I was a huge fan of the Marina based Marlin back in the very early 80's - it was the kindest thing to do with BL's Finest (!!) saloon back then, far more subtle than dropping a caravan/grand piano/etc. on it like Jeremy C did regularly on Top Gear.
The old B series engine makes all the right noises and is simple and strong enough to be a very reliable lump with a bit of basic maintenance. Who cares if it's never going to worry a Fireblade rider in the insane 0-100-0mph dash between roundabouts on a sunny weekend?
As for the style to go for, it'd be option 1 above with Alfa badges for me all day long. A lot of people put Alfa/Fiat (and Toyota) twin cams in them back in the day, which justified the badges.
Hmm, I know I said there's nothing much wrong with a B series, but I wonder if the Twin-Spark motor from the cheap as chips 156 could be mated to an RX8 gearbox....
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