Classic Era

Description

The 1750 GT Veloce was the flagship of the 105 series Coupe range at the time of its facelift in late 1967. It heralded the arrival of the 1779cc version of famous all-aluminum twin-cam, and was mated as per standard Alfa Romeo practice, to a magnificent five-speed gearbox, and drove the rear wheels via an excellently-located live rear axle that endowed the car with a fabulous ride, and precise and nimble handling.

The 1750’s styling was still essentially that of Giorgetto Giugaro’s, at the age of 24, but had the previous model’s step-fronted valance removed with its twin headlamps and replaced with a four-headlamp optical group, ‘smooth’ valance and iconic Alfa Romeo ‘heart’ nestled in the middle.

Its interior was completely new by comparison to its forebear, the 1600 Sprint Veloce. Jaeger instruments housed inside integrated binnacles in the dash, upsweeping centre console sprouting the gear lever in an elegant quadrant with a leather gaiter and slender, unlabeled Bakelite switches. And no description of the car’s interior would be complete without mention of the fabulous flying-butress seats which were spectacular, if not the last word in comfort.

Whilst all 105 series Alfa Romeo coupes are magnificent, the 1750 is regarded by many as the sweetest. This example was built in Arese, Milan in August 1968 as it is seen here, with Light Silver Metallic over ‘red’ leather interior. It was registered as a demonstrator at MW Motors on Elizabeth Street, Melbourne before being sold new to a Collins Street dentist. Upon his passing, the car was handed to his son who sold it to a South Yarra Architect in around 2002 for a short ownership before being acquired by its current owner.