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The Alfa Romeo Alfetta was a popular Italian car that was first produced in 1972 as a sedan/saloon. The rear suspension and rear-mounted gearbox were also used in the racing versions - the Alfetta 158 and 159.

In 1974, the first coupe's (GT) rolled off the production line and these were styled with more curves, but featured virtually the same mechanics as the saloon. It had a 1.8 engine until 1976, when two new engine choices were made available - the 1.6 and 2.0, the latter being the GTV. The Alfetta 2000 (2.0L) saloon was also launched in 1976, although right-hand drives weren't made available until 1977.

The Alfetta Sedan was restyled in 1979 with a revised frontend, new wheel trims and new lights. A diesel version was also launched.

1981 saw the launch of an exciting new 2.5 V6 Alfa 6 Saloon. Also, a new and restyled Alfetta coupe GTV6 featured a fuel-injected version of the saloon's engine - the 1.6 litre and 1.8 litre engines were discontinued. The alfetta name was dropped in 1983.  A grey GTV6 featured (for a short period!) in the James Bond film Octopussy.

Alfa Romeo ceased production of all Alfetta models in 1987. Over 400,000 units were sold between 1972 and 1987, although sales were slow during the 1980's due to reliability issues.

Photo: Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV6 (courtesy of John Lloyd)

An Alfetta Saloon (later model from the 1980's)

Alfa Romeo Alfetta 2000