participants will enjoy beautiful cars and people. A scenic drive on winding roads around is included and free for all that wants to join. Classic motorcycles and scooters can also attend.
 
However only prebooked will be able to attend dinner and join us at the party at the hotel. Details and prices will follow soon. Keep the date free and please post here if you are interested.
 
Pictures from last year´s event.