The story really starts in 1954 with the introduction of the Giulietta or 750 series. This was the first "small" Alfa-Romeo. The pert and pretty Giulietta was technically excellent and for it's day was one of the nicest European cars around. It also spawned the beautiful Giulietta Sprint (by Bertone) and Spider (by Pininfarina) which are highly sought after today. When the time came to replace this gem of a car, the task was not going to be easy. By the time the car was winding down, it had become known internally the 101-series. Alfa-Romeo was left to design a replacement that bettered what was already arguably the best mass-market small car around at that time.

The car that replaced the Giulietta was the Giulia, or 105-series and it was launched in the summer of 1962 as an upright, boxy sedan. But the boxy lines hid the fact that it was actually a very aerodynamic car with a drag coefficient of just .33, at a time when most American and European cars weren't concerned at all with the benefits of aerodynamics. The car's new platform inherited the earlier Giulietta engines - ready to be expanded during the lifespan of the 105. The lovely Alfa Twin-cam four, in various guises, powered all but one of the Giulia models. More on that later. Underneath, much of the old Giulietta's mechanical componentry remained, it was advanced enough and worked so well that it didn't warrant replacing.

At first, the Giulia was powered only by an enlarged, 1570-cc version of the twin-cam. The old Giulietta, with it's 1290-cc engine, continued in production until the middle of 1964 and was regarded as a smaller, cheaper alternative to the new Giulia. But after the old car faded away, the 1290 (1300) was added to the Giulia line to create cheaper Giulia derivatives. Thus, the line became the 1300 and 1600's in several levels of performance and trim. The TI's usually got the most power, usually through carburetion options, the Supers were usually nicer inside, and the basic cars were just that. For 1968, a new body was given to the larger-engined cars and the engine size was taken up to 1779-cc for the creation of the 1750 Berlina. The Giulia then continued with the smaller 1300 and 1600 engines while the Berlina got the bigger units. The 1750 Berlina was essentially a cleaner-styled version of the Giulia with a more slab-sided pseudo-American look, new fascias, and fewer character lines on the body. It continued into 1972, until the engine was enlarged again to 1962-cc's and the car re-named the 2000 Berlina which lasted into 1977. The final iteration of the old Giulia was the first diesel Alfa-Romeo. For 1976 only, the Giulia's final year, buyers could order a 55-hp Perkins Diesel engine brought in from England. The Giulia had been replaced in 1975 by the Alfetta, so the remaining Giulias were bargain machines until production ended in 1976.

The Giulia platform, of course, also gave birth to several different models. Relating to the question at hand, the first such model was the Giulia Sprint - an elegant coupe version designed by Bertone which debuted not long after the Giulia sedans. The second was the Duetto Spider - designed by Pininfarina, which became the Alfa-Romeo Spider in the early seventies and lived into the 1990's. There were several other cars built on the Giulia platform. The TZ (Tubolare Zagato) a Tube-framed racer built around Giulia mechanicals which was quite succesful on the track. the Junior Zagato - a Bertone coupe platform rebodied by Zagato using only 1600 and 1300 engines, and the GS R4 Zagato - a replica of an earlier car built on new Giulia floorpans and mechanicals - as well as several one-off specials from various coachworks in Italy.

The Guilia Sprint GT was launched the in 1963 and styled by Bertone. Underneath, it remained basically a Guilia Ti - complete with a 1570-cc Guilia Ti motor (commonly known as the 1600) and 106 hp. For 1965 there was also a convertible GTC - basically the coupe with the top chopped off. This was before the Duetto/Spider had been unveiled - the debut of the Spider meant the end for the GTC. This is the basic situation - from here it starts to get a bit complicated because these cars were on the market in many different variations with differing engines, bodies, fuel systems, etc.

The Sprint 1600 GTA, new for '65, was basically a 1600 coupe with a twin-spark head, twin 45DCOE carbs, and a lighter body shell. Around 500 were made for competition - ten of which were supercharged. Basic cars had around 115 hp, supercharged racers (meant for Group 5 racing and called the GTA-SA) were well over 200. The car became the Giulia GTV (Gran Turismo Veloce) in 1966, with 109 hp. The same year saw the debut of the 1300-powered version, the 1300 GT Junior. Twin carbs and a five speed gearbox gave the smaller-engined Junior 89hp. Some might question the wisdom of making such a car but remember that tax laws in Europe at that time were all displacement-oriented. Smaller engined cars were cheaper to buy and cheaper to run, and the Junior was therefore very attractive to buyers who might not have been able to afford the 1600. But the Junior didn't sell too well outside of Europe. There was also a 1300 GTA which was for competition for 1968, with a similar twin-spark head. This 1300, however, had different internals despite identical displacement. Again - around 500 were made of the GTA Junior and it had a lightweight bodyshell. The smaller engine made it eligible for lower classes of cars, where it was very competitive.

When the 1750 Berlina debuted for 1968, changes were made to the Coupes as well. By now the Duetto Spider had appeared so there were to be no more open Bertones. The Duetto, like the 1750 Berlina and the Coupes, rode the 105-series platform. When this happened the styling of the Coupes was altered - just a freshening basically, and they lost the early "scalino" step-front front end, and gained quad headlights (at least the 1750 GTV did). The 1750 (really 1779-cc's) was probably the sweetest of the Alfa Twin-cams out of the box, 118 hp and massive flexibility. This engine, combined with the revised bodyshell, would become the definitive 70's Bertone GTV - almost certainly the car that inspired the question.

