Today I received an offer I couldn't refuse; driving three cars from one of the most famous movies of all time.
The Godfather. Not the first part from 1972,
but the third part from 1990. There's one particular scene in that movie, filmed on Sicily,
where three cars show up. And not the least either; real Italian goods.
An Alfa Sei, a Lancia Gamma, and a Maserati Quattroporte.
Right. For the occasion, I've put on appropriate clothes.
I thought I'd start with the smallest engine capacity as well, it's got a 2.5-litre 4-cylinder boxer engine.
It isn't the same as in the movie, because Vincenzo Corleone,
the nephew of Don Corleone, who was played by Al Pacino, gets out of a carbureted 2.0-litre model.
This however, is a 2500 with injection.
It was built in 1982, so it's a Series II.
Die-hard enthusiasts might think the wheels are from the first Series, and they would be right.
You could consider this Gamma as the spiritual successor to the Fiat 130.
It was Fiat's flagship car back in the day, and it got replaced by the Gamma,
which became the flagship car for both companies.
It really is a fancy car. Not very sporty, but very fancy.
But to call it a successful car? No.
It was a car which was renowned for its problems. Rust was a common problem for this car.
Also, in the first series, there was something funny with the cambelt.
The power steering was connected to the same belt, as the camshaft,
so if the wheels were turned fully and you would start your car in the morning, everything would go wrong inside and you would end up with a lot of damage.
Not very handy...
But other than that... I have to say, this car has sat in a garage for thirty years.
The owner only got it up and running for half a year. There was a lot to be done,
but they've done it, if I'm honest. It all looks very neat.
It's beautiful, all nice and square.
The car has been designed by Pininfarina, and it drives very smoothly.
You're only supposed to hear the boxer engine high in the revs, according to the owner.
I'm not going to do that right now, because it's busy, the car belongs to someone else than me, and it's still an Italian car.
So I'm going to try not to break it.
But the drive is very nice. The fabric upholstery feels very classy.
It's even got "L"-motives in the upholstery.
It looks great. Then, the rev counter.
It doesn't say 10, 20 and 30, or 1, 2 and 3...
Instead it says 100, 200 and 300, so you only have to multiply by ten.
I've always thought this was a beautiful car, but what I also considered as a beautiful car,
is the Alfa Sei, or 6. And that's going to be the next car I drive.
And from the car which received the most air time, we move to the car with the least air time.
It also isn't really clear who owned the Sei in the Godfather part 3, or who drove it the most.
That means it's a bit of an extra, and that's exactly what the Sei has been for Alfa Romeo's history.
Back in the day, this was supposed to be the most luxurious model, above the Alfetta.
That never happened, and it's development didn't go really well either.
It was developed before the Alfetta, it was supposed to reach markets in the middle of the oil crisis,
but that wasn't a great time to be honest. That means this car reached markets quite late,
and this is one of the earliest models. It's from the early eighties, so it's got round headlights.
These are yellow, because it's a French import car.
But let's be honest; the Sei never really became a success.
Personally, I think it's a very cool car, but that's because it's kind of an underdog,
rather than it's a good car to drive.
What is good about this car, is the engine. Just listen to this...
2.5-litre V6... The soundtrack really is amazing.
It really runs well, the power is decent as well.
It's really a climax in this car.
Another climax in this 6 is the gearbox, because it's fitted with a kind of a racing gearbox; a dogleg.
First gear is left and backwards, which doesn't make sense at all in a comfortable car like the 6.
But it's there, and the reason why is still a bit of a puzzle really. Alfa probably used gearboxes they had left from the Montreal.
Another model which didn't succeed as well as they'd hoped, so that could be a reason.
It's still a very special combination. A luxurious limousine, but with a racing gearbox and rear-wheel drive.
It doesn't have a transaxle, but a big differential in the rear, which the rear brakes are also connected to.
Other than that? It's all nice and square in this car, which I personally like.
The dashboard as well. Walnut elements, a little fabric...
The seats are upholstered with fabric as well, I have to shift down a gear, hold on.
Like so, and...
Right. That's when the V6 becomes alive.
But, there's still a 8-cylinder waiting for me. The car of the Capo di tutti Capi:
The Quattroporte.
The car of the Capo di tutti Capi, the boss of all bosses.
But right now, I'm driving it.
Don Corleone didn't drive it himself, he was in the back of course.
But if you were Don Corleone's driver, it wasn't too bad of a job.
An 4.9-litre 8-cylinder in front of you, producing 260 horsepower.
Leather everywhere, except for the roof which was covered with fabric.
Of course, everything was electric. This really was the limit on Sicily.
The 8-cylinder then. Let's see...
You can hear it in the distance.
It isn't as present as the V6 in the Alfa, but that's a characteristic of a car like this.
It should be more distinguished of course.
It's connected to a three speed, a Borg-Warner three speed automatic gearbox.
You could also get a manual, but if you want a limousine; you get the automatic gearbox.
Also, this thing is huge.
Even if you look at it from the outside. It's big, it's low, it's flat and it's wide.
Also, from the inside, there's so much room in here.
I can see why Don Corleone chose this car. He must've hated all of the squeaks and creaks from this steering wheel,
which isn't really functioning properly. It was probably different in 1982, when this car was built.
At that time, Maserati was owned by Alejandro de Tomaso.
So there are De Tomaso's which have similar technical features underneath.
Can you hear it squeaking? I don't like that...
This is the third generation Quattroporte. The second generation was fitted with front-wheel drive,
but this has rear-wheel drive again, like it's supposed to be.
After this some generations followed, all the way up to the current generation.
For who didn't know; Quattroporte means four-door.
So the Gamma and the 6 are quite exclusive, considering their production numbers.
You could also say they weren't a great success.
This Quattroporte however, is really exclusive.
About 2150 of them were made, so this is the most exclusive car out of the three.
And this is the door Al Pacino's gets out in the famous scene...
I think that's all. The only thing I have to do is check the trunk for bodies,
and my bed for horse heads. If I don't find them, this was quite the afternoon.