1973 Alfa Romeo Montreal 4K

This Alfa Romeo Montreal is being sold online with our friends at Bring-A-Trailer. The auction can be be accessed directly here:

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/197...

Alfa Romeo's Unique 2.0-liter, Quad-Cam, Eight-Cylinder Tipo 10564
Without a doubt, one of the most interesting, exotic as well as one of the strangest of the postwar Alfa Romeo production models was the “Montreal” who had at least on paper, a production run from 1970 to 1977. But like many things often quoted about the Montreal, facts from various publications and in the main books on the subject don’t always tell the full story or the truth.

The concept of the Montreal production vehicle comes from two un-named show cars built in 1967 and displayed later that year at the “Expo 67” in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The displayed vehicles had little to do with the production Montreal other than the “silhouette” of the vehicle's basic shape. The show cars carried 1600cc twin-cam engines borrowed from the Alfa Romeo Giulia TI and short chassis floor pans adopted from the Giulia Sprint GT.

The coachwork came from the gifted designer Marcello Gandini over at Carrozzeria Bertone and was both unique and fresh but borrowed clearly from work and styling from the Lamborghini Miura.

The two show cars were a hit and proved quite popular with attendees of what was essentially Canada’s 1967 World’s Fair. Informally referred by many who attended and countless journalists simply as the Montreal. Initially, Alfa Romeo had zero plans for a production run but this was soon to change. At the suggestion of the marketing departement, the heads at Alfa Romeo made inquires on the possibility of a production variant. The engineers felt it was easily achieved but suggested a more exotic power plant to complement the unique nature of the vehicle. As such, it was decided fairly quickly to move the project forward as a “Flagship” offering.

Production tooled up in 1970 but actually client versions were not ready until 1971. One of the first and likely a pre-production version appeared at the 1970 Geneva Motor Show and while it reflected the changes requested, it clearly had little to do with the original 1967 show cars. The name however stuck and it was identified in press released and brochures as the “Montreal.”

The production version now carried a 2.6-liter, flat-plane crank, DOHC V8 derived directly from the 2.0-liter, Tipo 33/2 Stradale and Sports Racer of the same name. The engine retained the exotic dry sump oiling system and fuel injection but now from “SPICA" (Società Pompe Iniezione Cassani & Affini) and in this configuration it now made 197bhp. The drive-train sported an engine-mounted “ZF” five speed gearbox and live rear axle with limited slip differential and braking was by four-wheel discs on each corner.

The Montreal continued in other areas to borrow heavily from other production vehicles with the main tub / monocoque derived from the Giulia GTV coupé as was the front and rear suspension, however as noted, the rear axle featured limited slip differential as a standard option.


AR★1426325★
This particular Montreal was completed late late in 1972 shipping to the official Alfa agency and distributor in Tokyo, Japan. ARCJ records indicate that not long after arrival, the car was repainted red, likely in order to make it more sellable. All of the original Japanese records survive and it was first resisted as a new vehicle in 1973.

The original color from Alfa Romeo was "Grigio AR740” but as noted it was quickly repainted to “Rosso Italia AR521” to help facilitate a sale to the original owner.

The car was delivered new with optional air conditioning and power windows and the selling dealer installed cassette radio and speakers which remain fitted to this day.

The vehicle remained in Japan its entire life passing through several prominent collections until being purchased by our company in early April of 2023. Upon importation to the States the vehicle was further inspected and evaluated and sent out for complete service and safety checks.

All services are now completely finished and the car has no running time since the completion of all work. A complete set of original rims with tires accompanies the car which is currently fitted with a set of light-alloy rims and all new tires.

There is no rust or accident damage and other than the original color change when it was new, it remains remarkably original and unmolested. A perfect set of original tools, books and manuals also accompanies the vehicle.

Please let me know if I can assist further in anyway.

Kind regards,

Bill Noon

Phone 619 840 7811
Email [email protected]
Website www.symbolicinternational.com