There were also some special competition cars called the GTAm - m for maggiorata (which means "made larger") because they were bored out to 1985-cc's and put into lightweight competition bodies. About 40 were made and they were very successful on the track, winning (among other things) the European Touring Car Championship in 1970.

1971 brought the 2000 GTV - which coincided with the coming upgrading of the 1750 Berlina into the 2000 Berlina. The newly-enlarged twin-cam became the top engine in the GTV while the 1750 and 1300 Junior variants continued. In the USA, the 2000 was the only engine after 1972. US cars also used the SPICA mechanical fuel injection system after 1971, shared with the other Alfas that were destined for the US and some European models. Many 2000 GTV's also came with a limited slip differential - a welcome addition that you might now see retrofitted to earlier cars. During the 2000 GTV's tenure, the GTAm's continued but were now called 2000 GTAm.

The "special" models were of limited production, usually aimed at racing or at premium customers. The first Giulia special model was the TZ1. Work on this car had started when the Giulietta was still current, but the mechanical bits for the production cars were taken from the new Giulia. Zagato and Alfa-Romeo collaborated on making the chassis and the body - which had a tubular frame - hence the name Tubolare Zagato. It was not, however, very closely tied to the Giulia. It's chassis and body, for one, were completely unique - and for another, it used a whole new fully-independent rear suspension and disc brakes all around. The Super-fast TZ1 and later TZ2 were primarily race cars - and they took class victories at Sebring, Monza, Lemans, the Targa Florio, and the Nurburgring 1000km in the early sixties. TZ1's used a long, narrow body with a smooth front end and a long fastback tail, TZ2's had a more sculptured appearance similar to the early Ferrari 250 GTO. The engines were developed far beyond the production specification including the use of dry-sump lubrication and twin-spark heads (which would find their way into the production Bertone coupes). These cars are super-rare today and valuable exotics and competition cars. The TZ's racing career spanned from 1961 to 1965, at which point it was phased out in favor of the more production-based GTA's.

The other prominent special model associated with the 105-series is the Junior Zagato (sometimes referred to as the Junior Z). This model was basically a show car that customers could order - it's wedge-like profile, smooth body, and flush glass were ultra-futuristic in 1969 when the car debuted. For it's first three years (in which 1108 cars were made), the Junior Z offered only the small 1290-cc engine and five-speed gearbox from the 1300 GT Junior Bertone coupe. But in it's second three years - 1972 to 1975, it offered the larger 1600 engine. About 400 later 1600 cars were made. It also offered disc brakes all around (which later appeared on the Bertone GTV's) and a fully independent rear suspension. Styling was revised slightly for the later cars but the Junior Z was always a stylish and futuristic car - in many ways it looked forward to the 1980's despite being, essentially, a 1960's design. Junior Z's are obviously not common with just 1500 made. They were never officially offered in the US, but handful trickled in via independent owners. They're very rare, and consequently very expensive. Body panels are completely unavailable, but mechanicals are mostly shared with the later Bertone Coupes.

You're probably asking"so what are they like to drive and own?" Well - they're pretty special for what they are. These were almost competition cars when new and they feel it even today - for a sixties car they have a relatively taut feel, and they're good handling cars out of the box. The engine and transmission are a delight and the cars are fairly comfortable in the front (as with most coupes, rear seats are a bit tight). Compared to most modern cars they're hardly rockets - but they feel fast and they make delightful noise.

The main enemy of this car, like many sixties and seventies cars, is rust. They don't rot quite everywhere - but they rot just about everywhere that's important. The floors, the sills (which contain three panels on each side), the quarter panels, the front fenders, the doors, the trunk, the scuttle, the rear deck, the gas tank, the spare wheel well - you name it. It's important to check the body thoroughly and carefully when buying, and you'll read more about that in a couple of paragraphs. The engines are all strong - but some normal service processes are difficult - like adjusting the valve clearances - which can take hours as the entire cam assembly has to be removed and refitted every time you change a shim. The fuel systems can also be a problem. Carburetors are standard on early cars but there's no consistency as to what you'll find - Weber, Solex, Dell'orto - they're all potentials. American GTV's from 1969 started arriving with the SPICA mechanical fuel injection system, which later spread to the rest of the American line. SPICA is not a very well liked system and requires either a very good lateral thinker or somebody who's trained on it. Carburetors work just as well so many owners have ditched the SPICA system. Transmissions are long-lived but second gear synchros tend to wear out and the gear selector forks can get damaged through aggressive shifting. Differentials last to 100,000 miles or more without trouble. The best part is, most of this stuff is shared with the Spider so it's all available. The brakes do a good job and should have very good feel - but master cylinders can go and they're expensive. Electrical systems on Italian cars are usually pretty bad but the GTV and Sprint are actually not terrible in this capacity. Most faults are easily fixed through tracing down the proper ground, and few recurring faults exist other than malfunctioning fuel guages and signal/headlight stalks which go bad.