(first posted 11/7/2012) Designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, this lovely Alfa coupe was not only a feast for the eyes in that largely vulgar mid-seventies period, but was also an influential one. The Alfetta GT was one of a few key designs of the period that had a profound and lasting effect on styling trends, including the Japanese, like the Corolla GT-S. The Alfetta showed the way out of the styling wilderness the Japanese had created for themselves. The unfortunate result was that cars like the fast, cheap but ultra-reliable Corolla GT-S helped put Alfa out of business in the US.
At the time of the Alfetta GT, Japanese styling was lost in a wild and woolly jungle that was a bizarre mixture of US influences combined with homegrown touches (1975 Corolla at top). But for a few exceptions, it did not result in handsome or timeless cars. The clean and angular school of design that was particularly practiced by Bertone and others in Italy was adopted by the Japanese wholesale (1985 Corolla bottom), and even exaggerated. It was one of the more dramatic, sudden and lasting shifts of Japanese styling ever.
Of course, we can take that one significant step back further to explore the influences on the Alfetta GT. The 1968 Lamborghini Espada was one of the most, if not the most significant milestone in this new trend away from the Pininfarina curves. Its influence on the Alfa is all too obvious, keeping in mind that the Espada was a very long and low car, while the Alfetta sat on the platform of the sedan that was also the source of its name.
The Alfetta sedan that arrived in 1972 was a significant new vehicle for Alfa, inasmuch as it ushered in a new generation of cars that finally were not a direct evolution of the Giulia/Giulietta that dated back to the early fifties. The Alfetta sat on a new platform that located the transmission at the rear of the car, for better weight distribution. The rear axle used a de Dion axle, a solid hollow beam connecting the wheels but not carrying the weight of the differential and axle shafts.
The Alfetta and the GT were sold in the US starting in 1975, under a variety of names. The sedan petered out by 1979, but the coupe had much longer run, thanks to the implant of Alfa’s first modern V6 engine, which turned it into the GTV-6, from 1981 through 1986. That delicious confection of chrome induction tubes and soul-stirring mechanical music gave the Alfetta a new lease on life, especially in the performance-hungry US. The 1.8 and 2.0 fours of the early version put out some 124hp, which was not sufficient in the face of competition from new small hot hatches like the VW GTI, the Corolla GT-S, and others, especially considering its higher price tag.
Alfa’s reliability woes were a heavy drag on its reputation and sales during the seventies. Alfas, like other certain European cars had been fundamentally well-built cars in the fifties and sixties, although always needing a bit more TLC than average. But during the seventies, many European makes suffered from the twin effects of having to make many drastic changes to meet US emission standards as well as the amenities Americans increasingly demanded. And labor problems exacerbated these issues.
Adding power windows and numerous other electric and electronic devices that were not well engineered, integrated or built caused a large portion of the woes, and it was endless failures with these peripherals that contributed to the declining rep of cars like Peugeot, Alfa and others that were once fairly easy to fix and simple cars. And vulnerability to rust was of course another significant factor, but then they weren’t the only ones to suffer that fate.
This particular example is a bit of an enigma to me, because I’m having a hard time placing it exactly in terms of its year of build and origin. The bumpers don’t look like the larger ones fitted to US imports, at least the later ones. But the speedometer reads in mph. BTW, that highly unique dash layout places the tachometer alone directly in front of the driver, and the other instruments including the speedometer are in the center nacelle. Looks cool, but lets just say it was not commonly replicated.
The Alfettas were delightful cars when they were running right. The rear transaxle made for almost perfect 50/50 weight distribution, and everyone raved about the superb handling. And the GTV-6 of course added that oomph and sound which became legendary.
But Alfetta GTs have not become the collector cars that their timelessly beautiful predecessors are, and are languishing in a state of; well, similar to this one. Running, but not exactly completely intact. It was a pleasant surprise just to find this one at all, ironically sitting in front of that symbol of enduring ruggedness, a might oak tree. Makes for a nice juxtaposition.
When I look at this car, I recall Jeremy Clarkson’s summary of the Alfa. It was something like “Alfa Romeo was a car designed to provide the driver with the most fabulous driving experience that a machine can provide . . . . . briefly.”
I remember that these were out there when I came of car ownership age, but these just never called my name. Even as a lad, I understood that there was something about the Italian car ownership experience that was beyond the ability of most people to withstand. So I did the next best thing and started driving Mopars. I think it is fitting that Chrysler and Alfa have found each other. This could be exciting.
Always wanted a GTV6 badly, and remember these GTs when I’d get parts for my VW Type III at the shared dealer….
