Alfa Romeo Montreal | Spotted
Name a better looking car from the 1970s - we'll wait...
What a time for Grand Tourers the late '60s and early '70s were. Think Lamborghini Espada, Maserati Ghibli, Ferrari 365 and so on. It’s almost impossible not to fall into cliche describing the cars and the time, so perfectly does it all encapsulate what we imagine classic continental motoring to be.
Alfa Romeo had its own take on the front-engined 2+2 as well but, being Alfa Romeo, it did things slightly differently to even its Italian contemporaries. See, when the Montreal was first shown as a concept in 1967, without a name but at the Montreal expo, it was powered by a humble 1.6-litre engine. It’s hard to think of many production cars with more exotic powertrains than their motor show previews, but that’s exactly what the Montreal delivered: it used a very racy 2.6-litre V8, producing its 200hp maximum at 6,500rpm.
Plus, if anything, the real Montreal was an even finer piece of automotive design than what was first seen in Canada. Gandini didn’t really do duds, though even by his standards the Montreal - both concept and production - was something very special. Clearly inspired by his work at the time with Lamborghini and Maserati, but with that unmistakable front end, the Montreal has endured 50 years as some of Gandini’s best work.
Nevertheless, that wasn’t enough for the Montreal to succeed. While some of that was Alfa Romeo’s problem - the car's fairly unsophisticated underpinnings didn’t really do the design or the engine justice - it was also a timing issue. Launching a car powered by a motorsport-inspired V8 at the start of the '70s was ultimately doomed to fail, however pretty to look at or exciting to listen to.
Add that to the fact that, over here, a Montreal cost more than an E-Type V12 (it was only £500 less than a Ferrari Dino, actually), and it’s easy to see why it struggled. Comfortably more than half of the near-4,000 units sold were spoken for ahead of the 1973 fuel crisis; from then on the Montreal really struggled, with Bertone building bodies that Alfa couldn’t sell. It was withdrawn from sale in 1977.
And that was kind of that for Alfa’s foray into V8 2+2s. The 8C that came in the '00s was more of an out-and-out supercar, and this sort of GT was consigned to the history books. With very few right-hand drive cars made, it’s definitely been one of the lesser-spotted Italian icons in recent years.
This one is a European market, left-hand drive Montreal, but get this for provenance: until it came to the UK, it was in the care of just one owner from new. The ad suggests they were ‘an academic based in Imst, Austria’, diligent in their approach to maintenance throughout their decades of ownership. Additional recommissioning work has also taken place in this country.
All of which means it presents as a wonderful slice of '70s V8 glamour at rather less than some of the equivalents might cost. This Montreal, in a fabulous shade of Arancio Miura and having barely covered a thousand miles a year for half a century, is £84,995; that’s the sort of money that can still be asked for a V12 E-Type, let alone some of the Italian or German alternatives. Certainly none are going to draw any more eyeballs than the sensational Montreal. And what’s an Italian V8 if not a few admiring glances?
SPECIFICATION | ALFA ROMEO MONTREAL
Engine: 2,594cc V8
Transmission: 5-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 200@6,500rpm
Torque (lb ft): 173@4,750rpm
MPG: N/A
CO2: N/A
First registered: 1975
Recorded mileage: 54,300
Price new: £5,077 (1972)
Yours for: £84,995
How times have changed with prices. It's interesting how their values have gone up compared to some other classics like the TR6 though. Comparable back in the 90's, but I guess showing a true reflection of the engine used and the specialness of the design now.
They never intended to build it and so there was no room under the bonnet for a powerful engine.
After the show got such interest they decided to do it but the bonnet line got jacked up to fit the motor and it lost some of the sleekness. The name was adopted from the location of launch.
Wow what a profile!
The title is a bit sensationalist. I doubt the Montreal is the first car that comes to mind when thinking of a beautiful car from the 70s. It looks a little like an americanized italian sports car.
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