Alfa Romeo was a thorough-bred racecar maker up until 1951. But it was after this, that Alfa struggled to balance their enthusiasm for fast cars and reliable road-going options. It was a battle between the mind and heart. This Italian automaker has showered us with a lot of iconic cars since its foray into the road car business.

It continues to do so to this day as well, with glorious machines like the Giulia Quadrifoglio GTA and the highly anticipated Alfa Romeo GTV. But during the late 1960s, when Alfa Romeo was really struggling to stay in the picture against the likes of Ferraris and Fiats, they managed to make a messy masterpiece that is getting its due recognition now.

It was one of those cooler-looking wedge-shaped cars of the time, that was a design cousin to the iconic Lamborghini Miura. The beautiful mess that it created was overpriced at the time, didn't go as fast as it looked or sounded, and faked being a mid-engined sports car.

The Alfa Romeo Montreal was a front-engined GT car that badly wanted to be a mid-engined sports car.

Ironically, The Alfa Romeo Montreal Was Never Sold In Montreal

Alfa Romeo Montreal concept car front third quarter view
Via: Petrolicious.com

The only reason why Alfa Romeo named this car Montreal was because it was showcased at the Auto Expo in 1967 that was held in Montreal. This luxury GT started its life as two unnamed prototypes based on the Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GT's chassis and packed a 4-Cylinder engine from the Ti versions.

Legend has it that, the crowd was so marveled by the futuristic design language of the concept cars, that Alfa Romeo decided to make it a series production model. 3 years later, the Alfa Romeo Montreal sure did materialize into a cool-looking GT car, but ironically, wasn't sold in North America at all.

Alfa Romeo Montreal Packed A 200 HP V8 Derived From The Tipo 33 Racecar

Alfa Romeo Montreal 2.6L V8 engine bay view
Via: Petrolicious.com

One of the major reasons for this car's undivided fame is the engine that it came with. Alfa Romeo had plans to have a mid-engined layout for Montreal, but stringent budget and last-minute decisions made it a front-engined car. This let-down was forgiven for with the race-derived V8 motor it came with. Its 2.6-liter Naturally Aspirated V8 engine was derived from the iconic Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 racecar.

It pumped out 200 HP and 173 lb-ft of torque to the rear wheels via a famed 5-Speed ZF Manual gearbox. While the engine was heavily modified, the gearbox was a direct fit from the racecar. It also came with a limited-slip differential and the engine screamed gloriously to 7,000 RPM.

Related: Ranking The Best Alfa Romeo Sports Cars Ever Made

Montreal Was A Clumsy Grand Tourer That Tricked You With Its Looks

Alfa Romeo Montreal side view
Via: Petrolicious.com

The dramatic exhaust note and its wedge-inspired design language were the main reasons to fool you of it being a racecar. It sure did have an engine from one, but the chassis layout was taken off the contemporary GTV coupe which was quite heavy for the appeal that Montreal wanted to pitch. It weighed in at 2,800 pounds which was fairly acceptable for a sports car of the time.

But it was a GT car, and the engine was tuned to provide the power and torque in a rather linear manner. It did 0-60 MPH in about 7.6 seconds and had a top speed of over 135 MPH. It had rather an unpredictable steering with a lot of understeer and the fact that it looked like a Lamborghini killer, confused people about its GT identity.

Alfa Romeo Montreal And Lamborghini Miura Were Sketch-Cousins Penned By The Mighty Gandini

Alfa Romeo Montreal rear third quarter ariel view
Via: Classic-trader.com

You might fight a lot of similarities in the design language of the Alfa Romeo Montreal and the Lamborghini Miura. It is not by chance, as both these exotic Italians were designed by the mighty Marcello Gandini under Bertone. The Alfa was designed in just 6 months and was a show-stopper. It also had a few bits from the Lamborghini Espada as well.

Alfa Romeo Montreal came with a cool headlamp cover
Via: Petrolicious.com

The sleek low slung design language was complimented by a sharp, long, and angular hood and the short coupe's rear with the huge rear windshield, initially designed to show the V8 in all its glory. The mid-engined dream might have not worked out but you get to see unfinished or covered-up design elements on the car including the gills on the Montreal's flank. Another distinguished design cue is of its famous light covers that looked like cool eyelids. It also held in adjusting the headlamp height as well.

Related: The 1967 Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale's Design Is Better Than Most Modern Supercars

Montreal's Interior Was Unmistakably Italian But Lacked A GT's Practicality

Alfa Romeo Montreal interior view
Via: Classic-trader.com

The people at Alfa Romeo were so invested and carried away by the design language, that they forgot about the interior! It packed a distinctive Alfa Romeo finesse but the GT car had an interior that was more inclined towards a racecar! The dashboard was classic Alfa with the wooden steering wheel adding to its drama. But the rear seats were name-sake and it came with a minuscule 3.2 cu-ft of cargo space. The seats were fairly comfortable for long journeys, but all of this quite didn't hit its 'GT' mark well.

Identity Crisis Robbed The Montreal Of A Glorious Run, But Its A Scarred Gem Now

Alfa Romeo Montreal front angular hd wallpaper view
Via: Petrolicious.com

The Alfa Romeo Montreal was launched in 1970 in Geneva. But it wrapped the run in 1977 with a total of 3,900 units sold. Alfa sold more than 80% in the first 2 years and then struggled to sell the rest till '77. The 'fast' looked and 'sedate' dynamics confused people on what the Montreal was, and its 14-gallon fuel tank didn't quite make up to GT credentials. Ironically, Montreal makes much more sense today than it did in the 70s. This makes the scarred Montreal a gem of a car, and the cheapest Alfa now, with a race-car-derived engine.

Sources: Zf.com, Hagerty.com, Motorbiscuit.com, Classicandsportscar.com, Autoweek.com