1972 Alfa Romeo GT Junior 1600

Vendor Simon bought this Alfa Giulia Junior from Silverstone Auctions in May 2017. “I didn’t view the car before I purchased, so I was really pleased when I saw the quality of the bodywork,” he explains.

“It’s an Italian car and at the time of purchase, it wasn’t UK registered so I had an MOT tested and made the relevant changes to have it made road legal here. The mileage was noted as being 88,602 but it is in fact in kilometres. It’s only covered an additional 637km since that original MOT.”

Originally registered in Milan, a wide variety of Italian documents are included in car’s history file (please see Photo Gallery, below). These show it as being converted for historic racing in 1996, before going on to win the Sicilian round of the Italian Hill Climb Championship in both 2013 and 2016.

The Junior was granted an FIA Historic Technical Passport in 2015 and is accompanied by its old CAI Technical Passport (Form no 1917N, Period H1 1972-1975, FIA Class 23). “It’s generally been prepared to ‘Appendix J’ regulations, but any purchaser wishing to undertake historic racing would have to verify compliance with FIA regulations.”

Simon hasn’t carried any major work on the car, other than fitting GTA-style trumpets to the Weber 40 DCOE carburettors to improve breathing – although the original air filter is included in the spares package. He also had the car serviced by renowned 105 specialist Ian Ellis Classic Alfas on the 27th of May 2021.

“I had intended to go down the Restomod route and upgrade the Junior with an Alfa Romeo 75 Twin Spark engine (which I have purchased, and is available by separate negotiation for around £2000), however I had second thoughts as the installation would have voided its FIA papers.

“My personal circumstances have also recently changed and due to downsizing I need to recover some garage space; every time I look at the car, I think I’ll keep it, but I know that it must now go on to a new home.”

There’s no doubt that’s a shame for Simon but it’s an opportunity for someone else pick up a cheeky Junior, which offers a wide range of classic driving options.

“For a 1972 Alfa Romeo the bodywork is in remarkable condition,” says Simon. “It’s very solid, with few visible signs of corrosion. I’ve had the car for five years and it’s still in top condition. I’ve always stored it in a Carcoon system – this can also be made available to the purchaser for £300 (about half the cost new!)”

The paintwork is very good. The panels do have one or two minor dents here and there, but wheel arches and sills appear lovely, clean and corrosion free.

As anyone in the classic car game knows, bodywork is the single biggest expense when it comes to restoration, prep or even a general tidy up. That this car requires none whatsoever is perhaps its biggest selling point; oh, and its racy disposition; oh, and its looks; oh, and… I could keep going ad infinitum.

Bumpers have been removed for a sporty look (and weight saving). Front and rear tow hooks are fitted, as well as all manner of boot and bonnet securing clips. There’s also an exterior electrical cut-off pull.

The Junior’s alluring outline should have anyone with even a smidgeon of Alfisti in their heart should be rubbing their trouser legs by now…

The cabin has, as you’d expect, a stripped-out race-prepped ambience. A full Sparco FIA-spec roll cage is fitted, as are Sprint bucket seats (in a lovely contrasting blue) and harnesses. There are no carpets or sound deadening – it’s a racer, perish the very thought!

A Sparco steering wheel and gear knob are both in situ and the dashboard has electrical cut-off switches in place, as well as labels denoting what all the essential driver switches are.

“The FIA approved roll cage is bolt-in so could be removed. I installed the passenger seat (for FIA it had one) to make the car more usable, and they’re fixed for the regulations; however, undoing four bolts can see them moved. I’m short, so I suggest the buyer brings a socket set when they collect the car.”

Simon did buy a seat runner kit (which is included in the spares package) but hasn’t fitted them, as they will require new fixing points to be welded to the floor pan. The headlining could do with renewing and that was to be his next job, should he have kept the car. A new Alfa Romeo headliner is included in the spares kit.

“Unfortunately the passenger seat has some bite marks from a fox; when I drove the car to Ian Ellis I was unaware that there was one under my seat. It made the local BBC news: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-sussex-57204203”.

Those of you, like I, salivating at the thought of this little Italian are surely wondering how it drives; well, Simon popped behind the steering wheel at the car’s Hove storage unit and drove it the 160 miles up to our Abingdon HQ, via his home in Bromley.

“It drives really well and covered the distance without any issues at all; obviously there’s no power steering and with rear-wheel drive it’s a proper classic driving experience on the road. The car is left-hand drive, but this is really not a problem on UK roads due to its compact size and excellent visibility.”

Want to gain a measure of what it’s like to pilot? Then pop the video below on, and scroll through to 2 minutes and 52 seconds when it’s rorty little four-pot is sparked up. The induction noise is manna from petrolhead heaven, but we would be tempted to change the exhaust system for one with a slightly deeper bass note (and that fits about tighter under the rear valance – first world problems, eh?).

It’s focussed under the bonnet with a clean looking engine and carburettors breathing through foam trumpets. Simon has recently fitted a new high power battery (with 5-year guarantee) and says that the car has never been run on E10 fuel.

This car scores very well underneath, as it’s a very solid looking picture. There is a touch of overspray here and there, but we’ll put that down to competition car prep. The very bottom of the front valance may benefit from a wire brush and re-spray just to keep it tip-top.

“There’s a slight amount of damage to the driver’s floor pan,” says Simon. “This isn’t very worrying, and can be seen in the photos; even if you did change the floor pan it’s only about £120 plus welding costs.”

The V5c document shows the Junior’s first UK registration date as 01/05/2018 and its first general one as 26/06/1972.

The car’s FIA papers are included (FIA Class: T 23), as well as its previous CSAI ‘Passporto Tecnico’ and several Alfa Romeo Giulia-related books. There are also a number of recent invoices for fettling works that Simon has had carried out, and one or two bits and bobs (badges and other assorted spare parts) that he’s purchased.

Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing where you will find photos of the paperwork to support our claim that this car has been race-prepped and maintained to a very good standard.

The 105-Series Alfa Romeo Giulia is one of the most achingly pretty classic cars, but be in no doubt that that’s backed up by a proper old-school rear-wheel-drive driving experience. They’re proper hard-charging little wagons.

This example is bodily solid and has been fast-road/race prepped and comes with a decent bit of contemporary hill climb history. As such, it offers a wide range of options for its next owner. These include: fettle and race as is, as an Historic race car; keep as a fast road car with a racy look; complete a restomod with a Twin Spark engine; or fully restore as a road car.

Given this plethora of choices, we think this lovely little creature will sell for between £17,000 and £24,000. That’s surely not a lot for instant entry to the Junior’s breathless, high-revving world?

Viewing is always encouraged, and this car is located at our headquarters near Abingdon; we are open weekdays between 9am-5pm, so to arrange an appointment please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing to make an appointment. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.