One of the rarest versions of the Alfasud series III ist the Alfasud 1.5 QO or GCL (short for Quadrifioglio Oro). Only 11794 units were made between 1982 and 1984. It was the top of the range version of the four / five door
Alfasud. In the beginning of the Eighties Alfa Romeo baptised
their top of the range luxury versions Quadrifoglio Oro - which means golden
four-leafed cloverleaf. Besides the Alfasud there was an Alfetta which bore the
name QO / GCL. The Alfasud-successor Alfa 33 was also available as Quadrifoglio
Oro in the beginning of its career. The Alfasud 1.5 QO featured a very
comprehensive list of standard equipment.
E.g.
there was a wooden steering wheel and gear lever knob, headlight washers, beige
velours trim, a wiper and washer for the rear window,
metallic paint and steel rims painted in two colours. The QO combines the power
of an Alfasud Ti 1.5 (95 bhp) with the more useful four-door body with tailgate.
Klaas Schepers from the Netherlands owns the Alfasud 1.5 QO you can see on the photos. His car was preserved in its original condition. Till 2007 it only made 106.000 km. Klaas could buy the Alfasud in 2004 from Rody Bal, one of the Netherland's well-known Alfasud collectors. Rody had stored the car in his barn for ten years. So Klaas only had to do some minor welding works along the rear wheel arches. Of course he also exchanged the timing belts and their tensioners and the water pump in order to be on the safe side. In addition he had to overhaul the brakes. A typical problem of the series III Alfasuds are their bumpers which tend to loose their black colour and become greyish with the time. To give them a better look Klaas painted them in black.
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Klaas modified his completely original car in one point. He exchanged the 13" wheels of his Alfasud against 14" wheels of the Giulietta (series 116). A modification which will even not catch the eye of Alfasud connoisseurs. When Alfa Romeo face lifted the Alfasud for the second time in 1980 in order to make it the series III they took over the design of the Giulietta-wheels and reduced them down to 13". Of course Klaas sprayed these wheels in the QO-typical two-tone paint with a dark grey metallic centre and a bright silver ring. Klaas' Alfasud QO is one of the few cars which were delivered without front electric windows which were actually standard in the Alfasud QO.
Last Update: January, 14th 2007 Created: January, 14th 2007
© Layout and text by Tim Rauen. Photos by Klaas Schepers.