Launched in 1963 the Bertone-designed Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint coupe established the company’s reputation as a manufacturer of sporting automobiles that compensated for their relatively small engines by offering stylish looks and excellent handling.
The model sold well throughout the decade due in part to the creation of a racing department, Autodelta, that promoted the virtues of the Giulia. By 1970, the 2-litre division of the European Saloon Car championship was a hotly contested category that helped boost the sale of road cars; by then Autodelta had modified the 1750 Giulia GTA Veloce, a version designed for the American market, taking the engine to 1998cc with an indirect fuel injection system that produced 210bhp at 7,500rpm and lightening it by using thin aluminium doors.
The Giulia GTAm won six rounds of the 1970 championship to take the 2-litre title, a feat repeated the following year by a GTAm driven by Toine Hezemans. The team cars were painted red but each one had a different nose colour which helped the pit crew identify the cars in poor visibility. The FIA required 100 cars to be built to qualify but it is believed that only 40 were built and today they are highly sought-after by collectors. The photograph shows the GTAm of the Belgian Grafo Motor Racing Development Team that, in October 1970, made the trip across the English Channel to Brands Hatch in Kent to compete in a round of the British Saloon Car championship for Group 2 cars, the Guards Motor Show ‘200’ Trophy race. It was driven by Jean Claude Franck who qualified ninth despite strong opposition but the trip was in vain as the clutch failed after just twelve laps.
