History: From four-door stalwart to baby GT

The GTV can trace its roots back to 1972’s Alfetta, a four-door saloon introduced to replace the ageing Giulia family. Its name referenced the Tipo 158/159 Alfetta grand prix car of the 1940s – which like the new arrival had its transmission mounted at the rear.

Although the four-door model was designed inhouse – with Alfa proudly pointing out how much of its shape had been honed in the wind tunnel – the two-door derivative was drawn up by Giorgetto Giugiaro’s Ital Design studio. Introduced a little later than originally planned due to Alfa Romeo taking a cautious response to the world oil crisis, the two-door Alfetta GT was launched in May 1974, initially with a 1.8-litre version of the manufacturer’s twin-cam four cylinder engine. The new arrival’s wheelbase was four inches shorter than the saloon’s and as a result cabin space was lost – but with Alfa Romeo marketing it as a 2+2 rather than a fullyfledged four-seater, it didn’t mind too much.

The initial effort went into satisfying both the home market and the crucial US market with left-hand drive cars, with the first right-hand drive cars arriving here in late 1975. Although testers in period proved it was faster than Alfa Romeo’s claimed 112mph top speed – with Autocar getting 117mph out of its Alfetta GT – they also pointed out idiosyncracies like the speedometer pod being poorly placed for right-hand-drive markets, which remained unchanged for several years.

In 1976 the 1.6-litre and 2.0-litre versions of the car arrived. The latter was labelled Alfetta GTV 2000 to emphasise its higher trim levels, and given extra brightwork in the radiator grille to distinguish it from its smaller-engined siblings.

The range remained largely unchanged from Giugiaro’s original vision until 1980, when it was given a simpler front grille, a front spoiler and larger section bumpers as part of a range-wide facelift. It was also the year when the model was finally treated to Alfa Romeo’s new 2.5-litre V6 engine, which had been launched in the Alfa Six saloon the previous year. It was also given a new name – GTV6.

Road testers in period loved its performance and responsiveness, and hated its variable quality and inconsistent handling – with proud owners including a young Jeremy Clarkson. It also gave the GTV its highest profile role yet, with an appearance alongside Roger Moore in the James Bond film Octopussy.

A steady drop in demand, particularly from the US market, throughout the 1980s led to production ending in 1987, after 126,000 cars had rolled off the Milan production line. It wouid be another eight years before the GTV name returned, this time based around the front-wheel-drive 916-series platform of the revived Spider model.

sPeCiFiCaTiONs

EnginE PowEr TorquE maximum sPEEd 0-60mPh fuEl consumPTion Transmission 1962cc/4-cyl/DOHC 130bhp@5400rpm 131lb ft@4000rpm 121mph 8.7sec 24-29mpg RWD, five-speed manual