The Alfa Romeo Alfasud never really captivated the hearts and minds of petrol heads quite like the Milanese marque’s other achingly gorgeous creations. The mid-engined, 6-cylinder Sprint 6C — built to compete with the monsters of Group B — might have changed that, but that project was put on hold in 1982, leaving the world wondering what the Alfasud might have achieved had it been given the right internals. Now, Portugal-based restomod firm Alma are intent on helping the Alfasud reach its full potential with this: the Alma Sprint. 

Limited to just 20 units, Alma have gone all out in an effort to give the Sprint as much road presence as possible, reworking the now mostly-composite body extensively with more muscular box-flared fenders and redesigned front and rear bumpers. You’ll notice the fit and finish is much better than what you’d expect of a 1980s Alfa, and Alma have given extra attention to ensuring seamless transitions between panels. In fact, non-Alfisti might not realise the Alma Sprint is a restomod at all, with only the billet aluminium housings for the new Hella projector headlights hinting at the uprated technology hiding underneath. 

Climb into the cabin, and you’ll find that Alma have significantly improved the Sprint’s ergonomics, now benefitting from a far superior driving position thanks to new corduroy and Alcantara seats and a relocated steering wheel. Many of the interior touch points are aluminium too, with 4-point Sabelt harnesses and a bluetooth sound system completing the package. 

Now we get to the good bit: the mechanical upgrades. Sadly, the Alma Sprint doesn’t feature a mid-engine layout — perhaps a bit much to expect for just 50,000 euros plus the donor car and taxes — but the 4-cylinder boxer engine has been reworked extensively to make up for it. Bored out to 1.8-litres, the Alma Sprint features redesigned headers, forged pistons, custom camshafts and valve train, and Dellorto carburettors with velocity stacks. It now delivers 160 horsepower to the front wheels in road spec, while Alma offer up to 220 horsepower if you’re feeling feisty. The stainless steel exhaust system, redesigned front and rear suspension, bigger brakes, limited slip differential, and reinforced chassis should help the Alfa Sprint handle like a dream, and at just 880 kilograms, this restomod should be more than capable of keeping up with today’s hot hatches. 

In the end, we may not have been asking for an Alfasud restomod, but considering just how pricey the likes of the Mercedes A45 AMG and Civic Type R have become, and the lack of a modern hot hatch from the Alfa Romeo stable, we would jump at the chance to add an Alma Sprint to our garage!