The first time we met...

I make no secret of the fact that the Alfa GT Junior entered my life as something I've been aware of for years, something I've thought about constantly, yet the chance to turn that dream into reality long eluded me. We cover this car—which has rightfully become a legend and the dream of most true Alfisti—in a more detailed review and video. But today, let's explore an idea that spent years forming in my mind while watching dozens of YouTube videos and searching for information in books and across the internet: the Alfa Romeo GTA, or if you prefer, the Giulia Sprint GTA, and consequently, the GTA 1300 Junior. For me personally, this car is a kind of 'Holy Grail'—unattainable, rare, unique, perfect, with an immense history and an absolutely staggering number of sporting successes on racetracks, and not only in Europe.

 My fascination with this car and its racing career, linked to legendary names such as Andrea de Adamich, Gian Luigi Picchi, Ignazio Giunti, and Enrico Pinto, led to the idea of attempting to create a replica of the road-going version—the Stradale. In this specification, the Alfa GTA left the factory in Arese equipped with a twin-ignition engine (two spark plugs per cylinder) tuned to 85 kW, or 115 horsepower, from a 1.6-liter displacement. In this trim, customers could order and purchase it from a dealer, though the price naturally reflected its exclusivity. It was essentially a stepping stone to the racing Corsa version. Most Stradale units thus served merely as a baseline for further modifications that pushed engine output to a staggering 170 horsepower!

Since we've touched on the subject of price, let's stay there for a moment. Today, prices for a GTA rarely fall below €200,000, and there is no need to even mention racing specifications or cars with a documented competition history."

Given the financial unattainability, converting a standard GT 1300 Junior appeared to be the optimal path. Sourcing an original twin-ignition engine is nearly impossible, as they rarely appear on the market, and when they do, their prices are astronomical. An alternative is a custom-built engine from renowned suppliers like OKP or Formula GT in Munich, but even there, costs are enormous. My plan, therefore, was to keep the existing 1300 cc engine and perform modifications to push the output from the stock 89 hp to more interesting figures. This seemed the most sensible and economically viable route.

Late-night internet browsing shook me out of my lethargy when I stumbled upon an ad for a car still wearing its original black Italian plates and carrying its original documents. However, the car was in Norway—outside the European Union. I figured I had nothing to lose, and sending an inquiry felt inevitable. The owner responded promptly, and a pure discussion about the sale began. As always, bureaucracy proved to be the greatest enemy—endless questions for the customs office, forms, duties, taxes, and so on. Finally, the decision was made, and the purchase went through. The meeting point was set, gentleman-style, 'halfway.' The owner loaded the car onto a trailer, took a ferry, and headed to the port of Rostock. I set off from the opposite direction with my own trailer, and we met exactly on time.

The car had clearly been through a lot. The bodywork bore many battle scars—corrosion on the doors, dents everywhere, including the roof. Both the exterior and interior had 'lived,' but the crucial part was under the hood. The idea of a road car essentially equipped with racing technology was irresistible. The owner was extremely helpful and reflected all the flaws in the price—a price at which it would otherwise be unthinkable to find such a vehicle.

After a 30-minute loading process, I headed back to Prague. Having covered about 900 km, I decided to overtake a line of trucks. At around 110 km/h, my eye caught something black flying off the trailer wheels in the left mirror. Since it was dry and not raining, mud seemed unlikely. Reality, however, moved faster than thought; within five seconds, a tire on the trailer's rear axle blew. Shreds of rubber flew everywhere, and the loaded trailer took on a wild stance, jerking the entire car. I was right next to a semi-truck at that moment, whose driver had no idea what was happening. By some miracle, I braked gently and managed to merge back between the trucks into the right lane. God was on my side—about 100 meters ahead, there was a widening in the road without guardrails. The trailer held on for that distance, and I managed to stop safely off the road. What followed was a multi-hour martyrdom of seeking help. Despite the rental trailer being properly insured, the assistance service in Germany forgot to pass on the report—twice in a row. I ended up sitting in the grass by the highway for nearly six hours. Once help arrived, changing the wheel took just 10 minutes. If only I'd had a socket set with me... Returning to Prague after 20 hours on the road was a massive relief.

 Now, a bit about the car. To boost the engine, I chose a kit from Spruell. The complete engine assembly took place in Germany, involving the replacement of cylinder liners, connecting rods, and pistons with high-compression versions, along with a new head gasket and several other partial modifications. The result? Performance jumped from the standard 89 hp to 133.5 hp. These are real dyno figures, not just calculations (see the attached dyno graph). Simultaneously, the Weber DCOE 40 carburetors were overhauled, and an oil vapor breather was added, venting into a catch tank.

Since work had begun on the mechanicals, it was impossible to increase performance while leaving the suspension stock. This was followed by replacing the shocks with sports units from Koni, reinforcing the stabilizer bar, and installing stiffer bushings to improve steering precision and cornering stability.

Ultimately, a complete overhaul of the drivetrain was decided upon—including the gearbox, rear axle, and differential. Everything was removed from the car and sent to the place where they have been doing it best for decades: BACCI Romano.

There, the limited-slip differential (LSD) underwent a full rebuild, and a brand-new 'dog-leg' gearbox was built (with first gear positioned down and to the left). According to calculations, the rear axle is now capable of handling up to 400 horsepower.

The car competed in circuit races, which required everything to be fine-tuned according to safety regulations. A safety aluminum fuel tank with a top-filling neck was relocated to the trunk. The interior was completely stripped—seats were removed, door panels were replaced with smooth sheet metal, sound deadening was stripped out, rear glass was replaced with Makrolon, and the headliner was removed. In essence, everything that added weight or posed a fire risk was gone. The weight dropped to approximately 900 kg, including the roll cage. For comparison, racing GTAs weighed an incredible 750 kg...

The car successfully participated in circuit racing, taking 1st place in its class at Donington Park and 3rd place at Assen.

After its successful racing career, the idea emerged to bring the car from the track back to the road—allowing its capabilities and charm to be enjoyed more than just a few times a year..