We caught up with Steve Lebrun at the 2017 PVGP Historics at Pitt Race where he talks about his beautiful recreation of an Alfa Romeo GTAm and the heartbreak that can come with racing.

The GTAm (1969–1971) could produce up to 240 PS (180 kW; 240 hp) in the 2000 cc car—a car usually related to the GTA, but unlike the GTA derived from the GTV 1750 (US version). The 1750 GTAm (later called 2000 GTAm when the 2000 GTV was introduced) was created in 1969.

There are two schools of thought about the "Am" moniker, neither one ever having been officially confirmed by Alfa Romeo: One expands Am to Alleggerita Maggiorata (Italian: lightened enlarged), the other America Maggiorata. The car had a full steel body modified with aluminium and / or plastic parts. Because of an increased minimum weight in 1971 (up from 920 to 940 kg), the GTAm's had less need for aluminium and / or plastic parts.

The base for the GTAm was the 1750 GTV with a SPICA mechanical fuel injection system. The majority of the genuine GTAm's built by Autodelta have a chassis number starting with 105.51.XXXXXX. The European market 1750 GTV with dual carburettors from Dell'Orto or Weber carburetor and chassisnumbers starting with 105.44.XXXXXX was also used as a base.

The same goes for the 2000 GTV and the 1300 GT Junior bodyshell that was lighter. Note that some racing teams and private workshops ordered the parts from Autodelta and other tuners and assembled the cars themselves on a new or existing bodyshell.

The original 1750 engine block (actually 1779 cc) was used and by inserting a monosleeve instead of four individual cylinderliners, received 1985 cc and later to 1999 cc to participate in the 2000 cc class, explaining the "maggiorata" (enlarged).

​According to the sources, some 40 GTAm's were built by Autodelta and by private workshops. This number is difficult to verify as the GTAm's didn't have their own specific chassis number series. In the second revised edition of the book `Alleggerita` (written by Tony Adriaensens & Patrick Dasse), published in 2012 by Dingwort Verlag, you will find the most complete list available of GTAm's.

Dave Lebrun takes a few minutes for an interview about his 1967 Alfa Romeo Giulia GTV right before the Group 4 Race on Sunday during the 2017 PVGP Historics at Pitt Race.  

written by Bernard Martin
Vincent Vaccaro, from South Salem NY  has vintage racing for a little over 9 years. He purchased his current racer, a 1972 Alfa Romeo GTV five years ago. Prior to this car Vince raced a 1959 Alfa Romeo Giulietta which he campaigned in Pittsbrugh for 4 years when the track was called Beaverun.

The 1972 Alfa Romeo GTV 2000, which hits a top speed of around 130 mph has got a 2 litre engine and twin Weber 45s. It's sports a red and black livery that features the Captain Lawrence Brewery Logo, the brewery that's owned by Vince's son Scott and located in Elmsford, NY.  ​

When we asked him about his favorite section of the newly expanded Pitt Race course he got a big smile!  "The Downhill corkscrew is just incredible!"

In 2014, Vince was treated to a tour of the newly re-opened Alfa Romeo Museum and he told us that the racing history of Alfa Romeo on display was something that each and every Allfisti should some day make a visit to see.

Vince goes on to explain that the Alfa Romeo racers are a very close community who really support each other during the races. ​

by Bernard Martin, Managing Director, Cortile Italian Car Show

The 2017 Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance exemplified grace under pressure. With a 100% chance of heavy precipitation forecast for Sunday for the scheduled Concours d'Elegance and a sunshine-filled Saturday in the mix, Bill Warner and his team chose to move Sunday’s award-winning Concours to Saturday.  No small undertaking.
​

As I was having lunch on Friday with several other writers, I noted that I had heard that Warner and his team had come up with a "Plan B" back in 2000 if a weather event caused the the Concours to be moved.  As happenstance would have it, one to the people at the table chimed in "I'm on the Board and THIS is Plan B. We are in it. There isn't a Place C. We'll see if it works"

​It's a momentous task shoehorning a full schedule of Saturday and Sunday events into one day.  The Concours show would now coincide with Saturday’s "Cars & Coffee at the Concours presented by Heacock Classic Insurance".  The entire Cars and Coffee show field had to be relocated to an adjoining field, transport staff had to move up plans for unloading Concours cars by a full day; with cars that where still en route!  It required parking two different cars shows at the same time.   

Warner and his staff, according to rumor, had to make it all happen with 40% less volunteers who where only scheduled for a Sunday event. No small undertaking. It went off gracefully. It was a tremendous show. Warner and his team pulled a rabbit out of their hat while herding cats and looked great doing it!

It also made the task of trying to see over 600+ cars in a short period of time just as daunting.  Nevertheless, I was able to find some very nice examples of rolling Italian art on both the Concours and Cars and Coffee Showfield. 

Easily befitting our 2017 Proiettore Macchina, The Best of Show - Concours de Sport, was a 1939 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Lungo Spider from the Dano Davis Collection.

In the 1930s, the 8C 2900 Alfa was not a mere sports car but was the most advanced, modern and compelling sports car money could buy.  Milan's own Carrozzeria Touring patented the "Superleggera" construction which coincided with the birth of Alfa Romeo's masterpiece. 

​Approximately 32 of the 2.9 chassis were made and it is believed only 12 are Touring Spiders, seven of which are the long chassis like this car.  This car's known history starts in 1949.  In February 1949 it was raced in Sao Paulo by amateur driver Mario Tavares Leite who had the car imported from Italy to Brazil.  Mario won races with the car in 1949 and 1950 after which the car disappeared.  

