Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA Corsa
Chassis: AR613056

Successful ex-Autodelta Giulia Sprint GTA that was also raced with a supercharger. A proven winner in period, this Alfa Romeo continued its winning ways in historic racing during the last two decades. It is eligible for all the major events including the Goodwood Revival, Tour Auto, Peter Auto Classic Touring Challenge, Modena Cento Ore and newly revived U2TC.

* Early GTA built to full competition specifications by Autodelta
* Campaigned by the Autodelta team in 1968 and 1969
* One of 28 Autodelta works cars according to the Alleggerita „registry“
* One of as few as six GTAs upgraded to Group 5 specification with a supercharged engine
* Raced in period by the likes of Ignazio Giunti, Teodore Zeccoli, Spartaco Dini and Andrea de Adamich
* Contributed to Alfa Romeo’s and Spartaco Dini's 1969 European Touring Car Challenge championship
* A regular class winner, including at the Nürburgring 6 Hours
* Documented, continuous history from new
* Exceptionally well prepared for historic racing
* Presented in its 1969 Nürburgring 6 Hours class winning colours
* Accompanied by original registration documents and plates
* A regular winner in major events like the Goodwood Revival during the last 15 years
* Eligible for the Goodwood Revival, Modena Cento Ore, Tour Auto, Peter Auto Classic Touring Challenge, Masters Pre-66 Touring Cars and the newly revived U2TC of Motor Racing Legends

The Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA

On June 2nd, 1965 the Automobile Club d'Italia homologated the Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA for touring car racing. One of the very first homologation specials, the 'GTA' was based on the 105-series Giulia Sprint GT that had been introduced at the Frankfurt Motor Show two years earlier. Already an accomplished machine, the Sprint GT combined a twin-cam four cylinder engine with a striking Bertone body that had been penned by Giorgietto Giugiaro. For competition purposes, the car was reworked by in-house specialist Autodelta to become the GTA. Once homologated as a Group 2 touring car, a very successful racing career commenced with GTAs racking up 200 victories in 1966 alone.

"The Music of a racing car is like a symphony. Ahead it is a smooth and subdued whine superimposed on a commotion, not a noise, of a shape parting streamlines fast." Geoffrey Howard noted in his 1967 review of the GTA for Autocar Magazine. He continued: "As it passes the full blast of the exhaust strikes, blood vessels throb and the faint whiff of racing oil thrills the senses. Inside it is a sensation, the echo of power rattling round the box of the body and a thrust in the back whenever the accelerator is pressed."

Tasked with the development of the Group 2 competition version of the Sprint GT had been Autodelta. Established in 1961 by former Ferrari chief engineer Carlo Chiti and former Alfa Romeo man Ludovico Chizzola, Autodelta became the official Alfa Romeo competition department in 1963. Autodelta had already created the more extreme TZ and TZ2 GT racers for Alfa Romeo when work started on the GTA. In addition to developing and racing the GTA, Autodelta also created the fabulous mid-engined Tipo 33 sports racers for Alfa Romeo.

The 'A' in the GTA moniker was short for allegerita, which is Italian for lightweight. That is just what the GTA was, over 150 kg lighter than the Sprint GT it was based on. This was achieved by using an aluminium alloy called Peraluman instead of steel for many of the panels. Plexiglass was used for the side and rear windows. Carried over from the TZ competition cars was a twin-spark version of the 1,570 cc four-cylinder engine. Equipped with a pair of 45 DCOE carburettors, the all-aluminium engine produced 115 hp in street trim.

A road-going GTA was priced at 2.995.000 Italian Lire, while for a further 2.078.000 Lire Autodelta would perform the conversion to full Corsa specification. This entailed additional lightening by using aluminium alloy for the floors and the panel behind the rear seat. Wider, Campagnolo magnesium wheels were also fitted. The engine was meticulously reworked with many components lightened, polished and balanced. A stronger steel crankshaft was fitted with eight counter weights. This improved the performance to 160 hp and later 170 hp An oil cooler was also fitted and the oil-pan lowered. A special rear axle with a ZF limited-slip differential was used.

To meet the homologation requirements, Alfa Romeo had to build 500 GTAs although the GTA tome 'Allegerita' by Patrick Dasse and Martin Übelher only lists 325 cars. All of them were assembled in Arese before they either went to their respective private customers or to Autodelta for the full Corsa treatment. It is believed that only 28 GTAs passed through Autodelta's hands. These were either campaigned by Chiti's racing team or privateer customers.

While the GTA was highly regarded as a road car, it really stood out on the racing track. Many class and outright victories were scored between 1965 and 1970. Among the numerous successes were three European Touring Car Challenge titles, a famous Trans-Am title in 1966 with Jochen Rindt and Ignazio Giunti's European Mountain Championship in 1967. In addition to the Group 2 version, Autodelta also experimented with a supercharged or GTA-SA version in Group 5 in 1967 and 1968. Forced induction raised the power to 220 hp but was also detrimental to the fuel efficiency.

