Alfa Romeo’s famous Giulia Sprint GTA racer is seeing its prices at auction relentlessly climbing and next month a well preserved 1965 example with a long competition history is set to cross the block at Scottsdale with auctioneers Gooding & Co estimating the sale price as up to US$400,000.
This particular Guilia Sprint GTA was restored in the 1980s by well-known marque restorer Roman Tucker and has been excellently maintained ever since according to the auctioneers. The car has seen a lot of race action too, from new it competed for a decade in Italian circuit races and hillclimbs while following its restoration it’s been racing in North American classic events for almost three decades.
The 1960s represented a second golden age for Alfa Romeo racing. Models such as the SZ, TZ, and TZ2, along with the tipo 33 prototypes, made Alfa Romeo a potent force on the world’s circuits. The exciting production racing classes were not ignored either, with the 105-series Giulia Sprint GT providing the base for a highly tuned racing version – the GTA. The “A” stood for alleggerita or “lightened.”
The GTA was successful in Europe and the US, winning numerous championships and class victories. Developed over nearly a decade, a variety of GTA variants were produced, though today, it is the original GTA 1600 that is most sought after by collectors, a credit to the model’s aesthetic purity and dual-purpose character.
According to factory records, this particular GTA, chassis 613274, was completed in June 1965, finished in ‘Hawthorne White’ with black vinyl upholstery. Equipped with a 1,551cc DOHC 4-cylinder engine and twin Weber 45 DCOE carburettors the GTA offers up around 170 bhp at 7,500 rpm. The Giulia Sprint GTA is fitted with a 5-speed manual transmission.
It was sold as a new car on December 31, 1965, to Società per la Distribuzione di Carburanti in Rome. As documented in Tony Adriaensens’ Alleggerita, this GTA was actively raced for a decade in numerous Italian circuit races and hill climbs.
Between 1966 and 1969, 613274 was campaigned with great success by Roman race team Squadra Angelini, driven primarily by Ignazio Giunti and Aldo “Baronio” Cerruti.
Giunti’s victories achieved with this particular car include the Vallelunga III Criterium dell’Ora, December 1966 (1st Overall), the Vallelunga Trofeo Sambuca Molinari, March 1967 (1st in Class), Vallelunga Trofeo Marathon, April 1967 (1st Overall) and the Vallelunga Trofeo Ettore Bettoja, October 1967 (1st in Class).
In 1970, the GTA was sold to Luigi Fiegl of Milan, who raced the car for the next three seasons. From there, the Alfa was sold to Camillo Citterio of Meda, Italy, who entered it in events on rare occasions through 1976.In 1977, the GTA was sold to Sig. Litrico in Torino and then exported to the US in 1980 or 1981, where it was sold to Elvidio and Mario Grande of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1983, respected Alfa Romeo specialist Roman Tucker acquired 613274, the first of many GTAs that he would own, restore, and race. After a lengthy restoration, utilizing many NOS parts, Mr. Tucker began racing the car in historic events in 1989.
Over the past 30 years, this GTA has been dutifully maintained by respected collectors and campaigned in a variety of historic events organized by CSRG, HMSA, and General Racing. In the hands of the current owner, 613274 most recently participated in the Monterey Historics at Laguna Seca in August 2012.
Today, it remains in impressive condition – according to Gooding & Co. – and is equipped with a numbered 1600 GTA engine, twin-plug cylinder head, close-ratio gearbox, limited-slip differential, sliding-block rear end, and Campagnolo alloy wheels. Prepared for contemporary vintage racing, it also features a fuel cell, fire system, roll bar, competition seats, and safety harnesses.
