Review by Pete Vack
All photos from the book
Excerpts from Road Test published in the April 1965 issue of “Car and Driver”, and used with permission of Hearst Autos, Inc.
Patrick Dasse’s Alfa Romeo, Giulia GT, deals with one basic model, the GT, made from 1963 to 1976 with engines ranging from a 1300 to 2000 cc. At 527 pages, it is the longest with the most photos of what is perhaps the most important of all post war production Alfas.
Stepnose: Alfa GT Veloce, Tipo 105.36.
In April of 1965 Car and Driver magazine captured the magic of the new Alfa GT; throughout our review we’ll borrow a bit from one of the most memorable road tests ever written, and used with permission from Hearst Auto.
There’s a stretch of road that goes from your joint to somewhere very groovy. You’ll need a girl. One with tawny Breck Shampoo hair that shines like an illuminated waterfall, lavender eyelids and the right kind of pants, tight but kind of expensive tight.”
Patrick Dasse’s book on the Guilia GT is the embodiment of the series, just as the Giulia GT was the quintessence production car of the 105 series which Dasse has so soundly chronicled. And let there be no doubt that Alfa enthusiasts everywhere should be grateful for the dedication and effort put forth by Dasse and crew to produce this wonderful series of books. EVERY serious Alfa enthusiast needs to consider purchasing the entire set.
Ok, she doesn’t quite fit the description of the Car and Driver Tawny girl, but close enough. And she is behind the wheel of an Alfa 1300 GTA, Tipo 105.59.
Ok, you have a destination and the lavender lidded Tawny girl is beside you and now you need a car. It has to be an exquisite jewel box car that you can fling around corners at about 1.3 gs with your arms straight out and your head cocked just like Innes Ireland’s in all the pictures and an engine that goes eeeeeeee-yyyooowwww when you accelerate and yyyooowww-eeeeeee when you downshift with a nutty shift lever that’s just like a long toggle switch….”
In this writer’s humble if experienced opinion, the 105 series Alfa were the ultimate post war production Alfas; all that came after were worthy cars, most true Alfas, but all from the Alfetta on had significant defects and production faults. I loved my Alfetta sedan even minus the crankplugs, our Alfa GTV, even when changing rear brake pads, my brand new Alfa Milano even when a tranny bearing gave out some 3000 miles from new. But give me a 105 1600/1750 Duetto, GT, or Giulia sedan anytime.
Wrap that Jim Clark driving glove (10.95 from Vilem B. Haan) around that rich black shift knob and move it. Click, there’s first. Click click, there’s second. Click click. There’s third. Click click. Well, there’s fourth. Wait a minute, click click, there’s a fifth? FIFTH, FIVE FORWARD SPEEDS! It’s too much, — it’s too beautiful—O rapture unbearable! Open the Webers and “I love it, I love it!” goes the Tawny girl. Cam lobes are hammering on valve cups and Michelin X tires are locked in silent combat with the asphalt and Paradise is found!”
Tipo 105.02, for the enthusiast.The fiberboard dashboard was let down after the superbly constructed steel of the earlier Sprint coupes.
The combination of the 1600/1750 engine with that great and perfectly spaced 5 speed transmission was hard to beat; the last 2000s had the power but lost the ability to rev so willingly. And did we own a GT? Yes, one of the rare 1600 convertibles converted (and not well) by Touring. We know the ups and downs of the GTs all too well. But despite thinly stamped body panels, fiber dashboards, truly miserable heaters and rust galore, they are still Le Grande Alfa Romeos.
Dasse’s GT book reminds us too, of just how well balanced, delicate, refined and downright beautiful Giugiaro’s design was, and it has held up well over the years. Dasse has provided literally hundreds of photos of the GT in all guises, colors and trim. Not a bad angle in the lot. And while the Duetto was a bit awkward from the side, and the Sedan was never going to win a beauty contest despite the low drag coefficient, the GT was near perfect. In bettering the Scaglione inspired Bertone Sprint, Giugiaro established his reputation forever.
Dasse has all the numbers, the production runs, the changes, the type numbers, the detailed list of minor and major changes that occurred with the 1600, 1300 (did you know there was a GT Jr which was not a 1300 but a 1600?) the 1750 and the final 2000.
