It seems that God saw fit to put me, Robin Blench, on earth in the heart of the Alps –
in the mountains above the Lake of Geneva.

So, curvy mountain roads are in my DNA. Fortunately, my parents had good stomachs and not much regard for the rule of law, which enabled me to drive on roads – albeit remote roads – long before I had a license. I read books on how to drive and many years before I had a license I was quite proficient at hanging out the tail of our Simca 1000 (!!!) in the dry or on snow. I also had the great good fortune to spend my early driving years 16-18 in Mexico. What did this avail? Driving on 2-lane roads, some through extensive mountain ranges, on the way to tropical coasts, east and west, with no speed limits!! The only rules were don't hit anything: trucks, buses, people, donkeys, cattle, buzzards feeding on animals which did get hit, or missing a curve with a drop off anywhere from a few feet to a few thousand feet. It's that concentration thing again. Very good practice as no one will pull you out of a wild canyon. They might come and get your engine and wheels if they work, but not you!

Fast forward about 30 years, after completing Art school in California and raising a family, I happened to buy a GTV6 Alfa Romeo. After having a couple of Abarths, a racing Datsun 510, and a 240Z, I thought the Alfa takes hold of you in a way I have never experienced with any other car. This in some ways is not a good thing, but if you need a relationship, this can do it! What I wanted though, was the GTV6 running gear in something more reminiscent of a TZ 1 or 2. I thought that one of these days when I'm not working so hard, I am going to re-package the running gear and make it look like an Alfa of an older less angular time. Hence the Lugano you see here. With a hint at styling elements of older Alfa's it has some unique features of it's own that give it a modern touch too.

With the prices of cars such as the TZ 1 going so high and a limited supply of them, I thought it would be a good idea to manufacture a car that provided a similar feeling of excitement at a reasonable price. My motivation here is that I know there are other people who would like to share this feeling but don't have $100,000 or more for an original. The car is therefore available as relatively 'stock' car, up to sophisticated carbon fiber bodied race cars with big brakes and lots of horse power.