1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA

Alfa Romeo's competition models during the 1960s included names such as the SZ, TZ, and TZ2, along with the Tipo 33 sports racing prototypes which were very competitive on the world's circuits. Alfa Romeo's production racing classes included the 105-series Giulia Sprint GT and the racing version, the GTA.

The Giulia was an evolution of the post-war Giulietta. The Giulia Sprint GT Coupe wore styling by Giorgetto Giugiaro of Bertone and was equipped with a five-speed manual gearbox, a high-revving inline four-cylinder engine, and four-wheel disc brakes.

Most Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTAs were supplied in 'Stradale' form or upgraded to 'Corsa' specification, meaning they were destined for competition. The GTAs were prepared under Autodelta, Alfa Romeo's in-house competition department, run by engineer Carlo Chiti. The 'A' in GTA represented 'Alleggerita' or 'lightened.' Introduced in 1965, they had aluminum body panels and various other lightweight components. The engine was a twin spark plug head on the 1570cc twin-cam engine and Weber 45 DCOE carburetors. The exteriors were identical to the road-going Sprint GT, the GTA differed by virtue of its aluminum body panels. The interior was lightened, lightweight material was used for the suspension, and the side and rear windows were made from Plexiglas. The weight-saving measures reduced weight by around 200 kilograms over the steel-bodied cars. The twin-cam 1,570cc four received extensive modifications and the angle between the valves was reduced from 90 to 80 degrees and the valve sizes substantially increased. Since there was no longer room between the vales for a central spark plug, a change was made to twin-plug ignition. The revised engine increased horsepower from 115 bhp to 170 bhp. The engine was backed by a modified five-speed manual gearbox with a magnesium casing, which had closer ratios for track use and machined gears to reduce weight and provide for faster shifts.

The GTA made its racing debut on 20th March 1966 at Monza where Andrea de Adamich and Teodoro Zeccoli triumphed in the Jolly Club Four-Hour Race. The GTA won numerous championships including the Under 2-Liter Class in the inaugural season of the SCCA Trans-Am series in 1966. They won the European Touring Car Championship for three years running from 1966-68.

Alfa Romeo built approximately 500 road-going 'Stradle' and race-prepared 'Corsa' GTS between 1965 and 1969, satisfying homologation requirements.

by Daniel Vaughan | Aug 2019