1967 Alfa Romeo Sprint GTA - serial number AR613976

The Alfa Romeo GTA was derived from the popular Alfa Guilia GT coupe designed by Bertone, which was introduced by Alfa in 1962. Autodelta, the racing division of Alfa, developed a car for sports competition that closely resembled the Alfa Guilia GT. These cars were named GTA, with the "A" standing for "Alleggeritea," Italian for lightened.

The GTA was definitely lightened. Only the structural members of the body were steel. The outer body panels were aluminum and were stamped on the same dies as the steel panels of the GT so that the outward appearance was almost perfectly stock. The inner steel panels were of thinner gauge steel than the street Guilias. The top was an aluminum sheet that was riveted to the steel door frames. The GTA had magnesium alloy wheels, clear plastic side windows, and all sound-deadening material was removed from the interior. The result was a car that weighed some 450 pounds less than its street-going counterpart.

Mechanically, the most obvious differences of the GTA were the twin-plug cylinder head and the sliding block rear differential. Under the bonnet, the Alfa 1570 cc DOHC four cylinder engine received a new twin-spark plug, big-valve, cylinder head with ignition by a Marelli distributor, larger 45 mm Weber carburetors instead of the standard 40 mm ones, a higher compression ratio (10.5 : 1), hotter cams, and cast magnesium alloy cam cover, sump, and timing cover. A thicker radiator core was used for better cooling.

The result of the work of Autodelta was that customers were sold a dual-purpose car that could be street-driven, but was essentially race-ready. It looked much like a standard Guilia GT but its performance was in another dimension. In 1966, Alfa won the Under 2 Liter Trans-Am championship and also the class championship in the European Touring Car series. Alfa GTAs continued to be competitive as long as the under 2-liter class existed in Trans-Am.

Specifications:

Engine: 1570 cc, (96 cu in), bore 78mm by stroke 82 mm. 165-170 bhp @ 7800 rpm

Suspension:
Front: independent, wishbones, coil springs, anti-roll bar
Rear: live axle precisely located by a sliding block to eliminate transverse movement, trailing arms, coil springs, and a light anti-roll bar

Weight: about 1640 pounds

Top speed: about 220 km/h (about 135 mph)

A FAX from the Alfa Romeo public relations department to Peter Giddings states that Alfa Guilia GTA chassis number AR613976 was produced on 05/23/1967 and the date of the sales invoice was 05/31/1967. The car was then shipped to the USA.

Alfa GTA AR613976 at Riverside International Raceway, April 1989. Photo by Mike Sims.

Peter (Car #74) overtakes another Alfa, Riverside International Raceway, April 1989. Photo by Mike Sims.

Peter guides his Alfa GTA through Turn Two at the top of the hill at Sears Point in 1989. Bob Dunsmore photo.