Guide: Alfa Romeo Montreal
Background
The 1967 World Expo (Expo 67) took place in Montreal as part of Canada’s centennial celebration.
To host the event, a 900 acre site was created on a series of inter-connected man-made and enlarged natural islands in the St. Lawrence River. Considered the most successful World’s Fair of the 20th century, Expo 67 was held from April to October and attracted 55 million visitors and 62 participating nations.
The location later became the site of Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villenueve that continues to host the Canadian Grand Prix.
As one of Italy’s representatives at Expo 67, Alfa Romeo commissioned Bertone to come up with an exciting design concept.
Two matching prototypes were assembled, both of which were painted white. To keep costs down, they used the 1.6-litre four cylinder engine from the Giulia TI and the short wheelbase chassis of the Giulia Sprint GT.
Public reaction was sufficiently positive that Alfa Romeo decided to manufacture a production version. The new model would become Alfa Romeo’s flagship offering but, unlike the Expo 67 prototypes, it would be powered by a 2.6-litre V8 derived from the Tipo 33 racing car.
A production-ready Alfa Romeo Montreal was subsequently displayed at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1970. Aside from the uprated engine, it remained remarkably true to Bertone’s original vision.
Chassis
Built on a unitary steel bodyshell, the Montreal had a short 2350mm wheelbase despite its notional 2+2 cockpit.
Front suspension was via double wishbones with coil springs and dampers. At the rear, Alfa stuck with a live axle, two trailing arms, coil springs and coaxial dampers. Anti-roll bars were fitted at either end.
Dual circuit ATE disc brakes were ventilated and servo-assisted.
The turbine-style 14 x 6.5-inch magnesium alloy Campagnolo Elektron wheels were shod with Michelin XWX tyres.
A 63-litre fuel tank was fitted underneath the boot floor.
Engine & Gearbox
Lurking in the engine bay was an all-alloy 90° V8 with dual overhead camshafts and dry-sump lubrication. It displaced 2593cc thanks to a bore and stroke of 80mm and 64.5mm respectively.
Compression was 9.0:1 and the complex indirect mechanical fuel-injection was supplied by SPICA. Electronic ignition came courtesy of Bosch.
All told, the engine produced 200bhp at 6500rpm and 173lb-ft at 4750rpm.
Transmission was via a ZF S 5-18/3 five-speed manual gearbox, ZF/Alfa limited-slip differential and Fichtel & Sachs clutch.
Bodywork
Both prototype and production Montreals were the work of Bertone’s head stylist, Marcello Gandini.
Along with his predecessor, Giorgetto Giugiaro, Gandini was arguably Italy’s most influential automotive designer between the mid 1960s and late 1990s.
The Montreal adopted a number of trademark Gandini details, several of which had already been seen on earlier Bertone creations.
For example, the headlights were partially covered by distinctive retractable grilles similar to those used by the one-off Bertone Porsche 911 Roadster displayed in 1966. The headlight covers were pneumatically powered and pivoted downwards.
The upswept rear door sections and side glass were reminiscent of the Lamborghini Miura also unveiled in 1966. Slatted C-pillar vents were inspired by the Alfa Romeo TZ2-based Canguro of 1964.
A dummy NACA duct was mounted on the bonnet to help conceal the power bulge.
Instead of chrome, much of the Montreal’s exterior trim was stainless steel.
The rear bumper insert was painted Grigio Fumo Opaco to match the door sills over which was mounted an Alfa Romeo-engraved stainless steel kick plate.
Interior
The dashboard was home to a pair of large cowls that neatly housed all the instrumentation. One contained a 9000rpm tach with smaller arced readouts for water temperature, oil temperature and oil pressure. The other cowl featured a speedometer with an arced fuel gauge, clock and ammeter. A series of warning lights were located alongside.
At the top of the centre console was a blanked-off panel for a radio complete with Bertone’s ‘b’ insignia. Underneath was a series of rocker switches below which were the ventilation controls.
A ‘Montreal’ script added to the ashtray (positioned just ahead of the gear lever) was the only model identifier anywhere on the car.
Well bolstered front seats came with ribbed centres and adjustable headrests as standard. However, although the Montreal was a very expensive car, leather upholstery was only available to special order.
Instead, the overwhelming majority of Montreals had front seats with velour fabric faces while the sides and backs were trimmed in Texalfa synthetic leatherette. Texalfa was also used to upholster the storage compartments, door inserts and gaiters. Black vinyl was used for the outer door panel zone and the rear seats where leg and headroom was extremely limited.
Options
Optional extras included air-conditioning, electric windows, electric wing mirrors and the aforementioned leather upholstery. Radios and antennas were dealer fit options.
Weight / Performance
The Montreal weighed in at 1270kg. Top speed was 139mph and 0-62mph required 7.1 seconds.
Production
Assembly saw each chassis sent from the Alfa Romeo factory in Arese to Bertone’s Castelle plant where bodywork was fitted. Bodyshells were then sent to Bertone’s Grugliasco facility to be degreased, zinc coated, painted and fitted with an interior. At this point cars headed back to Arese where Alfa installed engines and mechanicals.
Production started shortly after the Montreal’s Geneva Motor Show debut in March 1970.
Production Changes
Few technical changes were made during the model’s lifespan. After the first 100 vehicles had been completed, a front spoiler was fitted to reduce front-end lift at high speed. Most early cars subsequently had the front spoiler retro-fitted when in for service.
Precise production data is difficult to come by. However, it seems likely that Alfa Romeo stopped production over the winter of 1974-1975 at which point the Oil Crisis was still in full swing. During late 1973 Arab OPEC members had announced an embargo on oil sales to the USA, UK, Canada, Japan and the Netherlands in response to the USA's support for Israel in the Yom Kippur War. Egypt and Syria, with the support of other Arab nations, had begun a military campaign to regain Arab territories lost during the 1967 Six Day War (when Egypt, Syria and Jordan had been the aggressors). Oil prices rose exponentially and remained at elevated levels for the next two years. Demand for gas guzzlers evaporated practically overnight.
As a result, Alfa Romeo struggled to sell their remaining stock of Montreals; the model was still being offered until 1977.
Total production is understood to have been 3913 units of which 180 were right-hand drive.
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Alfa Romeo - https://www.alfaromeo.com
