This is a 1977 Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV, it’s one of Giorgetto Giugiaro’s classic 1970s designs created at his own company, Italdesign Giugiaro S.p.A., or simply “Italdesign” as it’s commonly known.
The Alfetta GTV was celebrated at the time of its release for its cutting edge design both outside and in. The car featured a transaxle rear end that gave it almost perfect 50/50 weight distribution, four wheel disc brakes, and independent front suspension with a De Dion rear end.
Fast Facts – The Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV
- The Alfetta GTV was introduced as a replacement for the previous Alfa Romeo 105/115 series coupes. It was based on the Alfetta sedan platform, which featured a transaxle layout with the gearbox located at the rear for better weight distribution.
- The Alfetta GTV was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro at Italdesign. It featured a distinctive wedge-shaped profile, a long hood, and a short rear deck, which became an iconic design for Alfa Romeo coupes of that era.
- The Alfetta GTV was initially available with a 1.8 liter inline-four engine producing approximately 122 bhp. Later versions included a 2.0 liter engine with up to 130 bhp. The car was praised for its handling, largely thanks to its balanced weight distribution.
- The GTV had a successful racing career, particularly in the European Touring Car Championship (ETCC). The GTV6 variant won the ETCC title four years in a row from 1982 to 1985, the British Touring Car Championship in 1983, and the French Supertouring Championship from 1983 to 1984.
- The vehicle you see in this article is a US-delivered Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV with the 2.0 liter inline-four cylinder engine and 5-speed manual transmission. It now benefits from a slew of major upgrades and it’s being offered for sale out of Santa Ana, California.
The Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV
The responsibility for the design of the Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV was likely to only ever have been offered to one of two people – Marcello Gandini or Giorgetto Giugiaro. Both had undertaken key designs for Alfa in the past, but it would be Giugiaro who would get the project. He possibly got the nod because the project was to design the car to replace the Alfa Romeo 105/115 that he himself had designed a little over a decade earlier.
The Alfa Romeo 105/115 series that preceded the Alfetta GTV was also designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, back in the early 1960s when he was working for Bertone. Image courtesy of Alfa Romeo.
Designing the replacement for the Alfa Romeo 105/115 Series was to be no mean feat. These were among the most beloved affordable Italian sports cars of their day that offered the practicality of sedan styling, four seats, and a decent trunk in the rear.
Rather than designing a car that resembled a modern version of its popular forebear, Giugiaro went the other way. He developed a completely modern, cutting edge design with exceptional aerodynamics, a fastback rear, and a wedge profile that was very much in vogue in the 1970s.
The engineers at Alfa developed the unibody shell and gave it near perfect 50/50 weight distribution thanks to a rear-mounted 5-speed transaxle that shifted the weight of the transmission, flywheel, and clutch back to the rear axle line.
The name “Alfetta” was chosen as an homage to the 158/159 Alfa Romeo Alfetta Grand Prix cars that raced from before WWII to well into the early 1950s. These were among the most successful racing cars of their time, and they also had rear-mounted transaxles.
Independent front suspension was fitted to the Alfetta GTV, paired with a de Dion rear axle which offered a significant improvement over the live axle used on the earlier 105/115 Alfas. Front and rear disc brakes were used, with inboard discs at the rear to reduce unsprung weight, and the car would have a front torsion bar and rear coils.
The development of the car was slowed somewhat by the decision to fit the clutch to the transaxle end rather than the engine end. This would of course mean that the driveshaft would be turning at engine speed, and this resulted in noticeable vibration at higher RPMs.
There can be no argument that the Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV was a good-looking car, and the example shown here is the nicest one we’ve seen come up for sale in years.
This issue would persist to some degree right through the lifespan of the vehicle, and coupled with the rust issues suffered by many Alfas of this vintage it’s resulted in the Alfetta GTV not always being as desirable as it really deserves to be.
At the time of its release the Alfetta GTV would be offered with a 1.8 liter Alfa four-cylinder engine, with double overhead cams, two valves per cylinder, and a cross-flow cylinder head design. The model would stay in production, with many technical updates, until 1987.
The name Alfetta would be dropped in 1980, and a variety of engines would find their way into the engine bay, from the 1.6, 1.8, and 2.0 liter Alfa fours up to the 2.5 and 3.0 liter V6s, and the Autodelta 2.6 liter V8.
The 1977 Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV Shown Here
The car you see here is an Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV from 1977 that’s been rebuilt the right way – with a focus on the details without overdoing it or ruining those original Giugiaro lines.
It was bought by the current owner back in 2014, the front and rear bumpers were removed and a front valance and hood vents were both added. The car was given a full repaint in green, this was a critical step as it requires the removal of the original paint applied by Alfa back in the 1970s which was known to eventually lead to rust in areas around the glass and in the wheel arches.
The interior has been redone in black and tan vinyl, with Recaro replacement front bucket seats sourced from a BMW E24. The rear bench seat has been upholstered to match, and the car has replacement black carpeting, woodgrain dashboard trim, and air conditioning.
The interior has been tastefully redone, with tan and black front Recaro bucket seats sourced from a BMW E24, the rear seat now matches, and the car has black carpeting to match.
Underneath the car has been given larger sway bars and front torsion bars, adjustable front stabilizer bar links, rear lowering springs, and Koni adjustable shock absorbers at all four wheels. It now has 15″ TRMotorsports wheels, a modified exhaust system, and a Nardi steering wheel.
The car is now being offered for sale out of Santa Ana, California. It’s been registered in California since new, and it comes with a clean California title, if you’d like to read more or register to bid you can visit the listing here on Bring a Trailer.
Images courtesy of Bring a Trailer
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