ALFA ROMEO MONTREAL. This was Alfa Romeo's top-of-the-range model through the first half of the

This was Alfa Romeo's top-of-the-range model through the first half of the 1970s, a modest-production car true to the company's old tradition in being a practical high-performance machine — a true GT car rather than a supercar 'extravaganza'. It used mass-production components and — again echoing its forbears — a detuned racing engine; against the trend of the period, this was front-mounted.

The Montreal had a gestation period almost as long as its production life, indirectly going back to a 1965 Bertone show car and directly to the Montreal first shown in that city during Expo '67.

That car was little more than a design study, with a Giulia engine; three years were to pass before the definitive Montreal appeared, with a detuned version of Alfa's competitions V-8 from the T33 sports-racing programme, in 2.6-litre form. It was still a light alloy unit, with dry sump lubrication, electronic ignition and fuel injec-tion hinting at its racing background, but in its Montreal form it proved to be smooth and flexible. It was rated at 200bhp, and as the car was no lightweight (1270kg unladen), the Montreal's top speed of 220kph (135mph) was commendable, modest though it may have seemed by contemporary supercar standards. Oddly, Alfa Romeo chose to use a 7N gearbox, which had well-chosen ratios, and retained the Giulia suspension layout incorporating a live rear axle (with limited-slip differential).

However, the company had ample experience in controlling live axle movement, and the arrangement proved more than adequate for the average driver, and it did give a comfortable ride.

The coupe body did not inhibit visibility, while the cockpit was reasonably laid out and comfortable. Allowance for luggage was almost a joke in a front engined car that had so many other grand touring qualities, although more could be stowed on the rear seats, which were an even greater joke! In most respects, the Montreal was sound rather than sensational.

A few years earlier, it would have been regarded as a natural competition car, especially as there was a race-proved engine in effect available for it, but it had a little-noticed career until production ended in 1976, when 3925 Montreals had been built, fewer than half the originally planned 10 000.

Specification Engine: 90-degree V-8; 80 x 64.5mm, 2593cc; twin ohc per bank; Spica fuel injection; 200bhp at 6500rpm. Gearbox: five-speed manual. Chassis: unitary; front suspension independent by wishbones, coil springs, dampers and anti-roll bar; rear suspension by live axle, radius arms, coil springs and dampers; four-wheel disc brakes. Dimensions: wheelbase 235cm/921in; front track 137cm/54in; rear track 131cm/51i-in.