Alfa Romeo has designed and built many desirable automobiles, in-house, during its century-plus existence, but some of its most interesting cars have been designed by independent coachbuilders—the 1931 6C 1750 by Zagato, Touring-bodied 8C 2900B of the late ’30s, several lovely Pininfarina Spider designs from the ’50s to the mid-’90s, and Bertone’s 2+2 designs that lasted from 1963 to 1974.
The attractive Bertone-designed GTs were built from 1963 until 1977. There were only two body styles, coupe and cabriolet, although there were detail changes through those years. It was produced with four engine displacements. The Giulia Sprint GT of 1963-1965 had a 1600-cc, as did the GTC (for cabriolet) which was introduced in 1965. The Giulia Sprint GT Veloce, later simply called GTV, replaced the earlier GT in 1965 and had bigger Webers and hotter cams. “Veloce” means “fast” in Italian. That engine lasted until 1968 when a larger 1750-cc was introduced in Alfa’s line of cars. European GTVs continued with Webers, but those carbs didn’t meet the new EPA rules in the U.S., so no 1750s came to the U.S. until 1969 when they received the Spica mechanical fuel injection system. A final engine change was made in 1972, when the GTVs received a 2000-cc power plant. The GTVs were replaced with the newer Alfetta GT in 1975, all except for the GT Junior.
In 1966, Alfa Romeo introduced an entry level GT, the GT Junior, and it was this model that lasted until 1977. Equipped with a 1300-cc engine, Webers, and 5-speed transmission, the car was taxed at a lower rate than the GTV, which made it attractive to Italians who wanted a sporty coupe but without the higher taxes. The body style was the same as the GTV and had the early “step-nose” front end. In 1971, the step-nose body was facelifted with 1750 parts and trim, eliminating the attractive gap at the front of the hood. 
Rick Lesniewicz, owner of this pristine Junior, says, “I was looking for a step-nose, and I’m a 1300 guy; I can live with them. They didn’t import them into this country, so they’re very rare. Canada had a few, but none for sale, so I went to a friend in Holland who agreed to start [a] search.” There were a number of cars with recent restorations, but Lesniewicz ruled them out. “I [don’t] like fresh restorations because of the issues that crop up after they’ve been fully cured.” His friend found a nice one in Padua; its restoration was 10 years old; and Lesniewicz bought it. When asked if he was going to ship it from Italy to Holland, his friend said he was going to drive it back—quite a recommendation. The car arrived in New York in November 2014, in plenty time for Lesniewicz to get used to it before the Alfa club convention in Rhode Island in June 2015. The car took a 3rd place in its class there.
The GT Junior is a comfortable car for two and has decent, occasional seating for an additional two people. It is equipped much like the GTV, although the smaller engine requires more use of the gears than its bigger brother in order to keep speed up on twisty or hilly roads. The ride is firm, which is how Alfa owners like it, with great roadholding and leans less than its sedan brethren. It has great brakes, and its steering is light and precise. Best of all, though, is that the Italian driving position, requiring short legs and long arms, is less noticeable in the Junior than in—especially—the Spiders.
Compared to earlier Juniors, the 1969 had an improved suspension and was more refined and quieter. Brakes were slightly smaller than on the GTV, but the car now had a servo to assist in braking. Visual differences between the two models had grown—the GTV now had four headlights instead of the two on the Junior and only the Junior continued with the step-nose hood. Inside the car, the GTV had a nice center console, an upgrade not included in the Junior.
Since buying my first Alfa in 1971, I have had 14 of them, including cars powered by everything from 1300s to the more recent V6s, but I had never driven a GT Junior. I had one step-nose ’66 GTV, and I have always preferred that body style to the later GTs. When I saw Rick Lesniewicz had a GT Junior, I knew I had to drive it. Luckily, he was very willing to let me.
Even after sitting on the show field all morning, the car started quickly without using the choke. It was a warm day, but Alfas with Webers often need a little tickling to get them started. Lesniewicz told me that the car had plenty of torque, so there was no need to keep the revs up as we negotiated the local streets. We drove around Warwick, Rhode Island, for a while, and the car was very good on the curves and over the bumps. The ride is stiff, but that’s the way I like my cars—you feel the road better. I had occasion to use the ATE brakes, and I was impressed with their stopping power—the same brakes on my heavier Giulia Super sedan take a bit more effort. Handling on the curves was great—very little lean, again compared to my sedan. The seats were comfortable and the bolster was enough to hold me during spirited cornering. The car felt light, was fun to drive, and had very good road-holding. Then we took it to the Interstate.
I have to admit, I didn’t expect a lot from this pretty little GT with its 1300-cc power plant, but as we turned onto the ramp, Lesniewicz said “redline it in every gear.” While it wasn’t neck snapping, the acceleration was good all the way to the redline of 6000 rpm, and we were quickly up to and past Interstate speed. While a GTV would accelerate faster, Lesniewicz said “I’ll get there at the same time.” If the way he encouraged me to drive the car is any indication, he certainly would “get there at the same time.”
After two quick sprints up and down the Interstate, we headed back to the hotel. Lesniewicz had one more thing to show me, though. As we merged with street traffic, he said “keep it in third gear and see what happens.” I did. We turned right, and I saw the revs drop to about 2000 rpm. Then we turned into the hotel entrance, and the revs dropped to just under 1500. Turning into the parking lot, the revs were at 1000 rpm. There was no judder, no pinging, no hesitation; the car just picked up speed as I pressed the gas pedal. I was amazed at the torque this little engine had.
When I finally returned the car to the show field, I was smiling. “I want one!” was the only thing I could think to say. It has the best Alfa GT body, it is comfortable to drive, it can carry four people, it accelerates reasonably and it has bags of torque. Bottom line, it’s a fun car!
Specifications
Length: 161 inches Width: 62.2 inches Height: 51.8 inches Weight: 2,224 pounds Wheelbase: 92.5 inches Front Track: 50 inches Rear Track: 51.6 inches Engine: Aluminum DOHC in-line 4 Carburetors: Dual Weber side draft twin choke Displacement: 1290cc Bore: 74 millimeters Stroke: 75 millimeters Compression: 9.0:1 Horsepower: 103 bhp @6000 rpm Transmission: 5-speed all-synchro Brakes: ATE disks
Performance
Top Speed 104 mph 0-60 mph 13.2 seconds
Average Fuel Consumption 27.0 mpg
Valuation
Price New: £1,749
Excellent: $29,300
Good: $22,500
Average: $17,600
Poor: $10,200
