The Alfa Romeo Alfetta Sedan and GTV Coupe were the cars that introduced the legendary front engine/rear transaxle combination so favored by enthusiasts and missed greatly when front wheel drive became the norm in the 1990s. The GTV could be best described as a bridge between classic and modern day Alfa Romeos, with styling cues taken from the V8 Montreal coupe but with sharper edges more akin to the later 75 sedan. This particular GTV represents the third year of production for the GTV Coupe and comes with an amazing provenance and recognition from the Alfa Romeo Owners Club.

1976 Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV

This is a 1976 Alfa Romeo Alfetta Coupe GTV in concours condition. It came in second place in "Class 22--Transaxle Coupe" Class in the 2004 AROC national Convention held at Manchester, New Hampshire. Prior to this event, it was regularly entered in the Rolex Vintage Festival at Lime Rock where it achieved 90.9 and 94.1 points (I only have two score sheets) as well as Concourse Italiano in Brookline, Massachusetts. The car underwent sort of "no expense spared" (if this can be even applied to the Alfetta series?) restoration effort in the early 90's by Keith Goring at Alfas Unlimited in Conneticut, when the car had around 25,000 miles.

The engine was built with European 9.6 high compression pistons and Shankle high performance camshafts. It originally had European Ansa tubular headers, but I converted over to Euro Cast Iron for its many benefits including to me better sound. All other mechanical parts were replaced or rebuilt at that time. The Spica injection was fitted with K&N air filters and new exhaust was placed. When I bought the car in November 2004, Spica was tuned to perfection by Joe Lore of Alfa Imports along with higher output alternator from later series. Original Spica air filter housing was also placed to bring the engine bay to as original condition as possible and I never liked the "snorty" sound of the K&N filters. More impressive is the body restoration where the quality of paint and more important, the body prep work done on this car is comparable to restoring a Ferrari.

All new sheet metal was sourced in Italy and the prepwork under the paint is exquisite. Keeping in mind today's exhorbitant cost of "proper" restoration job in terms of labor cost and material cost, this level of "quality" restoration will probably never be repeated in an Alfetta, at least until people realize what an amazing car the first series Alfetta coupe represents in terms of crisp design and ambitious engineering complexity attempted on a mass production car. It also has the rare European stainless steel bumpers in near new condition. Interior wise, the carpet is original and in excellent condition. The driver's bottom seat was redone, otherwise the rest of the seats are in original pristine condition. The dash and steering wheel are near perfect. The original tool kit, jack, and owners manual are included.

The suspension has been updated with new Bilsteins and performance rear springs by the previous owne, and I added the 15 inch Ronal wheels for slightly more aggressive stance. I have owned the car as part of my small collection of Iconic Italian cars which I am down sizing due to my age and change in my passion and hobby. Over the years I only put enough miles to keep the car well lubed and suspension and rubber components supple and in good working order. The Spica injection is amazing and alwys starts up after pumping the gas a few times. The ignition switch was updated and works flawlessly. Engine has plenty of power and torque and yet breaths very well all the way up the revs like a 1600cc or 1750cc. The driveshaft is fully balanced up the revs, clutch is progressive, and synchros are all good. Brakes work fine and with the Bilstein and 15 Ronals, and of course the famous Dedion set up, there is a lot of feel good factor built into the handling. I sourced an Ansa rear muffler but never bothered with the change as the single tip muffler with the Euro cast iron headers to me sound, just right, a quintessenial Alfa music. In summary, this is for the Cognoscenti of the transaxle Alfetta series, who is looking for one of the best out there and ready to enjoy winning in concourse meeting.

I've come across a slew of GTV Coupes in good condition lately. Usually, anywhere between $8,000 to $15,000 can net you some of the best GTVs money can buy, be they the earlier four cylinder models or later V6 versions. With this car's desirable color combination and impressive rebuild, the seller would be within reason to expect a return of at least that much and perhaps even more.

-Paul