The Alfa Romeo GTAm was the racing version of the extraordinarily successful 1750 GT Veloce, the A signifying “Allegerita” or lightened and the small m indication “maggiorata” or enlarged. The Chizzola brothers had set up Autodelta to build the famous TZ Alfas and they were responsible for building just 40 of the GTAm cars during 1970-71. The fuel-injected engines developed some 220 bhp at 7,200 rpm in 1970 giving the 1,800-pound cars outstanding performance. Antoine Hezemans was to win the 1970 European Touring Car Championship in such a car and GTAms featured in the top three positions that year at Salzburg, […]
The Alfa Romeo GTAm was the racing version of the extraordinarily successful 1750 GT Veloce, the A signifying “Allegerita” or lightened and the small m indication “maggiorata” or enlarged. The Chizzola brothers had set up Autodelta to build the famous TZ Alfas and they were responsible for building just 40 of the GTAm cars during 1970-71.
The fuel-injected engines developed some 220 bhp at 7,200 rpm in 1970 giving the 1,800-pound cars outstanding performance.
Antoine Hezemans was to win the 1970 European Touring Car Championship in such a car and GTAms featured in the top three positions that year at Salzburg, Budapest, Brno, Silverstone, Nurburginr, Francorchamps, Zandvoort, and Jarama. It was an outstandingly successful season with consistent victories.
This as a works car sold from Autodelta and is offered with a comprehensive history, recording races at Hockenheim, Dijon and Casale.
The car pictured here is finished in racing red livery with red upholstery and gold painted 13-inch racing wheels. It has been the subject of a major restoration to both coachwork and mechanical components and is presented with FIA papers and in race-ready order.
{analysis} Although scheduled to be sold at auction in Monaco in 1991, this car was withdrawn before the sale. Sotheby’s sale estimate was between $100,000 and $140,000.
This figure is high compared to current values, since it would be difficult today to achieve more than $50,000 for a perfect GTAm in the U.S. Those looking for vintage racers tend to seek out Alfa GTA 1600s, which sell for $35,000-50,000, are easier to maintain and are allowed into a much wider variety of vintage events.
The basic chassis of the common Alfa GRV and of the 1750 GTAm are nearly identical, as are the engine block and transmission case. After that the differences mount rapidly.
The “m” in the model name signifies that the engine has been bored out from a stock 1,750 cc to 1,985 cc. The GTAm is also equipped with a twin-spark head, larger valves, and compression ratio of 11:1. The GTAm cars used Spica indirect fuel injection. Forty of these cars were supposed to have been built in 1970 and ’71, according to Peter Hull and Roy Slater in their book, “Alfa Romeo” (Transport Bookman, 1982).
Unfortunately, the GTAm is often stuck in racing limbo, far too outdated to be competitive in current classes and too new for many vintage racing classes, which are often limited to cars built in 1967 and earlier.
More vintage racing opportunities are available in Europe, and prospective GTAm vendors would be wise to explore a German or English venue to achieve top dollar for their Alfas.
Comments in italics by Bill Neill.
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