Forza Alfa Romeo: Grand Tour

It's not every day you get an assignment like Forza Alfa Romeo.

Documenting the who, what, why, where and when of a storied brand like Alfa Romeo -- past, present and future -- was an intimidating project.

I mean, have you ever seen a mob of angry Alfa Romeo aficionados – the Alfisti – chase down an antagonising BMW fan boy? Things can get ugly.

But whether it was belting a 375kW twin-turbo V6 Giulia QV around the legendary Balocco proving ground or talking shop with the curator of the Alfa Romeo museum, Lorenzo Ardizio – who happens to be a professor of car design, teaching at three Italian universities! – it's clear that the fire within the brand burns as brightly as ever.

Hot on the heels of the company's return to F1 for the first time in decades – shout out to the new Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team! – I joined forces with motoring.com.au's London-based European editor, the inimitable John Mahoney, and automotive videographer extraordinaire Damian Blakemore for a two-week journey across Italy.

We laughed, we cried and we learned more than we could ever have imagined about where Alfa Romeo has come from and now where it's going. We hope that comes through in this feature.

These are some of the highlights from the Forza Alfa Romeo feature series. We hope you enjoyed reading the stories and watching the video as much as we enjoyed making them.

Arrivederci.

Alfa Romeo Giulia QV and 4C tested at Balocco

Blasting around Alfa Romeo's hallowed proving grounds in two of the brand's most engaging sports cars – one of them a mid-engined, carbon-fibre firebrand – is something I can only have dreamt of as a kid. No speed limits, no traffic, and plenty of power-slides. If this is work, I don't want to clock off! >>Read more of the Giulia and 4C drive

Alfa Romeo Museo Storico

I'll admit that I'm not the world's biggest classic car fan. But after touring the Alfa Romeo museum, especially after closing time when no one else was around, it's left an indelible mark.

The 1952 Disco Volante is one of those cars that I could just gaze at forever and the passion of museum curator Lorenzo Ardizio only added to the experience. For mine, this was a surprise highlight of the series. >>Read more of the Museum tour

Top-secret Skunkworks tour

It was a real privilege being able to tour Alfa Romeo's engineering Skunkworks in Modena, the birthplace of many of Italy's fastest and most exotic sports cars.

Although a lot of stuff here was off-limits, we were among the first media outlets allowed to film within its halls. Driving (and crashing) the Nurburgring simulator was awesome too – and only slightly more challenging than Gran Turismo Sport. >>Read more 

Alfa Romeo Centro Stile

There's a tangible sense of excitement within Alfa Romeo's design centre in Turin. Talking to design boss Klaus Busse and exterior designer Scott Kruger, it's clear they have some seriously cool new cars in the pipeline.

We asked Busse if he could sketch an Alfa Romeo ute for us. Not surprisingly he said no... Scott was half keen though! >>Read more of Centro Stile

Alfa Romeo Stelvio adventure drive

The idea with this feature was to see if we could take on one of the most dangerous roads in Italy in Alfa's first SUV, the Stelvio.

It's the sort of thing an owner would be unlikely to attempt but the sense of accomplishment afterward was gratifying. It was an epic adventure and I learned something new: John is not keen on heights. >>Read more of Stelvio adventure

1963 Alfa Romeo Giulia review

We punted a number of very special vehicles around in Italy, many of them tyre-frying weapons. But few of them could match the feeling of the classic 1963 Alfa Romeo Giulia TI Super, of which only 501 examples were built.

After chatting with the Alfa Romeo museum curator he agreed to let us drive the car on the museum's purpose-built test track. Grazie mille! Another one off the bucket list.
>>Read more of retro Giulia drive

Alfa Romeo factory tour

Car factories are fascinating places. They provide the kind of insight into a car-maker that you can't get from a PR team or even conversing with the top brass.

And in this respect, the Alfa Romeo factory in Cassino that builds the Giulia and Stelvio will harden the resolve of Alfisti everywhere. This is a cutting-edge factory that builds world-class cars. >>Read more of Alfa Romeo factory tour

Top seven cars from the museum

We absolutely fell in love with the Alfa Romeo museum and you can see it in the way John Mahoney walks us through his seven favourite cars from the collection.

The fact the museum had closed and they allowed us to film into the night was an extra special treat. >>Read about John's top seven

Don't miss a beat: Re-visit the Forza Alfa Romeo extravaganza