The Alfa Romeo Montreal is a 2+2 coupé

sports car A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...

produced by the Italian manufacturer

Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis. The company was founded on 24 June 1910, in Milan, Italy. "Alfa" is an acronym of its founding name, "Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili." ...

from 1970 to 1977.

Concept car

The Alfa Romeo Montreal was introduced as a

concept car A concept car (also known as a concept vehicle, show vehicle or prototype) is a car made to showcase new styling and/or new technology. They are often exhibited at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or ...

in 1967 at

Expo 67 The 1967 International and Universal Exposition, commonly known as Expo 67, was a general exhibition from April 27 to October 29, 1967. It was a category One World's Fair held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is considered to be one of the most su ...

, held in

Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pea ...

, Canada. Originally, the concept cars were displayed without any model name, but the public took to calling it ''The Montreal''. It was a 2+2 coupe using the 1.6-litre engine of the Alfa Romeo Giulia TI and the short wheelbase chassis of the Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GT, with a body designed by

Marcello Gandini Marcello Gandini (born 26 August 1938) is an Italian car designer, known for his work with the automotive design house Gruppo Bertone, including his designs of the Lamborghini Miura, Countach, and the Lamborghini Diablo. In a 2009 interview wit ...

Bertone Bertone is an Italian surname meaning "descendant of Roberto". Notable people with the surname include: * Alicia Bertone, American academic, researcher, and veterinary surgeon * Catherine Bertone (born 1972), Turkish-born female Italian marathon r ...

. One of the two concept cars built for

is displayed in the Alfa Romeo Historical Museum in

Arese Arese ( lmo, Ares ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, about northwest of Milan. Arese borders the following municipalities: Lainate, Garbagnate Milanese, Bollate, Rho, Milan. Arese ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, while the other is in museum storage.

Production version

The first production car, Tipo 105.64, was shown at the 1970 Geneva Motor Show and was quite different from the original, using a 2593 cc 90° dry-sump lubricated, cross-plane

V8 engine A V8 engine is an eight-cylinder piston engine in which two banks of four cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration. The first V8 engine was produced by the French Antoinette company in 1904, developed and us ...

with a bore of 80.0 mm and a stroke of only 64.5 mm and using

SPICA Spica is the brightest object in the constellation of Virgo and one of the 20 brightest stars in the night sky. It has the Bayer designation α Virginis, which is Latinised to Alpha Virginis and abbreviated Alpha Vir or α Vir. Analys ...

(Società Pompe Iniezione Cassani & Affini)

fuel injection Fuel injection is the introduction of fuel in an internal combustion engine, most commonly automotive engines, by the means of an injector. This article focuses on fuel injection in reciprocating piston and Wankel rotary engines. All comp ...

that produced around , coupled to a five-speed ZF

manual gearbox A manual transmission (MT), also known as manual gearbox, standard transmission (in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States), or stick shift (in the United States), is a multi-speed motor vehicle transmission system, where gear changes ...

and a

limited-slip differential A limited-slip differential (LSD) is a type of differential that allows its two output shafts to rotate at different speeds but limits the maximum difference between the two shafts. Limited-slip differentials are often known by the generic tr ...

. This engine was derived from the 2-litre V8 used in the 33 Stradale and in the Tipo 33 sports prototype racer. The chassis and running gear of the production Montreal were taken from the Giulia GTV coupé and comprised

double wishbone suspension A double wishbone suspension is an independent suspension design for automobiles using two (occasionally parallel) wishbone-shaped arms to locate the wheel. Each wishbone or arm has two mounting points to the chassis and one joint at the knuckle ...

with coil springs and dampers at the front and a

live axle A beam axle, rigid axle or solid axle is a dependent suspension design in which a set of wheels is connected laterally by a single beam or shaft. Beam axles were once commonly used at the rear wheels of a vehicle, but historically they have als ...

with

limited slip differential A limited-slip differential (LSD) is a type of differential that allows its two output shafts to rotate at different speeds but limits the maximum difference between the two shafts. Limited-slip differentials are often known by the generic tr ...

at the rear. Since the concept car was already unofficially known as ''The Montreal'', Alfa Romeo kept the model name in production. Alfa Romeo Montreal White

