Custom Alfa Romeo electric guitar joins ranks

The ultra-limited edition, hand-built ‘Alfa Romeo’ electric guitar by Harrison Custom Guitar Works, is inspired by the Italian sportscar company.

Finished in bright red, it has a volume dial cunningly disguised as the marque’s hood badge and its semi-open body has been carefully designed to mimic the classic radiator grilles of iconic Alfas of the past.

What’s more, each Alfa Romeo guitar takes the UK company eight months to build and will cost £4000 (approx. Rs 4 lakh).

However, as well as exclusivity and individuality, the finished result actually promises to be a serious guitar for serious musicians, thanks to its blend of the best materials and craftsmanship associated with both car building and musical instrument production.

Like the best electric guitars that money can buy, the Alfa-themed guitar, designed by Guy Harrison, has a Korina wood neck and a body made from poplar and maple. And these elements are combined with aluminum inserts, milled from single billets that house the five hand-wound pickups, and the back and rear supports are formed from carbon fibre, just like the best cars.

The final automotive touch is a four-leaf clover aluminum/coral insert in malachite green on the third fret, a nod to the ‘Quadrifoglio Verde’ badge that has adorned the world’s fastest and most potent Alfa Romeos for the last 90 years.

Harrison Custom Guitar Works plans to build just 11 examples of this because Alfa Romeo has been in business for 11 decades.