Alfa Romeo used the GTA moniker for subsequent competition and road cars but its the original Giulia Sprint GTA that made these three letters legendary. Today the GTA is highly sought after and eligible for all the major events wether its the Tour Auto, Modena Cento Ore or the high profile St. Mary's Trophy at the Goodwood Revival.

This car

Shortly after this GTA was fully assembled at the Alfa Romeo factory in Arese, chassis AR613056 was sold to Autodelta SpA to be converted to full Corsa specification. It was first registered for the road on February 22, 1966 with the UD 119517 plate but not yet used for racing. In 1967, Autodelta moved closer to Alfa Romeo factory by relocating to Settimo Milanese. They brought AR613056 with them but it remained the same Udine registration. It did not see action again that year but that would change in 1968. Now registered MI E78940, it was first entered from March 6 - 10 in the Rallye di San Remo by Autodelta for Lucien Bianchi and fellow Belgian Edouard Lambrecht who raced under the pseudonym 'Vic'.

It was then one of as few as six GTAs equipped with a supercharger to compete in the Group 5 category. The unusual setup consisted of a pair of centrifugal blowers mounted on both sides of the air-box that were driven by an axial hydraulic pump, which in turn was run off the crankshaft by a chain. Dubbed the GTA-SA for sovralimentato or supercharged the Group 5 engine was good for an impressive 220 hp at 7,500 rpm. AR613056 was raced three times with the supercharged engine with Nino Vaccarella and Mario Casoni finishing fifth overall in the Nürburgring 6 Hours as the most noteworthy result.

The impressive performance of the GTA-SA engine came at the expense of fuel efficiency, which was a problem particularly in long distance events. For this reason, most GTAs, including AR613056, were converted back to naturally aspirated guise for the 1969 season. Still registered MI E78940, it continued to be raced by Autodelta. Ignazio Giunti finished fourth overall and scored a class win in Belgrade early in the year. It was back out with the factory team for the Nürburgring 6 Hours. Driven by Andrea de Adamich and Spartaco Dini, it finished second overall and first in the 1.6-litre Touring category.

Still registered MI E78940, it was sold by Autodelta in March of 1970. It was not the end of its period racing career as AR613056 was raced by Carlo Signorini in local events as late as 1973. It changed hands several times but remained in the Milan area. Between 1984 and 2000, it was owned by Alessandro Ripamonti. Through Fiskens, it was subsequently sold to collector David Fitzsimons. At the time of his acquisition, the GTA was inspected by specialist Andrew Thorogood, who confirmed the rare aluminium alloy floor-panels were still fitted.

The car was then meticulously prepared for historic racing in the UK. During this process, the lightweight but notoriously brittle floors were removed. During the following years, AR613056 was extensively and very successfully raced in the Under 2 Litre Touring Car Championship, the Masters Pre-66 Touring Car Championship and most importantly the St. Mary's Trophy at the Goodwood Revival on behalf of Fitzsimons. The beautifully prepared GTA was a regular winner with an outright win in the 2013 St. Mary's Trophy at Goodwood as the absolute highlight. In 2017, it was acquired by the vendor and was continued to be raced, while maintaining a very high standard of preparation.

At some point, the shell of this GTA was replaced. However, the current bodywork exhibits all the distinctive features of a period Autodelta Corsa specification. There is no definitive record of when the re-shelling took place, but the car was valued at only 1,500,000 Lire in the Automobile Club d’Italia registration document dated June 22, 1967, which accompanies the vehicle. That is only half the value of a 'standard' GTA, which suggests something happened to the car even before it started its period racing career. As mentioned, the car still had its aluminium alloy floors in 2004, which were only fitted on select Corsa specification cars. While the original floors are no longer with the car, the holes used for riveting the floors to steel crossmembers are still visible. There are other auxiliary parts on the shell in aluminium that are not available as aftermarket for a conversion. The right-hand front wheel well also looks like hand-modified to accommodate the GTA-SA engine.

Chassis AR613056 is currently in race ready condition following a thorough check-up after its final outing at Estoril in 2023. Early in 2021, it was more substantially overhauled when it was fitted with a refreshed engine, gearbox, rear axle, brakes and a new fuel tank. It actually requires a 20 kg ballast to meet the 760 kg homologation weight. The ex-Autodelta GTA comes with a spare gearbox, an additional set of wheels and an HTP valid through to the end of 2025, currently undergoing extension.

Offered with a fully documented and continued history, original libretto registration documents and the actual MI E78940 plates fitted when raced by Autodelta, this rare and successful works Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA Corsa represents a highly competitive and very welcome entrant in all the major events.

Image credits: 1-9 & 15-55 Keno Zache; 10-12 Archiv Dasse; 13 & 14 REVS Institute