Why the Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GT Is the Quintessential Italian Sports Car

The Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GT is a classic automobile that, pound for pound and dollar for dollar, delivers one of the very best driving experiences of any sports car ever made. Its classic Italian good looks, the sound of its feisty twin-cam, inline-four engine, and rewarding handling dynamics have made it a favorite since the first one came to market in 1963. Giorgetto Giugiaro, Bertone’s prolific designer, poured some of his best styling cues into the tidy GT, which expresses the verve of his earlier Alfa Romeo 2600 Sprint and Iso Rivolta models, but in a smaller car for the sporting masses.

Alfa Romeo’s 105/115 Series Coupés were successors to the aging Giulietta Sprint (introduced in 1954), and were based on the unibody floor pan of the Giulia four-door sedan. Altogether, close to 225,000 Coupés were built from 1963 to 1977, during which time the engine grew in displacement from 1.6 liters to 2.0 liters, though the model’s familiar shape remained mostly the same throughout production. Additionally, about 1,000 GTC convertibles were built from 1964 through 1966, and about 1,500 quirky Zagato-bodied examples, called the Junior Z, were made from 1969 through 1975.

It’s the Coupé, though, that attracts enthusiasts who want to savor Alfa’s quintessential GT in its purest form. A bewildering number of variants were made, with nearly half the production comprising the popular GT Junior, powered by a 1.3- or 1.6-liter engine, and designed for markets—such as Italy—where larger-capacity engines were punitively taxed. These cars weren’t brought to the United States when new, but can be imported today.

Style purists will gravitate to the Giulia Sprint GT from the first three years of production, known as the scalino (step) for the engine lid that sits about half-an-inch above the car’s nose. Under that nose is one of the sweetest engines ever made, an aluminum DOHC fed by twin Weber 40 DCOE carburetors. With its five-speed synchromesh gearbox and about 105 hp in normal tune, the 2,100-pound Alfa is a light and nimble little terror.

Next up was the Giulia Sprint GT Veloce (GTV), with more power and torque. Its successor, the 1750 GT Veloce (made from 1967 through 1972), was popular in America, as was the final variant, the 2000 GT Veloce, which bowed out in 1976 (1974 in the United States). To meet the draconian U.S. emissions standards, North American–market 1750 and 2000 models came with Spica fuel injection, which some owners subsequently jettisoned in favor of tried-and-true Weber setups. Alfa spotters will easily distinguish the 1750 and 2000 GTVs by their four headlamps and the interior’s larger twin tachometer and speedometer.

Today, even the most recent Alfa Romeo 105/115 Series example is 50 years old, so comparisons with a modern car’s performance and amenities provide stark contrast to how pampered and how many steps removed we have become in the ensuing years from the sounds, fancy footwork, and even smells of driving something like Alfa’s unadorned sports car. Regardless of specification or model year, a sweet Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GT will transport an enthusiast back to a time when just the basics—a flexible, high-revving engine, a five-speed gearbox, and a one-ton sports car—were all it took to put a mile-wide smile on a driver’s face.

Plan to spend between $60,000 and $100,000 for a well-kept 1750 GTV in good-to-excellent condition, with concours cars hitting $150,000 or so. Most examples will have seen “improvement” to varying degrees by a string of well-intentioned owners, but purists will decide how far from the stock original they want to go.

As always, spend more to buy an example in the best condition available and avoid rusted body panels, subframes, and poorly repaired bodywork at all costs. Next week, we’ll look at the Alfa Romeo GT’s attractive sibling, the Spider. One of each might be all the classic cars one ever needs.

Click here for more photos of an Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GT.