1975 Alfa Romeo Alfetta GT

The Alfetta GT is a sports car built by Alfa Romeo from 1974 to 1987 in the Arese plant. It was created to replace the "Giulia GT" model in the 1970s. The main company directives are aimed at creating a car with four comfortable seats (instead of the traditional 2+2) with a good-sized boot. The goal was to fight the competition from compact sports sedans (such as the BMW 2002) which, offering similar performance and greater versatility of use, were enjoying considerable success. Giorgetto Giugiaro's "newborn" Italdesign was commissioned for the new project. At the same time, the Alfa style center will carry out a parallel project. The end result was a bodywork with volumes moved backwards and a kamm-back tail. At the time of its launch in 1974, the basic engine consisted of the twin cam already mounted on the Alfetta sedan. This 1779 cc, 122 hp engine was mated to a transaxle gearbox. Since 1976 other versions have been introduced and versions aimed at competitions have been developed.

The Alfa Romeo department that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the racing cars of the Arese house has been referred to as the Alfa Romeo Racing Department. But this detachment is also known as Alfa Corse and Autodelta depending on the period covered. During its more than one-hundred-year history, the official Alfa Romeos have enjoyed successes and victories in practically all motor sports categories, ranging from the Formula 1 World Championship to rallies and single-make championships. Its symbol is well known: a green four-leaf clover on a white field, since 1923, when it was painted by Ugo Sivocci on the hood of his car as a lucky charm before winning his first Targa Florio. A peculiarity of the Milanese company's racing department is that it was the birthplace of Scuderia Ferrari, founded in 1929 in Modena by its ex-driver Enzo Ferrari to run gentleman-drivers and professional drivers in Alfa Romeo cars. In 1963 Carlo Chiti and Ludovico Chizzola, supported by the unofficial consent of the Milanese company, founded Auto Delta in Udine, an autonomous company to design and build Alfa Romeo racing cars. In one year, the Auto Delta becomes Autodelta and is directly taken over by Alfa Romeo and, while remaining an external company, it becomes the official Alfa Romeo racing department. The headquarters is progressively moved to Settimo Milanese and under this effigy it will take care of all racing Alfa Romeos until 1983, from the Alfasud Trophy to Formula 1. Animated by the engineer Carlo Chiti who oversees both the design and management of the cars in the track, wins are obtained with the Giulia TZ and TZ2, the GTA/GTam, all the Sport Prototipo Tipo 33, the Alfetta Gt/GTV rally cars, the Alfasud Ti Trofeo of the single-make trophy and since 1979 we also return to Formula 1. In this period there are many famous drivers who defend the colors of Alfa Romeo. Among them, Jean-Claude Andruet who participated in the world rally championship from 1973 to 1986, achieving three wins and seven podiums.

The Alfetta GT chassis no. 009461 is a former Autodelta official car, with an important sporting record. Its grand touring nature was transformed into that of a racing car by the hands of the official sports department, according to the specifications of Group 2, then in force. Dressed in the most classic Alfa Romeo rally livery: Alfa red with a matt black bonnet. Born 1.8 liters of displacement (1779 cc), it was increased to 2 liters (1995 cc) with the increase in the bore. The gearbox is a 5-speed Autodelta, with straight teeth. It features a 50% limited slip differential and self-ventilated Lockheed brakes. It developed a power of 180/190 hp and reached 210 hp with the 16-valve head and fuel injection. The Alfetta GT chassis no. 009461 was one of the nine Alfetta GTs prepared by Alfa Romeo for the 1975 rally season. The 009461 is one of the two surviving and the only red colored; the other is the yellow chassis no. 001424. The 009461 debuted together with the entire Alfa Romeo team at the Costa Brava rally in February 1975 with Ballestrieri-Nannini, a month later, in March '75, the car scored the first significant result for Alfa Romeo with Ballestrieri-Gigli at the rally Lyon Charbonier, finishing in 3rd place overall and 1st of GR.2. The car ran eight races in UK, France and Italy, winning its group twice: at the rally Lyon Charbonier mentioned above and with Svizzero-Masetto at the San Giacomo rally in May 1975, the third round in Italian Rally Championship. The official Alfa Romeo drivers Ballestrieri, Svizzero, and Andruet raced with the 009461. In 1976, after the decision not to continue in rallies, Alfa Romeo sold the Alfettas, 009461 was bought by the Jolly Club of Milan. With the technical director Mauro Nocentini, the car continued its competitive career with some private drivers of Milan. In 1982 the car passed to the Tevar team, owned by the Tevar Srl company with which it made some races and then ended up in the hands of a private collector. In 2016, the former ex-driver Alfa Romeo Chicco Svizzero, after many years, manages to buy the car and devotes himself to a conservative restoration to keep the originality of the car intact, following his memory and the numerous photographs in his possession; the restoration involved the seat lining which was replaced with a correct one, and a revision of the mechanics was carried out, with the replacement of worn parts. At the end of the restoration, the Alfetta returned to participate with Chicco Svizzero in some events in Italy but never did any competition. The car has all the details of the Alfetta GT ex Autodelta works car, including some peculiar ones: the footrest made for the charming Biche, the Andruet's codriver, which being short in stature needed support to "anchor" to the seat, the box for the intercom branded Autodelta, plastic cradle seats, wooden gear knob and finally an important detail: the "window" to access the rear shock absorbers. In the years following the restoration, the car was seen and recognized in its components by the former Alfa Romeo engineer Arnaldo Tonti and by the former driver Amilcare Ballestrieri, each of whom wrote and signed their testimony on the authenticity of the car. The car has never raced to date; it is featured in the book "Alfa Romeo and Autodelta in rallies" and in an article in the Italian magazine Ruoteclassiche of January 2019 by Emanuele Sanfront. The car has the original Milan plates and the original booklet with the first "Autodelta spa." The preparation of the car, with Gr. 2 specifications, included a very long list of details: battery switch, Halda tripmaster, 4 Carello Megalux additional headlights, widened fenders, magnesium rims, carved slick tires, stainless steel free exhaust, complete mechanical preparation, racing seats with 4-point belts, roll-bar, reinforced, lightened and emptied body, Autodelta intercom system.