Lot 412: Alfa Romeo Guilia 1750 GTV

In 1963, Bertone's young designer Giorgetto Giugiaro designed the Giulia Sprint GT coupe from a shortened chassis of the Giulia saloon. The car ran a 1570 cc twin-cam engine, good for 106 horsepower and 112 mph. A couple of years later the engine was tuned to 109 hp and the car was called Sprint GT Veloce or simply Sprint GTV. The GTV employed independent front suspension like many contemporary coupes. Nevertheless, the front suspension mountings were easily adjustable while the live axle was extremely light. Disc brakes were employed all round to provide excellent stopping power, which was very high-spec equipment by contemporary standards. Moreover, Alfa's lightweight all-alloy engine was always a benefit to chassis balance, no wonder the Giulia GTV handled brilliantly on the road as well as on the track. Highlight of the GTV was the sweet revving twin-cam engine and the quick shifting 5-speed synchromesh gearbox. Their quality was yet to be matched by contemporary British sports cars. However, the competitors were developing larger and more powerful engines and in 1967 Alfa Romeo upgraded the 1.6 engine to 1779 cc and 118 hp which then became known as the 1750 GTV. First registered on the 3rd June 1970, this 1750 GTV has been with the current owner for the last 10 years and is described as being in good condition. In 1998 the car was refurbished with attention on body panels including doors, boot lid, arches, new fuel tank and a bottom engine re-build, all under taken by specialist Alfa Romeo specialist Gran Turismo. The Alfa has been regularly maintained by Andrew Thorogood and is supplied with a history file containing bills and receipts from the last 11 years, a V5 document, and an MoT certificate valid until February 2010. Finished in white with a black interior and fitted with a restored Webasto folding sun roof, this model is considered by knowledgeable Alfisti to be the ultimate 105 Bertone coupe.