by Mike –
Produced from 1970 to 1977 the beautiful Alfa Romeo Montreal was not imported to North America even though the model is named after a city in Canada.
The design was introduced in Montreal as a concept car and the name, Montreal, stuck as the model name. There were 3,917 made and they are now being sought after as collector cars.
The styling is by Marcello Gandini of Bertone and resembles other Gandini designs such as the Iso Lele, the Lamborghini Jarama and the front end of the restyled Series 2 Iso Grifo. All of these designs use the partially covered headlights which make the car look like it is almost asleep.
The Montreal also has a few design features that are similar to the Lamborghini Espapa, also styled by Gandini. The Montreal has a glass trunk lid that is a miniature version of the trunk lid found on the Espada and the Montreal has an a NACA air inlet in the center of the hood that is a larger version of two air intakes on each side of the Espada hood.
The Montreal technical summary:
2,593cc DOHC V8 Engine
SPICA Mechanical Fuel Injection
200bhp at 6,500rpm
5-Speed Manual Transmission
Independent Front Suspension – Live Rear Axle
4-Wheel Disc Brakes
The beautiful green metallic example is owned by my friends Bud and Jan Millard and was on display at the recent Hillsborough Concours d’Elegance.
Some of the photos are by Michael Menetto and some are by Mike Gulett.
Let us know what you think in the Comments.
There are two Alfa Romeo Montreals coming up for auction at the Bonhams auctions in Carmel on August 18 – an orange one and a black one.
the air vents on the rear fenders were originally placed there to supply fresh air to a rear mounted engine that never happened. I was lucky enough to test drive a couple of them at the Alfa Romeo factory and the biggest disappointment was the live rear suspension that was borrowed from the Giulia range
I love the design…..have always admired these cars. I remember when you could pick one up for cheap! Not so any more…..
So, What Year is this particular car ?
1972
I always enjoyed my car it was fast comfortable and very predictable in the handling department making it an all around joy to own. Not easy to work on but not all that bad either… we used to call them the poor mans Ferrari, and for good reason. Make great noises and over all quite reliable.