Mark Greeley: Rare Alfa Romeo Montreal, A Hidden Gem Stateside

Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Rare Alfa Romeo Montreal, A Hidden Gem Stateside

In 1967 Montreal, Quebec, Canada would host Expo 67, a World’s Fair which would be one of the most successful of the century. As a result, Montreal would pay homage to the Expo the following year by naming their major league baseball team, the Expos (now the Nationals). However, another name would also arise from Expo 67 in Montreal, the Alfa Romeo Montreal.

That year at Expo 67 Alfa Romeo would debut a 2+2 coupe concept with no name, but before long attendees would dub it “The Montreal.” Three years later Alfa Romeo would bring the first production version of their Expo 67 concept to the Geneva Motor Show; it was called, Montreal. While its namesake would carryover from Canada the production Montreal would change significantly. It was now backed by a 2.6L V8 with a ZF five-speed transmission producing 197hp and redlining at 7,000 rpm, a vast upgrade from the 1.6L concept. The design was the work of Marcello Gandini who would also design the Lamborghini Countach and Diablo, among others, as well as numerous Maseratis and other makes. This would all come at a fairly significant price for the Italian sports car, nearly $60,000 in today’s market.

The Montreal would remain in production until 1977, but during that run Alfa Romeo would struggle to move the small number they were producing. A number that was only averaging a little north of 500 per year, bringing the total run to about 3900. And somewhat ironically the Montreal would never officially return to Montreal, or anywhere in North America for that matter, as a version was never developed to meet emissions standards for the region. As a result of its low production numbers and rareness in the states (only 70 are believed to exist in the US) the Montreal is a rare and unique find for any collector, especially those who embrace Italian car heritage.