Thursday 18th February 1965

The racing division of Alfa Romeo, Autodelta’s first creation, the GTA (the A stood for ‘alleggerita’ (lightened)) was presented at the Amsterdam Motor Show. The outer body was the same as that of the Alfa Romeo GT, but the interior trim was made out of Peraluman 25, a light alloy of aluminium, manganese, copper and zinc. The 1600 Twin Spark twin shaft engine underwent rigorous reinforcement to increase the power output from 106 to 170 bhp. The GTA triumphed even on its first outings. Seven GTAs took the first seven places, for example, at the Jolly Club 4-hour race in Monza.