Took awhile, but my 164 fulfilled my longings, in a more robust package and that V6.
Song and ooomph indeed!
Lily got an ’82 GTV-6 Balocco right about the time we met in ’95. She had just crashed her beloved old Mercedes sedan, and needed a daily driver. Nasko, the east-side Portland Alfa expert and an old friend, generously offered her the car he had prepared for his teenage son. The kid had apparently shown he couldn’t be trusted with the car. His loss was her gain.
It was a very reliable car in daily service for several years. The only breakdown I remember is when a hydraulic clutch hose let go. She loved it, and enjoyed the car every day. For me it was Italian torture, such a wonderful and exciting car, but I simply didn’t fit inside. I had to put the seat back way down to fit my head, then I could barely reach the wheel.
The other problem was nearly no defogging in the winter. I narrowly missed a serious collision one New Year’s Day – I could not see out the side. Hand wiping could not keep up. Italian cars are for Mediterranean weather.
The Balocco is a special edition, only 350 built. Nothing mechanical, just red with black interior, red piping on the seats, sunroof, dash plaque, and Quadrifoglio badges on the rear quarters. The four-leaf clover was a symbol of competition Alfas, later generally used for premium editions. I don’t have a photo of our GTV-6 Balocco at hand, but this one is a good match (except ours had no dents).
In summary, its V6 is powerful and exciting, its handling perfect, its style, character and headroom are quintessentially Italian, and it can be reliable if thoroughly restored and maintained. We loved it dearly, but after a few years Nasko had another old Mercedes W114, better suited to year-round Portland commuting. Arrivederci Bello!
I spy an original Mini in the driveway behind your italiano, Mike!
I’m await to see if any hell stories of the more plentiful used Alfa cars start appearing. There’s always a $3,000 164 on sale on Craigslist around these parts. How bad could they be?
Laurence, there’s a ’78 Spider with a new interior around here for only $1000. “It runs and drives but needs work…..”
http://portland.craigslist.org/clk/cto/2685610089.html
if the timing belt and waterpump are fresh and they arent burning too much oil, they are sublime.
There is a local garage that specializes in European cars, and it always seems to have a couple of 164 parts cars languishing in the parking lot. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing! The styling of the 164 has always appealed to me though.
Fastback, it’s funny. I picked this photo out of a simple Google image search this morning. There used to be a car like this in our neighborhood, usually parked curbside with an old Mini parked behind it. I just checked on Street View, and sure enough, this is the place and these are those cars. They moved away several months ago apparently, the cars are gone.
Now that I know I’ve seen this car in person, Lily’s GTV-6 was in much nicer shape. The first time we encountered it we thought it was hers, it’s not like you see GTV-6 Baloccos around all the time. But we soon spotted some differences, to our great relief, since this one’s seen better days.
Credit to the Old Parked Cars blog for the Balocco photo I posted above.
http://www.oldparkedcars.com/2010/04/1982-alfa-romeo-gtv6-balocco-se-gtv-6.html
PLEASE tell me if you know where that car is now!!!
I mean do you still know where Lily’s GTV6 balocco is?
There was a guy in Sydney mid mounting Holden V8s in these, dont know what became of him but the cars were quite something.
That was Paul Halstead and the Giocattolo, which was based on an Alfasud Sprint body shell. They made 15, and I presume all but one survive (fatal crash at Eastern Creek 15+ years ago of a modified car with twin turbos)
They planned to make an original carbon fibre bodied replacement car but the early 90’s recession put paid to that.
I used to lust after a GTV 6
I haven’t seen these but DID spot a restored Alfa GT from approx 1968-69 though in that dark green paint, sans bumpers but had the ralley lights up front and the factory mags IIRC waiting to make a left turn onto a side street in South Bellevue I think last year at some point.
I was heading to the SB entrance to the 405 freeway, which is via Coal Creek Parkway to get to my Mom’s in Tacoma after work one Friday late afternoon after work (it was spring at the time I spotted it).
The car was in the left turn lane on that very street, waiting to turn left when I spotted it.
You can’t underestimate the rust on these, a friend spent his final year of high school restoring a ’77 or ’78 GTV 2000, he started with a full sheet of steel and it all went into the car replacing rust except for about 10×6″. Within 4-5 years all over the car the steel he had not replaced was rusting through, that had been rust-free when he did the work. Broke his heart.
They are a great car, you can feel the weight-distribution benefit of moving the gearbox back. There are a decent number turning up in historic motorsport now, because they are a lot cheaper than the earlier Bertone cars (nearly bought one of those years ago) and they handle well.
