About Alfa Romeo Montreal
The organizer of the 1967 Montreal World Expo commissioned Alfa Romeo to build a concept-car to envision the future of the automobile. And that's how the car was born.
The concept-car didn't even have a name but everybody was talking about it as “The Montreal” so the Italian car-maker named it Montreal. The car was never sold on the North American continent due to emission standards. The production model was introduced to the market in 1970, at the Geneva Motor Show.
It was designed by Marcelo Gandini, who worked for Bertone Studio, in just two months. After the car-maker decided to make it as a series production vehicle, some parts were modified to obey the European safety rules and one of them influenced the lids over the headlights. The overall design with a long hood, a sleek cabin, and raked liftgate helped the car obtaining a very good aerodynamic coefficient. The body panels featured zinc phosphate coating and electro-deposition of the undercoat before final spray painting by hand which was a very efficient anti-corrosion treatment.
The interior featured two bucket-seats in the front separated by a tall transmission tunnel and a center console where the gear-stick was installed. There was a pair of seats in the back, but with very little room for adults. The unusual instrument cluster was considered futuristic for that era. But that was the idea.
For the drivetrain, Alfa Romeo installed a 2.6-liter V8 engine mated to a 5-speed gearbox. It sent the power to the rear wheel via a 4.1:1 ratio limited-slip differential. For the braking system, it featured ventilated discs. The Montreal had a 55:45 weight distribution.