A tale of two Alfas – Back to the 70’s with the Alfetta GT/V

Today’s the day to balance things up, so after two robust, solid 1990’s pieces of German engineering we’ve picked what some might consider to be their antithesis a 1970’s Classic Alfa Romeo. Well two Alfa’s in fact (some might say you’ll need a spare one just in case).

I’m not sure why but to us the 1970’s might have been the best decade for Italian cars, perhaps due to many fantastic supercars from Lamborghini, Ferrari, Maserati and De Tomaso that adorned so many of our bedroom walls. 

Back in the real world, the best looking, “achievable” Italian Car was the Alfa Romeo Alfetta  GT/V, the big brother to the Alfasud Sprint. We grew up with one owned by a gent down the road and in its day it managed to combine an air of exoticism, graceful looks and also some quirkiness thanks to the two section instrument panel (putting the rev counter only in front of the driver told you this was a car for serious drivers).

Based upon the rear-wheel drive Alfetta saloon, the Giugiaro styled fastback coupé was produced from 1974 until 1987 by Alfa Romeo, selling over 400,000 units by the end of its production run.  The Alfetta had introduced a new drivetrain layout to the marque where Clutch and transmission were housed at the rear of the car, together with the differential for a more balanced weight distribution.

Introduced in 1974 as the Alfetta GT and initially available only with a 1.8 litre version of the Alfa Twin Cam DOHC four, in 1976, following the phasing out of the Series 105 GT 1300 and GT1600 Juniors and the 2000 GTV, the Alfetta GT became a range, with 1.6 litre and 2.0 litre versions added. The GTV designation being initially reserved for the largest engined version.

In 1981, the GTV received a restyle, with grey plastic bumpers and black trim replacing bright stainless steel, the 1.6 litre and 1.8 litre versions were discontinued and the Alfetta 2000 GTV became the base coupé model as the Alfa GTV 2.0 and the Alfetta name was dropped.  Later in the same year, the GTV-6, a version of the GTV with the 2.5 litre V6 engine from the Alfa 6 luxury sedan, was added.   The GTV went through a number of revisions, including a new gear ratios and an updated interior in 1984.

Whilst there are number of Alfetta GT/V’s for sale throughout Europe we found the two classic Alfas on Car and Classic for what seems to be bargain prices, though, as ever, an thorough inspection would be needed prior to purchase to ensure they are not afflicted by some of the body and electrical maladies that people associate with Italian cars of this period.

The 1975 Alfetta GT found on Car and Classic looks to be a bit of anomaly.  Rare in being an Alfa Romeo Alfetta GT with the 1.8 Twin Cam this must be one of the earliest models sold in UK, and is advertised with an incredibly low 35,000 genuine miles and only one previous owner.



The paintwork looks bright and has only minor blemishes.  However it has got a number of aftermarket additions, including Zender Alloy Wheels, a Mountney steering wheel, Stainless steel exhaust and Strut brace. You might want to reverse some of these changes to restore the car back to original condition, but as the original bumpers and fully refurbished original steel wheels are included in sale these might not be too difficult.  Re-assuringly work done by the current owner  includes bodywork, new servo, all brake calipers replaced, new brake pipes, hand brake cable, propshaft rubber couplings, clutch and fluids etc. Perhaps what appeals the most is the asking price of £2,650. There aren't many classic Italian coupes you can buy for that little.

Also sitting on aftermarket wheels is this more common 2.0 model Alfa GTV found on Car and Classic.

Though two years older it’s still a relatively early car, and with only 68,000 miles it’s also very low mileage for a car of this age. This current owner has had it for ten years, and had lots of work done this summer including respraying, waxoyling, and suspension and brakes overhauled thoroughly.

The owner describes it as a good running and well sorted car but is honest in claiming that it could do with some attention to the tiny details to make it superb, but then we wouldn’t expect a concours model at that price.





Re-assuringly it is sold with twelve months MOT and six months tax so you can get on with using the car if you didn’t want to spend further to make it a concours example. Again for sale at what seems a bargain price of £3,500 compared to the examples we've seen for sale on the continent, this could be a sound investment if it's solid underneath.