Meet the Fleet – Sportscars: Alfa Romeo 2600 Sprint

• BODY: Custom made resin kit
• WHEELS: Vincent
• TIRES: Road Race Replicas

One of the few “home made” resin bodies that remains in my collection, this one has survived and still makes its way around the track during tournaments, even if it rarely wins a race. Although it’s a model of an awesome car, it is just a hair too large in comparison to the competition. Of course, this, again, is relative; it is close to the 1:64 scale of a Matchbox car, so it looks great in comparison to the diorama pieces that surround the track! But on the track, it’s a little ungainly and just a bit too heavy to be really competitive; that’s interesting in and of itself, since the resin bodies tend to be lighter than the factory made plastic bodies and thus are often faster.

Of course the real 2600 Sprint coupe is another little jewel in the Alfa Romeo crown, and as these images of the real thing (below) show, it is light and delicate in the way the best Italian cars are, full of character and charm, and offering performance greater than the sum of its parts would suggest. Like so many Italian classics, these cars look better when they are NOT painted bright red, but that was the color this body was cast in, and so to avoid the challenge of preventing paint chips, I elected to leave it in its molded-in color, merely coating it with a clear coat to add a little shine and protect the 2-stage decals.

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“Batista”, driven by Sandro “Shakey” Silvestri, is fitted with a wheel type I have used on only 2 cars, the Vincent “Lotus”, she rides on low profile Vincent tires and, although its not terribly fast, it actually corners quite well for its size. The nose shows a little battle damage to the areas filled in with the paint pen, showing that it may be due for a visit to the chrome plating shop to get freshened up.

Because it seems just a bit out of place, there have been a few times that I’ve considered removing this car from the fleet, but so far I just haven’t had the heart to do it: I’m always a sucker for a vintage Alfa coupe, so regardless of scale, this one stays!