In the mid 60s, Alfa Romeo developed the first GTA, the 1.6 liter Giulia Sprint GTA, and it ended up being hugely successful on track.
They quickly recognized the need for another smaller displacement car to compete in the 1.3 liter class, naturally they chose the GT Junior platform for what was to be a more attainable racing car. Today these aluminum bodied cars are anything but attainable, but they are certainly beautiful and every ounce a true GTA with a stripped out interior, Plexiglas windows and that glorious little 1.3 liter twin-cam engine.
Gran Turismo Alleggerita
For the GT Junior it was all about the Alleggerita (lightened), the race spec cars were an incredible 440 pounds lighter than the original car.
Alfa were ruthless about this, nothing escaped their attention, with the rear and side glass windows switched out for lighter Plexiglas inserts and the entire body made from aluminum. Even the window winder assembly was switched out for a lighter version, but that didn’t mean they forgot about performance. This was no ordinary 1.3 liter OHV econobox from the 70s, this wasn’t even the original twin-cam engine. They took the same engine from the highly tuned 1.6 liter GTA and shortened the stroke, decreasing the displacement but not the power (by much).
Road going cars were good for up to 150 horsepower with the double-barrel carburetors fitted, race spec cars were on another level.
Racing Success
Unsurprisingly, this potent little car did incredibly well on track with a taut chassis and that ultra lightweight body.
Weighing in at a scarcely believable 1675 pounds, it would put several composite bodied cars to shame. With the mechanical fuel injection added to the racing spec cars power went up to around 165 horsepower, later on they added a 16 valve head and those light little cars were making as much as 180 horsepower at a dizzy 9,300 rpm in the mid 70s. To put that in perspective, malaise era Corvettes were making 180 horsepower from large displacement V8s at a lazy 5,000 rpm.
Road cars topped out at just over 100 mph, but the extra power and “added lightness” of the race spec cars meant they were good for 130 mph.
Coveted Classics
When they were developed they were intended to attract more people to racing, they were an affordable option in the early 70s compared to other sports cars that could keep up on track.
Unfortunately today they are anything but affordable, with only a mere 447 of them made between 1968 and 1975 they are now exceedingly rare. These cars were literally built to go racing, so many of them were crashed, rebuilt and crashed again until they were basically only good for parts. Any cars even in running condition are worth well over $200,000, good thing they can’t rust…