1974 Alfa Romeo GTV 2000 – Our Trailer Pick of the Day

If paying new 911 money for an old Alfa sounds crazy, it’s not.

First, let’s take the GTV 2000 itself. 1974 was the last year these cars appeared on the American market, and they had everything needed to provide a special driving experience. With a frothy 130 horsepower twin-cam engine, a nimble chassis that tips the scales at just over 2,200 pounds, and gorgeous styling, the Gran Turismo Veloce was everything Alfisti could have wanted. If internal combustion wasn’t always internal, it was just an extra Alfa highlight. A life without even a little drama isn’t worth living, right?

In 1977, Richard Banks purchased the first Alfa Romeo Alfetta 2.0L GTV in the UK to compete in the British Saloon Championship. The car was very competitive. To help pay for the races, he bought and refurbished a used 2000 GTV. It was sold the same day it was advertised in the local paper.

Art and science

More than four decades later, Banks and his two sons – both trained as lawyers but also racing – run the family firm that builds the finest Alfa Romeos. It’s tempting to compare Alfaholics with California-based Singer and the company’s reimagined 911, but there are differences. Much of Singer’s work is pure art, but the cars that appear in the Alfaholics workshop are a more organic result of one family’s obsession with Alfa racing.

Still, the Singer-restored 911 and the car stripped down by the Alfaholics are idealized impressions of what you’d hope a Porsche or Alfa Romeo would become. Both of them are a kind of distillation of the essence of the brand, a moment of encounter with its heroes that does not disappoint.

This 1974 GTV2000 was purchased through Bring a Trailer two years ago and immediately shipped to Somerset for the full alphaholic treatment with the company’s GTA-R upgrade package. The list of modifications is too extensive to divulge in full, but highlights include a 2.1L twin-cam manual four-cylinder engine with roughly 230 hp, a close-ratio five-speed manual transmission, a comprehensive relief from the lighter glass to carbon. fiber body, six-piston front brakes and a suspension that contains more titanium than a regular space rocket.

And since this car was headed to Texas, it also has air conditioning. Although born from lessons learned on the race track, this GTV is designed for drivers. Indeed, a close inspection of the undercarriage shows some oxidation of the titanium parts, and the undercarriage paintwork has a couple of blemishes.

All this underlines that this is the car to be managed. Whatever the final price of the hammer, it will likely be enough to buy a place in a fairly high-quality modern machine, but that’s not the point. Alfaholics GTA-R delivers a drive that surpasses the stopwatch and the droppad. For one very lucky bidder, it’s an unforgettable driving experience.