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Fancy owning a motorsport legend for road and track use? Paul Davies looks at true classics that made their names on stages and circuits, and still provide fine drives today

The Italians, we know, all love their cars. The nation that has perfected the art of driving any car, however mundane, so that the door handles scrape on the Tarmac knows a thing or two about getting the most from anything on four wheels. And, to a man and woman, they’re passionate about Alfa Romeo. The big time for Alfa was immediately before and after WW2. Back to back racing success helped to create the legend, but the company turned its back on Grand Prix racing in 1951. Sports cars, the Targa Florio and Mini Miglia, became the life-blood of the marque, and then, in the Sixties and into the Seventies, it was touring car racing with the GT. Alfa Romeo’s 105 and 115 series coupes of 1963-77 were both beautiful and potent. Sculpted two-door, four-seat, bodywork by Bertone made them beautiful, and the combination of a brilliant all-alloy, twin-camshaft, engine coupled to a five speed gearbox – at a time when most car makers thought four speeds was adventurous – along with all-round disc brakes, made them potent.

Through this period nothing was bigger in European than the Touring Car Championship, the major manufacturers looking for the success that sold cars. Whilst the battle for the chequered flag was invariably between Ford and BMW, it was cheeky Alfa that often took the honours. For much of the life of the ETCC the class system ruled – it was points relative to engine capacity that decided the overall champion driver and manufacturer. In the 13 years life of the GT, Alfa took top slot no less than six times. F1 driver Andrea de Adamich was the top man. Look at the Alfa Romeo GT as a number of different cars in the same bodywork, with varying engine capacities and specifications, starting with the 1570cc Giulia Sprint GT 1600 of 1963-66. Whilst the engine capacity grew to 1779cc in the 1750 GTV and 1962cc in the 2000 GTV. Additionally the GT Junior series – produced in greater quantity – featured both 1300 (1296cc) and 1600 (1570cc) models. Production car power outputs varied from 90bhp to 132bhp depending upon engine size. Whilst Alfa Romeo produced the stradale (street) versions of the coupe, it was up to Carlo Chitti’s Autodelta concern to produce and race the corsa (track) models. GTA (A = allegeriti, or lightweight) cars were for motorsport, with aluminium body panels, twin plug per cylinder engines, and racing suspension. In race trim a 1300 GT was capable of 160bhp. The GTAm was the two-litre homologation special for the ETCC with revised cylinder head and 205bhp, whilst a never raced supercharged car gave 230bhp. Regulations and politics killed Alfas efforts in the ETCC, the 1972 victory by Dutchman Toine Hezemans being the end of the road for the Italian manufacturer. In it’s time the GT never rallied seriously, but come 1995 Paul Merryweather took one to victory in the British Historic Rally Championship, and nowadays it’s a regular in both the Masters and Classic Saloon racing series. Me, I reckon a late-model 1600 GT Junior would make a great fast road classic – with style!