Sacre Metal AlfaRomeo Montreal

The story of ROMEO & JULIET?

door Jan van Ekris

After World War II, everything changed. Peace has returned to the European continent, and every country is busy with reconstruction. There is nothing: everything has to be built from scratch. It must have been a difficult yet interesting time. Factories that had (forcibly) supported the war machine return to their original production goals. This also applies to many car manufacturers.

At the same time, a new generation of car designers emerges, such as Leonardo Fioravanti (1938), known for the iconic Ferrari 365 GTB "Daytona" but also for the Fiat 130 coupé, which competes with the Citroën SM. Marcello Gandini (1938), known for the first supercar, the Lamborghini Miura, and the spiritual father of the Alfa Romeo Montreal, along with Robert Opron, born in 1932, who is famous for the legendary SM, the Citroën GS, and CX, also fit into this era.

They are the forerunners of a new era: farewell to the "gray” sixties past. The seventies is the era of flashy cars in bright color schemes: orange, red, yellow, green, and even more pronounced variants. It’s a cheerful, colorful atmosphere on the highways of Europe. Inspired by the "Flower Power" movement of the sixties, there is room for bold design. This mostly comes from Italy and, to a lesser extent, from France.

The Birth of Iconic Cars:

Lamborghini Miura and Alfa Romeo Montreal The 27-year-old Marcello Gandini, employed by Bertone, designs the legendary and iconic Lamborghini Miura, which is presented at the Turin Salon in 1965. The car makes a huge impact: the super low (105 cm) and broad-shouldered Miura, equipped with a very powerful 12-cylinder mid-engine, radiates power and speed. It becomes the mother of all supercars that follow.

The name Miura is not chosen by accident: a Miura is an "oversized" breed of bulls bred for bullfighting. A bull is powerful and wild—exactly what owner Ferruccio Lamborghini wants in his cars. It becomes the brand image and logo of his cars.

Gandini adds a beautiful design element to the Miura: he lets the B-pillar extend all the way up to the roof. With the doors wide open, the Miura looks like a bull with horns!

Alfa Romeo is very impressed with the Miura and commissions Bertone to design a sports car in the top segment. Like the Miura, it must be a mid-engine design. The mid-engine concept has become very popular in racing due to the excellent handling and "new-age" racing technology used in Formula 1.

The Montreal at the 1967 World's Fair

Gandini again has the honor of delivering the design, and he sketches the sports coupe desired by Alfa Romeo in record time. It is exhibited at the Montreal World's Fair (Canada) in 1967, in the Italian pavilion. This highlights Italy as the best design country for cars in the world. A World’s Fair has far more impact than a car show, and the visitors are ecstatic about the beautiful design of this Alfa, which is clearly derived from the Lamborghini Miura designed by Gandini. The "bullhorn" doors are used, and the prototype was equipped with the wild Miura-style wheels. Still, the Montreal looks younger and more modern than the Miura.

Encouraged by the enthusiasm of the visitors at the World's Fair, Alfa Romeo decides to go into production with the sports coupe presented.

The Montreal and SM: Born at the Same Time

In March 1970, the now-named "Montreal" is introduced at the Geneva Motor Show, alongside the Citroën SM. Two absolute style icons are born—both two-door sports coupes—but neither are sports cars due to the relatively modest engine capacities: the Alfa V8 and the Maserati V6 in the SM. The engine capacities of both cars were not chosen at random. Both the French and Italian fiscal systems impose disproportionately high taxes on cars with engine capacities above 2,000 and 2,700 cc. Since the marketing departments of both Citroën and Alfa Romeo already knew that most of the cars would be sold in these two countries, they took this into account. In France, 5,509 SMs were sold, and in Italy, 2,070 units, accounting for 60% of total production!

Design Features: The Montreal's Unique Style

The Montreal features air intakes behind the doors. These were intended for the mid-engine, which the prototype was equipped with. Ultimately, the V8 in the production model was placed at the front, but the intake vents were retained for styling reasons. They add an extra dimension to the side profile of the Montreal.

Both coupes are certainly beautiful. The period color "Verde Medio Metallizzato” looks fantastic on the Montreal, although not everyone may like it. The SM-injection in the color "Or de Simiane,” literally translated as "Ape’s Gold," might not be to most people’s taste either, but it certainly makes a statement with its "leaf gold" color. These colors are not likely to be chosen nowadays (if available), but you need a flamboyant Italian or an extroverted French Diva to wear these colors under the motto "if you don’t like it, look the other way." In any case, they are colorful, and both cars are evenly matched. Not surprisingly, they are from the same production period and are direct competitors.

