Montreal – The dream car that came true

Alfa Romeo Montreal – The dream car that came true
by Bruce Taylor
Hardback, 210 x 280mm, 208 pages
575 color pictures and illustrations, ISBN: 9781845842185
Published by Veloce Publishing, UK
USA $79.95

Order here

Bruce Taylor’s second book, “Montreal – The dream car that came true”, is the perfect companion to the superb “Alfa Montreal – The essential companion” (read review). It’s full of useful and interesting information, not to mention 575 color illustrations, almost all focusing on some aspect of the Montreal. For Montreal owners or would-be owners, this becomes like the “essential companion”, essential. With a dearth of literature available on this rare and beautiful Alfa, there is surely a place on the shelf for this book.

On the surface, “The dream car that came true” appears to be a glossy ode to the Alfa Montreal. But Taylor is deeper and better than that; he knows and presents Montreals as one who not only appreciates the feminine form (and there is a great deal of that in both books, but I’m not complaining) yet can easily get down to engineering concepts (Taylor is retired from CERN in Switzerland) and the mechanical nuts and bolts.

Taylor’s book is billed as “..a comprehensive pictorial tribute to the Montreal. A visual testimonial to a powerful and beautiful coupe that was born as a futuristic concept and transformed into a ‘dream car come true’.” He has divided this testimonial into thirty chapters, a few of which are illustrated below, and include Style, Pace, Comfort, Engineering, Close-up, Art, Elegance, Rallying, Vanity…you get the picture. It is a unique, sometimes quirky but always visually exciting look at every aspect of the Montreal one could imagine. If you like what you see below, you’ll love this book, as will everyone who has ever dreamed of owning Alfa’s seventies supercar.

The beautifully illustrated new book presents a graphic portrait of the Montreal in 30 themed sections, each of which highlights a different aspect of the car.

The comprehensive account of the design history of the Montreal explains how several stylistic elements were carried over from the Lamborghini Miura.

There are illustrations of Montreals in every available color finish.

200hp tire-smoking shows that the Montreal has muscle.

The “People” section portrays everyone from Nuccio Bertone, Marcello Gandini, Orazio Satta and Carlo Chiti to Alfa Romeo’s present Design Director, Christopher Reitz. Reitz, who owns a fine Montreal, described Taylor’s previous book, “Montreal, The Essential Companion” as a “great book”.

There is a chapter on original artwork, including a modern design concept that incorporates styling cues from the Montreal.

Natural and man-made beauty.

Elegant classic Monti Girls…

…and their modern counterparts.

Airborne on Mount Lofty. Montreal racing and rallying successes are covered.

There are numerous archival photos of Montreal body production at Bertone.

A large chapter is devoted to Montreal restoration.

Important Montreal safety issues are highlighted.

Several engine, suspension and bodywork modifications are illustrated.

Several interesting Montreal engine transplants are shown.

Montreal miniatures in ready-built and kit form are not forgotten.

There is a comprehensive index.