Alfa Romeo celebrates 25 years of the 155 in Malaysia, with no official importer [+Video]

It’s a shame really. For a brand as iconic as Alfa Romeo, with such a strong following and a legion of passionate Alfisti in the country, to not be officially represented at all, has to be a dire sin against the car-Gods to the nth degree…

In the early 90’s the venerable Alfa Romeo brand introduced a car into Malaysia simply designated the 155, (above) via (then) local importer Milan Auto. It was the successor to the 75, and one of the first models from AR to adopt the controversial FWD drivetrain.

Available in various guises from a 1.8 i4 all the way to a 2.5 V6, as well as in slim- or wide-body, the Ercole Spada of I.DE.A designed 155, affectionately known as ‘the wedge’ (above) was one of the more popular models in the country, thanks largely to its ‘cuore sportivo’ or sporting-heart, which featured a (then) revolutionary twin-spark configuration engine.

Fast-forward to 2017, and for the 25th Anniversary of this car, which still survives in very decent numbers, local Italian car clubs AROC, AROCKV, AROCM & ICL got together for an informal meet-and-greet in Putrajaya.

Now on my third 155, as always I decided (last minute) to give Remus Chang of Motorsport Playground a call, to see if he would be able to design a special sticker for the 155’s 25th anniversary. I’d literally caught him exiting the premises, heading overseas to wrap a race-car. Talk about bad-timing on my part.

You may recall, Remus had also ‘liveried-up’ my previous 155 (above) in full BTCC regalia, chronicled in this epic ‘dreams to reality’ transformation story. More on this actual car later…

He didn’t disappoint. A day before the gathering – he only had 3 days to do this – I paid Remus a visit and had him personally apply the commemorative 155 25th anniversary decal to my car. It seemed to be the appropriate thing to do, seeing as how he’s ‘done’ two of my Alfa’s in the past.

With the decals on, it was off to Putrajaya to a permit-approved parking lot, which would soon be turned into a veritable sea of Italian cars! The last count had it at more than 130 cars, including a healthy dose of 155’s of course, including, my ex-BTCC liveried one (below), now in the care of my buddy Rezal Yusof…

There she is above, two cars away from mine. It was really good to see the car again, looking even more resplendent than ever. As with all classic car fans, it wasn’t long before a few other makes decided to pay the gathering a visit, which of course was met enthusiastically by the rest of the assembled Italian car fanatics…

Hey, passion is passion, and regardless of the brand, no one knows better – what it takes to keep cars like these running faithfully – than classic Italian car owners! Like I alluded to in this pervious article on why I love and hate Alfa Romeo… but all said and done, we’re just one big, happy, slightly demented, family… the Addams Family maybe…