Driving in style

COEUR d'ALENE - Five sleek, sporty and spendy vintage Italian race cars glittered in the sun Friday afternoon while parked on The Coeur d'Alene Resort lawn.

The vehicles are part of the Alfa Romeo 8C Tour of the Rockies, which will be departing Coeur d'Alene today for a scenic 1,000-mile drive through British Columbia and ending at Whitefish Lake, Mont.

The Alfa Romeos on display Friday will be joining 28 others driven by people from countries around the world. Tom Price, owner and driver of a 1932 Supercharged Alfa Romeo 8C, said it's the largest gathering of the rare, classic Alfa Romeos, ever.

"This is a group of people that collect them and like the cars and also love to drive them," he said.

The value of these cars is rising, causing them to be driven and raced less and less. The tour allows Alfa Romeo owners to get them back out on the open road, touring as they were originally meant.

Price said that the vehicles have become extremely collectible, "but what makes them so special is that they drive phenomenally. They're really fast, they're faster than many '50s sports cars and the owners of these cars also have some of the greatest cars in the world and it's almost something you need to have in your collection."

This particular collection of Alfa Romeos dominated competitions back in the '30s, Price said, "they won everything, all the big races." Price said his 8C can get up to 120 miles per hour, not bad for an 80-year-old car.

The price tag on one of these iconic sportscars is in the multimillions, up into the eight-figure mark. Price said it does take quite a bit of money to own a vintage Alfa Romeo, but it's also a passion, and that's what the tour is all about.

"That's part of why we do this tour," he said. "We get people together that appreciate the car, we all go out and have a blast. We all just want to get together and have fun."

The tour will be driving to Cranbrook, Lake Louise and Waterton-Glacier Park on its way to Montana.