One of British rallying’s most legendary specials, Andy Burton’s extraordinary Alfa-Ferrari, claimed its final rally victory 30 years ago on what is now the Nicky Grist Stages.
As four-wheel drive machinery began to dominate, the famous Herefordshire farm shed-built Alfa-Ferrari had already been retired from competition and the defending BTRDA champion had switched to a Metro 6R4 for the 1996 season.
At the same time, Andy was building his Peugeot 306R4 and, because the new car was designed around the engine, the Metro’s powerplant had to be transferred into the new spaceframe, leaving him without a car for the second half of the season.
So the V8-engined Alfa-Ferrari was brought out of retirement for the Nicky Grist Stages – then known as the Quinton Stages Rally.
After five stages in Cefn Llwydlo, Caeo, Lady Megan, Trawscoed and Crychan forests, Andy and co-driver Rob Morgan finished 16 seconds clear of Matthew Clark/Robert Dyson in an Escort RS Cosworth, with Adrian Struthers/Graham Hopewell third in an Escort Mk2.
Andy drove the Alfa-Ferrari just once more, and the stretch of road where the 3-litre V8 engine expired at 125mph on the Woodpecker Rally has been known as Conrod Straight ever since!
And as for the Alfa-Ferrari, that has sat untouched in a barn for the last 30 years.
“A friend in a local village had a written off Alfa Romeo Alfasud Sprint and parked next to it was a written off Ferrari 308 GTS. I thought ‘that Ferrari engine in the back of that Alfa would make an amazing rally car,’ and that’s how the Alfa-Ferrari started,” said Andy.
“I thought I could make the car look something like a Lancia 037, a car I loved, so we built a spaceframe and put the engine in the back.
“The car’s first rally was a local twelve car event. We ended up helping a fellow competitor get to the finish, and he said it was the fastest he’d ever been towed in his life!
“We took the car into the forests and found that the V8 wasn’t the fastest engine – until we swapped the carburettors for fuel injection!
“Being rear-wheel drive, the car was very hard on tyres. If it was an eight-mile stage, we couldn’t go flat-out for the first three miles otherwise there’d be no rubber left. We were running 16-inch tyres, which were the biggest we could get in diameter.
“I remember the 1996 Quinton Stages Rally because we’d moved on to building the Peugeot 306R4 and the Alfa-Ferrari had been retired. Four-wheel drive was taking over, so while we were building the Peugeot we’d started the season in a Metro, which was so quick. But with the Metro’s engine now in the Peugeot, we found ourselves without a car, so we wheeled out the old two-wheel drive Alfa again.
“We were just one second ahead of Matthew Clark after three stages but had a good push through the final two stages. Given the age of the car, I was surprised we won.
“We did the Woodpecker after that and since then the car has sat untouched in a barn. I took the front suspension off it to use on some farm machinery, but apart from that the Alfa is as it finished the 1996 season. It’s now parked next to the Peugeot 306R4. I’ll never sell the cars, as they’re part of the family and remind me every day of the great times we had rallying.”
This year’s Builth Wells-based Nicky Grist Stages takes place on Saturday 11 July and features a challenging 44 stage miles route on gravel roads in Monument, Crychan (named ‘Bowlsey’ in honour of the late Pete Bowles, a long-time Quinton Motor Club committee member, former Nicky Grist Stages winner and Clerk of the Course), Halfway and Route 60.
The Quinton Motor Club-organised event celebrates 17 consecutive years of title sponsorship from Nicky Grist Motorsports and in 2026 is a round of six major championships – the Protyre Autocare BTRDA Rally Series, Pirelli Welsh Rally Championship, HRCR Rally Master Challenge, Kingfisher Insurance Motorsport English Rally Championship, TCS Plant Rally Challenge and ANWCC Rally Championship.
Entries for the 2026 Nicky Grist Stages are now open and available at rallies.info.
Seeded Entries Close on Friday 26 June and Final Entries Close on Wednesday 8 July.
Event enquiries please contact:
Neil Cross (Clerk of the Course): clerk@nickygriststages.co.uk
Helena Mayall (Secretary of the Meeting): secretary@nickygriststages.co.uk
Claire Cross (Entries Secretary): entries@nickygriststages.co.uk
Tru Concannon (Chief Marshal): marshals@nickygriststages.co.uk