Stylistically, the most eye catching feature is the car's front end with four headlamps partly covered by unusual "grilles", that retract when the lights are switched on (a compromise Gandini had to make to meet regulations for the height of headlamps in certain markets). Another stylistic element is the

NACA duct A NACA duct, also sometimes called a NACA scoop or NACA inlet, is a common form of low- drag air inlet design, originally developed by the U.S. National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), the precursor to NASA, in 1945. Design Prior su ...

on the

bonnet A Bonnet is a variety of headgear, hat or cap Specific types of headgear referred to as "bonnets" may include Scottish * Blue bonnet, a distinctive woollen cap worn by men in Scotland from the 15th-18th centuries And its derivations: ** Fea ...

. The duct is actually blocked off since its purpose is not to draw air into the engine, but to optically hide the

power bulge The hood (American English) or bonnet (Commonwealth English) is the hinged cover over the engine of motor vehicles. Hoods can open to allow access to the engine compartment, or trunk (boot in Commonwealth English) on rear-engine and some mid ...

. The slats behind the doors contain the cabin vents, but apart from that only serve cosmetic purposes. Paolo Martin is credited for the prototype instrument cluster. The Montreal was more expensive to buy than the

Jaguar E-Type The Jaguar E-Type, or the Jaguar XK-E for the North American market, is a British sports car that was manufactured by Jaguar Cars Ltd between 1961 and 1974. Its combination of beauty, high performance, and competitive pricing established the m ...

or the

Porsche 911 The Porsche 911 (pronounced ''Nine Eleven'' or in german: Neunelfer) is a two-door 2+2 high performance rear-engined sports car introduced in September 1964 by Porsche AG of Stuttgart, Germany. It has a rear-mounted flat-six engine and origin ...

. When launched in the UK it was priced at , rising to in August 1972 and to by mid-1976.

Production

Production was split between the Alfa Romeo plant in

and Carrozzeria Bertone's plants in Caselle and

Grugliasco Grugliasco (; pms, Grujasch ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region of Piedmont, located about west of Turin. Grugliasco borders the municipalities of Turin, Collegno, and Rivoli. In 1945 here a ...

outside

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

. Alfa Romeo produced the chassis and engine and mechanicals and sent the chassis to Caselle where Bertone fitted the body. After body fitment, the car was sent to Grugliasco to be degreased, partly zinc coated, manually spray painted and have the interior fitted. Finally, the car was returned to Arese to have the engine and mechanicals installed. It is worth noting that because of this production method, there is not necessarily any correspondence between chassis number, engine number and production date. The Montreal remained generally unchanged until it was finally removed from pricelists in 1977. By then, production had long ceased as Alfa struggled to sell their remaining stock. Total production was around 3,900. None of them were sold in

Montréal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-p ...

since Alfa did not develop a North American version to meet the emission control requirements which applied in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Autodelta Montreal Group 4 '72

Autodelta Autodelta SpA was the name of Alfa Romeo's competition department. Established in 1961 as Auto-Delta, the company was started by Carlo Chiti and Lodovico Chizzola, former Alfa Romeo and Ferrari engineers. The team was officially made a departm ...

completed late in 1972 a Group 4 Montreal. It was launched at the London Racing Car Show in January 1973. It was sold to Alfa Romeo Germany to be used in the DRM series for GT cars.Racing Sports Cars
www.racingsportscars.com/type/results/Alfa Romeo/Montreal.html
accessdate: 12. January 2017 Ready to race in May 1973, the car was entrusted to specialist racing team of Dieter Gleich, who was also the principle driver. The Autodelta version had 2997 cc engine with maximum power of at 9000 rpm. Without any further development the car was outdated very soon. A Montreal was also campaigned in the United States but also without success.GTPlanet
A Montreal was also campaigned in the United States but also with little success.
accessdate: 12. January 2017

Performance and specifications

References

External links

The Alfa Romeo Montreal Website

Classic Motorsports magazine Alfa Romeo Montreal buyer's guide
{{Alfa Romeo Post War

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Bertone concept vehicles Bertone vehicles Rear-wheel-drive vehicles Coupés 2+2 coupés Group 4 (racing) cars Cars introduced in 1967 Cars introduced in 1970 Expo 67 Grand tourers