GTV6 Designer

[planetmojo]

Thanks Brad, I'll try to remember to include that in any e-mails to them. Gabor may have suggested that a Mr. Surace was where he learned his account on this question, also. It sounded like he may have been a part of the team at ALFA during that time.

[Gabor K.]

Nice position here, going for the truth, the real story!

I have posted this link before, but maybe not everybody has noticed. Its an interview of Mr Surace in 2007 by one of your guys. The leader of Florida chapter. Maybe somebody knows this leader of Florida chapter? Possibly he could contact Mr. Surace again and ask him further questiones? That would be getting the truth from the horses mouth, so to say

Here a link to an interview of Mr. Surace the leader of Alfa projects just before the takeover of Fiat. Look p. 11-13.

http://web.mac.com/arocswfl1/arocswf...1jan07.pdf.pdf

[MotorCityDuetto]

Here is the 1974 Maserati prototype I was thinking of, which is probably very much like what Giugiaro had in mind for the Alfetta.

[Gabor K.]

I like that one, just like the Khamsin. Lot of 116GTV in both of them.

For everyday life the GTV is more suited though, so I think Alfa struck a nice compromise there. Nice looks with everyday usefullness.

[wonderbrad]

That Maserati is stunning. The irony though is that somehow I think the Alfetta/GTV6's sheetmetal was more timeless and had a longer lifespan as a result than something truly wedge-like and folded like the car above. Yet there is no denying the beauty of those early 70s folded paper cars!

[planetmojo]

Very Delicious! Do you remember the name of that concept offering? I certainly remember seeing pictures of this car way back then.

One of the differences that distinguishes the 'Green piece of rolling sculpture' from the Khamsin, is where the roofline takes it's time in it's descent to reach the cutoff at the tail. Allowing the roofline to stay higher longer, and still maintain a slippery swept curve. A little closer to the Alfetta/GTV6 roofline.

Now you have those few precious inches that can allow you to begin considering the possibility of headroom for a rear seat.

I guess I should add that to my earlier list of reasons for choosing a GTV6 over a Spider, Triumph TR8, or other 2-seat roadsters. At the time, I could afford only one car to get me around all year long. Something in the sports category, but if it had a tiny bit of something that would make it more practical... Bonus!

I realize that the back seat of the GTV6 only works well for children, hobbits, and legless people. But still, a back seat. I'm short enough that I can pull the driver's seat forward to allow a normal size person in the back for very short hauls. I found out first hand, how fun the back seat can be in a trip from LA to Seattle in my Alfetta Coupe with two other friends. I was given only 2 options for the drive back... me in the rear seat, or scotch-taped to the roof. Two women against one guy. Being a gentleman, I didn't fight for the driver's seat. And now I know why they didn't want the rear seat again.

I also employed a trick to turn it into a station wagon when needed. Remove the small bolt that secures the rearward end of the hatch shock, and replace it with a quickly removable clevis pin. This allows the package shelf to stay down when you open the hatch. So I could now use the ALFA to haul large panels, slid in from the rear.