V8 M/T Underdogs: The Alfa Romeo Montreal

"Awedgar" (Awedgar)
09/13/2013 at 11:12 • Filed to: None

Using the universally awesome automotive formula, namely V8 RWD M/T, let’s look at a car from a brand which isn’t often bestowed with this configuration. The Alfa Romeo Montreal is an exceptionally rare and stylized machine, but also an example as to why a spec sheet doesn’t tell the whole story.

The concept for this car was presented at the 1967 Canadian World Expo in – wait for it – Montreal, also cementing 1967 as the best year for car design. The original car had an Alfa Giulia Spring Chassis, and a 1.6 liter four cylinder engine. By the time the car came out in 1970, the Italian engineers had realized the earth was round and that 1600cc weren’t enough for a 2800 pound sports car, so they developed a bespoke engine for this car using as inspiration Alfa’s 2.0 liter Formula 1 racing V8.

The result was a 2.6 liter quad cam, all aluminum dry-sump V8 with hemispherical combustion chambers. That’s right, as if a V8 RWD Alfa didn’t seem American enough for you, it’s got a HEMI! Oh, and it sounds like this:

The engine revved to 7000 rpm, producing about 200hp, was paired to a 5 speed ZF manual box and a limited slip differential. Acceleration to 60mph was dealt with in about 7 seconds, so quite excellent for the era.

Styling wise, this car is unmistakably Bertone, full of late 60s/early 70s avant-garde styling quirks. The headlamp grills/eyelids serve no function, the duct on the hood is sealed off, and those huge gills on the side do contain cabin vents, but are useless at swallowing plankton.

Finally, despite its name, this car was not officially sold in North America.

Of course, true to Alfa fashion, this car was built to be as good as possible…for a short period of time. Meaning that driving one today isn’t quite as good as the specsheet would make it out to be.

Some owners describe it like owning an intemperate ferret: namely aggressive, aggravating, high-strung and complicated. When it wasn’t running on 3 or 7 cylinders, the Engine rattled at high rpms. Real life performance was disappointing, and of course, ending up in a cloud of smoke on the side of the highway was predictably common. The fuel injection system was excessively complicated and would break down all the time. The steering was wooden and the instruments hard to read.

The car ended production in 1977 having sold 4000 units. So, with its engine requiring a live-in Alfa mechanic, but with its surprisingly contemporary yet aggressive looks, and superb engine note, this is perhaps a car best appreciated by driving it in your mind from the comfort of your own home, namely by looking at pictures of it and hearing sound bites on Youtube. Which is what I’m going to do now.

DISCUSSION (5)

ZeroOrDie - Powered By MZR > Awedgar
09/13/2013 at 11:29

Bless this post. This is awesome.

Bluecold > Awedgar
09/13/2013 at 11:37

"The fuel injection system was excessively complicated and would break down all the time."

No, the fuel injection system was brilliant and also key in getting the sexy Alfa GTV smogged in the US of A without ridiculous loss of power. Sadly, it was a mechanical computer. And ham-fisted mechanics only used to tuning carburettors did not know what to do with it and blamed it on the design. SPICA was good. Especially for the time.

Also, I've never driven one, but the Montreal sits on a 105 chassis, as do the GTV, Spider and Giulia. They are famed for having a great steering feel, if a bit heavy when you're driving slow since there is no power steering. The steering boxes apparently were a bit fragile though.

Milky > Awedgar
09/13/2013 at 12:18

So much pretty.

Bruno Martini > Awedgar
09/13/2013 at 12:34

you had me at alfa. The oddball engine and looks make it very sexy to me as well.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Bluecold
09/17/2013 at 05:15

Thanks. It's irritating when people unanimously bash Alfa for having crap quality. They did have some pretty shoddy build quality, but that started in the mid-to-late 70s. Italy had some pretty bad labour disputes. Not as bad as the ones in Britain, but still bad enough to drive down the quality of automotive workmanship.

Before then, Alfas had a reputation for being solidly built. Sadly, as any British car company has learnt, that reputation is easily lost.