Power, Performance, and Technical Details

The production Montreal, as shown at the Geneva Motor Show, has a slightly altered body compared to the prototype, with different, less pronounced wheels and, instead of the 1.6-liter, four-cylinder mid-engine from the prototype, a 2,593 cc V8 engine. This engine, with 4 overhead camshafts, delivers exactly 200 hp and is placed in the front. It makes the Montreal capable of reaching 220 km/h. The acceleration from 0-100 km/h takes 7.9 seconds, which is one second faster than the SM. A Montreal weighs around 1,270 kg, about 180 kg lighter than an SM, and has 30 hp more. Due to its favorable aerodynamic properties, an SM (theoretically) has the same top speed.

The engine of the Montreal is derived from the very exotic Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale. With this race car for the road, Alfa Romeo wanted to make their racing technology accessible to the public. The 1,995 cc V8 engine delivered 230 hp at 8,800 rpm! That was a bit too much for the Montreal, which is why a larger engine capacity and fewer horses at a lower maximum rpm of 6,500 rpm were chosen.

The Montreal's Driving Experience

It becomes immediately clear when I get behind the wheel of the Montreal. When driving off, the engine sounds "hollow" and lacking power up to about 2,500 rpm. It seems like the engine is "drowning." It’s not the case—the SPICA injection system just responds this way. Once above 3,000 rpm, the fun begins: the V8 then shows more of the character of a potent V6, eager to be revved up, but with the characteristic V8 sound in the background. It’s a true rev-hungry engine, and this is necessary with a relatively modest torque of 235 Nm at 4,750 rpm. Pushing through the gears up to 7,000 rpm is no problem, and you clearly feel the 200 hp of this engine in the relatively light Montreal. The performance is well above that of the SM. The sports car character of Alfa Romeo clearly emerges here.

The Montreal's Interior and Handling

The Montreal is not exactly a woman-friendly car, despite its relatively compact length of 3.96 meters and a height of just 1.20 meters. The heavy clutch and steering (without power steering) make sure of that. After an hour in the Montreal, you wouldn’t need to go to the gym.

The seating position is great: deep and low. The thin seats offer surprisingly good comfort and lateral support. A hindrance is the (necessary) large 3-spoke steering wheel. It’s large due to the lack of power steering. With a smaller steering wheel, steering at a standstill would be nearly impossible. Once on the move, the Montreal’s steering is sharp and gives just the right amount of feedback to the driver regarding the road surface, centrifugal force in corners, and the speed at which you are driving. The Montreal’s chassis is from the Alfa Romeo "105" series, better known from the GTV 1750. You can definitely feel this. The chassis struggles with the 200 hp V8, as it is simply not stiff enough and twists significantly under heavy acceleration. This doesn’t inspire much confidence, but it is exciting. The whole car feels "alive and kicking." Like many Alfa Romeos, the Montreal has a great deal of character, and the wild Italian spirit lets you enjoy it fully.

Value and Legacy of the Montreal and SM

The Montreal and the SM have been underrated for a long time due to their complex and failure-prone technology. Unlike the SM, however, in the past 5 years, a clear upward trend in the Montreal's value has been observed. A reasonably well-kept, unrestored Montreal now costs at least €60,000, and that quickly rises to €85,000. Restored models cost €90,000 to €120,000. These are average prices. Exceptions always confirm the rule. The high value comes partly from the low production numbers, partly from the beautiful body, the exclusive V8 engine, and not least from the Alfa Romeo brand name.

Romeo & Juliet? Not Quite

Are the Montreal and the SM the Romeo and Juliet of the seventies? I don’t think so. Hot-headed Romeo is far too brutal for the delicate and quick-tempered Diva that is the SM. No, an intimate relationship is not possible. They are simply too different in character for that. That’s probably a good thing: Romeo and Juliet didn’t end well. Fortunately, that’s not the case with the Montreal and the SM. Both cars live happily ever after, thanks to a growing number of owners and admirers!

 

Text: Jan van Ekris / August 18, 2024
Photos and post-production: Henk Middelkoop
Special thanks to Igor Maas, owner of the Alfa Romeo Montreal, and Tammo Brouwer and Peter de Haan, co-owners of the SM Injection Electronique, for their kind cooperation in making this article happen.