Yes a friend had a 2litre version, the Japanese cars might have had reliability in their favour but on the Wisemans Ferry road the Alfa was awesome, the Jap cars not so much, and Ian my friend had very little trouble with his car other that rust developing here and there.
FIAT/Alfa sourced their steel from Eastern Europe at the time, and the quality of that steel was very poor.
Craig Morningstar said that the cars were often showing signs of rust when they arrived at the port from Italy.
The GTV-6 is one of my bucket list cars, Preferably a Callaway Twin Turbo.
I entered a series of corners today much too fast today, the motor really howling and over 6,000rpm and a car was coming into view too close to the centre of the road, so i braked hard to slow to an acceptable speed. There wasn’t the slightest drama or loss of poise. Situation under control the car informed me!
It’s a country road normally with no traffic and the road surface is a little bumpy.
I know for a fact that a Japanese car of my car’s era won’t and can’t do this.
The GTV6 was one of the cars that I loved as a kid, for no other reason than it was Italian and looked cool. I still quite like them, though I’ve seen probably three in the past 10 years, and two of those were at the same car show! I get the idea that even a good used one wouldn’t be too expensive up front, but would probably do a thorough and surgical job of removing all the money from my bank account in the first year or two of ownership!
Life with an Alfa is not as bad as people say. Some people just eat take-away because their useless in the kitchen……..
Think about it?
Cas
In my early 20’s I had an obsession with the GTV6 and looked at several. This was in the late 80’s and they could be found for somewhat reasonable money, but in literally every case there was at least one immediate repair or “adjustment” that would have to be done. My mechanic dissuaded me from even thinking about it. After 2 MGs and several “Of The Era” Chrysler products he was either sick of me or finally took pity on me. Or maybe his kid had finally graduated from college, so his finances were eased. I’d still love to own one of these though.
I’d much rather have one of these if I have to have a small car with a V-6
After finding a news report last night that the Chinese market Fiat Viaggio and Ottimo were following their Dart/200 platform mates onto the scrapheap, I wondered about the status of the Alfa Giulietta, whose platform spawned the American and Chinese failures.
A couple weeks ago, an Alfa honcho announced that the Giulietta, and the smaller MiTo no longer fit Alfa’s product plans for overpriced boutique models
http://fcauthority.com/2017/03/alfa-romeo-mito-and-giulietta-could-be-scrapped/
I remember road tests of these back in the day. It was compared to cars like the Datsun 280-Z and the Porsche 924 and it always came in last.
The front 40% of the rear side window rolls down. A rather unique feature the much more expensive Espada doesn’t have.
Oh, so that’s what that is… thanks for the insight!
I had an 86 GTV6 as my first car in 97. It wasn’t too unreliable, considering it’s age and price, but it was… quirky. Paul mentioned the peripherals in the article, and while I never had a problem with the power windows, I do remember Alfa had included a manual crank in the glovebox for such eventualities. It also leaked oil unlike any other car I’ve experienced. Something like a quart every couple of days. Fortunately it had a huge crankcase capacity, something like 8 quarts. As far as driving went, it was a hoot. The engine sound was amazing, and it was fun to drift around corners. Rock hard TRXs made it possible to get it sideways at low speeds. All in all though, I can’t say I miss it. Fun experience, but there are too many other more reliable, better built cars that are just as much fun, even though they don’t sound nearly as cool.
I have lusted after Alfetta’s and GTV-6’s for as long as I can remember.
Beautiful cars!
I came close to buying a mid-70’s Alfetta sedan back in 1985.
I took it to the local Alfa dealer for a pre-purchase inspection.
Before the owner of the dealership even looked at the car, he asked me if I had enough of an income to devote to numerous, constant repairs for the car (no, not as a 16 year old kid), was I very mechanically inclined (nope and still not) or did I have a second car?
He said that unless I answered yes to all of these questions, Alfa ownership was probably not for me.
He then looked at the car and said 2 words: “Run Away!”.
Never got my Alfa.
Reverse CC effect, sort of. The other night some old game show was on as I was flipping channels, and one of these was the grand prize (1985). Charcoal gray, black leather, car phone, the works. Then they got to the price… $30,185! As desirable these cars are, I could not believe they were that kind of money at that point in time. Just think how much that would translate to today.
Anybody need a parts car or major project? I’ve been seeing this one advertised for months. Somebody make it stop:
https://monterey.craigslist.org/cto/6067648059.html
Surprised no one mentioned in 2012, or 2017, the strong design similarity of the 1982 VW Quantum/Passat coupe.