Later it had a Corvette engine installed and the chassis was modified.  It is possible this car traveled to Brazil from Argentina in the mid to late 1950s without the Touring body and with the Corvette V-8 only to be reunited with the original Touring coachwork some four decades later. ​

Alfa Romeo Images courtesy of Nathan Deremer, Lead photographer and owner of Deremer Studios, the official photography studio of the 2017 Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance.

The Bonhams Amelia Island 2017 auction was held Thursday, at the Fernandina Beach Golf Club. It generated nearly $10.2 million in total sales with an 87% sell-through rate. A selection of more than 85 automobiles were offered at Bonhams’ 3rd annual sale. 

​Amongst the auction results, of the cars pictured below, the 1955 Ferrari 250 GT Europa Coupe was the top dollar car sold at the auction for a whopping $2,227,500. Bringing in the 3rd top dollar position was the 1986 Lamborghini Countach LP5000 Quattrovalvole for $335,500 while the 1968 Lamborghini Islero 400 GT, sold for $247,500, the 8th biggest sale of the show.

The Gooding & Company’s East Coast auction showcased at the Omni Amelia Island Plantation, a classic beachfront resort.  Held on Friday before the celebrated Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, Gooding & Company’s auction showcased a curated lineup of cars, invited spirited bidding.  Since debuting at Amelia Island in 2010, Gooding & Company’s prices realized have more than doubled, earning the event its reputation as the premier East Coast collector car auction.

Pictured below are some to of the examples of Italian design that went up on the block.  

The little 1958 Fiat 1200 TV Trasformabile pictured at the beginning of the slide show was a car I first saw at the Concourso Italiano show in 2015 during Monterey car week. It was based upon the Turismo Veloce, or fast touring, version of Fiat’s 1100 series, the limited-production 1100 Spider delivered fine details, a luxurious cockpit with swiveling seats, excellent road manners, and a handsome body designed by Fabio Luigi Rapi. By 1957, larger engines inspired the 1200 TV designation. While more revisions came in 1959, the 1957–58 models captivate today’s collectors. 

Along with a green convertible top, this sporting 1200 TV is presented with the body handsomely painted Gray Beige over upgraded green leather upholstery highlighted by white piping. It includes twin fog lamps, whitewall tires, correct spin-off hubcaps, a discreet modern radio, plus a factory-type steering wheel.  As you can see in the slideshow, we opened the hood to make sure that the olive oil can was still in place.  A rather humorous touch by the previous owner.

One of the marvelous things about the Amelia Island Concours d'Elgecance is the extremely rare cars that you can only find on display at Bill Warner's event.  

As you look through the slide show below, you'll find a one-ff 1930 Alfa Romeo 1750 GS Testa Fissa.  Its the gray colored race car featured at the beginning of the slide show.  It has a very unique body that was recreated on the original chassis.  Just three months after its introduction, a 1750 driven by Giuseppe Campari and Giulio Ramponi would win the 1929 Mille Miglia. Later that year, Marinoni and Benoist won the Belgian 24 Hour Race at Spa. Alfa would take the Targa Florio, too, and one year later, the company won its second Mille Miglia, in addition to a host of other events. In short, Alfa Romeo began the 1930s as it ended the 1920s—utterly dominating Italy’s sports car and competition scene.

The Alfa 3000CM was featured in the Alfa Romeo booth again this year.  If you recall from last years report, it was campaigned at the PVGP back in the early 1980's and is part of the Auriana Collection. 

​When you get to the end of this slide show you'll see a lovely 1933 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300. The 8C 2300 Tipo Le Mans' was the sport version of the '8C 2300' and it had a successful debut in the 1931 Eireann Cup driven by Henry Birkin. It won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1931 (Howe-Birkin); 1932 (Chinetti-Sommer); 1933 (Nuvolari-Sommer) and 1934 (Chinetti-Etancelin).

One of the most interesting vehicles at Cars and Coffee at the Concours was this 1959 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Veloce "Confortevole" pictured in the first few slides below.  The production total of the Confortevole (comfortable) variant of the Sprint Veloce (SVC) was 199, the first 50 having aluminum framed windows. An SVC seems to be an SV which falls between the SVAlleggerita (SVA) and the 101 body based SV which began production in early 1958 and upon which 101 mechanical components were gradually phased in until the 750 bits were all used up, sometime in 1960.

​Basically, the Confortevole is an updated version of the race-bred lightweight  "Allegerita" Sprint Veloce but has a more comfortable interior and lacks the aluminum body panels & plastic windows of the lightweight.  It still maintains all of the high-performance mechanical features of the lightweight but in a grand touring version.  

​As a side note, the folks pictured in the lawn chairs behind the red caravan turned out to be from Pittsburgh originally, just like the van which had a pre-insterate Pennsylvania map sitting on the dash.  

We're also very excited to welcome Heacock Classic Insurance to the 2017 Cortile as a sponsor and they will be providing Coffee on both Saturday and Sunday morning July 15-17 during the arrival of the show cars!

Joe Parlanti was kind enough to share his Race Cam footage from inside his 1958 Alfa Giulietta Zagato Abarth GTV Duetto TC 1000 Double Bubble PVGP Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix. You can click on the links above to learn more about his car.  This will keep your warm for the Holidays! 

​Sunday July 19 2015: Time 1:00PM estimated
Each year we stage a special race to honor our marque of the year. With all Italian Cars being recognized we are anticipating a large contingent to battle for the honor of Italy. This race will be the first race after lunch on Sunday afternoon. See full race schedule. It will be 8 laps or 20 minutes.  Participants must be enlisted to race within one of our vintage race groups for the weekend.  Italian cars will be honored throughout all 10 days of the 2015 Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix. Click here for details and links to our other Race Week events.  We hope to see all of Italy’s great racing cars: Ferrari, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Abarth and Lancia as well as some of the rare brands like Isotta Fraschini, Bandini, Siata or Stangueillini.