The 2017 Giulia Looks Good, But the Alfa Romeo GTV is Still the Business

BOLD RIDE

Copyright © 2015 Bold Ride LLC.

 

Posted by Zach Doell

                                          

If you hadn’t been convinced of Alfa Romeo’s triumphant revival, one look at the 2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia ought to sway your perceptions. What with its seductive lines, a 505-horsepower twin-turbo V6, and a diet of aluminum and carbon fiber…it has all the telltale signs of a winner.

 

So much so that perhaps someday it’ll even be revered as much as this coveted Alfa coupe—the storied Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GT Veloce. This 1966 GTV recently revved its twin-cam engine onto eBay, and it’s a shape that can make any diehard Alfisti weak in the knees.

The achingly gorgeous Giulia Sprint coupes originated in 1963, at first joining and then quickly succeeding the famed Giulietta Sprint. Styling was handled by Bertone’s young gun Giorgetto Giugiaro, while many of the mechanicals were sourced from the new Giulia four-door sedan—a five-speed manual gearbox, independent front suspension, and nimble coil-sprung rear axle.

 

The setup made for inspired driving to say the least, all the more helped by the peppy 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine under the hood.

In standard form, the Alfa Romeo Sprint GT cars initially offered up 106 horsepower, breathing through a pair of Weber carburetors.

The GTV added three more ponies thanks to higher flow inlet ports, though subsequent revisions like the 1750 GTV escalated that number still. Fans have long praised these twin-cam engines for their free revving nature. Serious racers too.

This ’66 GTV still packs its happy engine, however the owner says in 1997 it began to be massaged into a GTA-styled track day car (the GTA road racer packed a twin-spark engine and aluminum body panels).

As such, this car has netted a racy four-point rally harness, performance clutch, Alfaholics suspension kit, Y-pipe headers, and Dynamat sound dampening underneath the carpet.

Of course, there’s a little bit of Alfa quirkiness. The passenger door handle no longer works and the glove box opens under hard acceleration…but somehow that’s part of the Alfa charm.