Take the trip we described. The road, the Tawny girl, and the Alfa Romeo are beautiful. Fling it around the next bend. “Shift through all five gears, fast. Tear down the road to the destination, Shazam!”
Book Details
528 pages, 370 black and white photographs and 109 colour photographs.
Size: 25,7 x 22,9 cm
Weight: 2,5 kg
Language: English – German
Author: Patrick Dasse
ISBN 978-3-87166-156-3
Free shipping within Germany.
€119.00 *
Prices incl. VAT plus shipping costs
The 528 pages contain solely contemporary photographs, which for the most part are published here for the first time, documenting the different variants of the model. In the respective chapters the modifications to the cars that Alfa Romeo made over the years are documented in detail for each model.
The documentation covers the following models produced by Alfa Romeo between 1963 and 1976 in Arese:
Tipo 105.02 Giulia Sprint GT
Tipo 105.02/A Giulia Sprint GTA
Tipo 105.25 Giulia GTC
Tipo 105.36 Giulia Sprint GT Veloce
Tipo 105.30 GT 1300 Junior
Tipo 105.44 1750 GT Veloce
Tipo 105.59 GTA 1300 Junior
Tipo 105.51 1750 GT Veloce U.S.A.
Tipo 105.21 2000 GT Veloce
Tipo 115.01 2000 GT Veloce U.S.A.
Tipo 115.03 GT 1600 Junior
Tipo 115.34 GT 1600 Junior
One of the joys of owning a 105 Alfa was that every nook and cranny of the engine compartment was known in great detail. And everything was very accessible and easy to remove. Which of course was a good thing. This is a Tipo 105.02.
Another front view of the original GT, in color. The car had no bad angles.
Please deliver to VeloceToday, 2858 Lake Powell Road, Williamsburg, VA. But instead the cars went to the Geneva Auto Show in 1964.
The 1600 GTA, Tipo 105.02/A. Mere perfection.
GTA engine, note modified oil breather cap, twin plug head and placement of the fuse box.
Amazingly, the GT still was a good looking, well balanced car with the top removed and became a viable 2+2 convertible, thanks to Touring. The downside was the lack of structural rigidity due to the removal of the top.
Until Dasse published this book, we had no idea that there was a hardtop available for the GTC. And that too, looks good.
Next improvements came with the GT Veloce, with comfortable bucket seats. Tipo 105.36.
When Junior arrived, it only warranted a two-spoke wheel. Not sure how this saved money. Tipo 105.30, 1971.
The GT 1750 seemed even cleaner in line, but the stepnose was gone and some of the charm disappeared. Tipo 105.44.
Tipo 105.44, a Euro GT 1750 Veloce. What is the black box affixed to the engine block between the engine mounts and the distributor?
Tipo 105.21, the 2000 GTV. Although the stamped, holed, steel wheels were no prize winners, the flat faced factory alloy wheels that followed did nothing for the car. Yet they persisted. But the captivating lines persevered throughout the car’s life.
Tipo 115.01, the 2000 GT Veloce U.S.A. interior. Last of the line.
Tipo 105 Book Reviews:
Read Review of Book 1: Berlina
Read Review of Book 2: RHD Alfas
Read Review of Book 3: Junior Zagato Alfas
Read Review of Book 4: Building a Giulia
Read Review of Book 6: Montreal
“Tipo 105.44, a Euro GT 1750 Veloce. What is the black box affixed to the engine block between the engine mounts and the distributor?”
An air hose ran from the air cleaner to that box.
It was to pre-heat induction air in winter at the movement of a lever on the front of the air cleaner body
Tipo 105.44, a Euro GT 1750 Veloce picture: It’s not a black box, it’s the plate for harvesting hot air from motor block to the air filter box in winter position.
I remember that Alfa review, first because I had just bought an Alfa spider veloce, and second because I did not expect Tom Wolfe to be the writer. That nugget should be included with the quotes.
The issue is still available on e-bay and Amazon and is worth ~$10 just for Wolfe’s article.
I still have my original copy-I think.
The author of the Alfa road test in that issue of C&D is not identified. But it is a pretty goog parody of Tom Wolfe’s “The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby.”
Ed.