The Wonderful Alfa Romeo 2000 and 2600 Sprint

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When we think about classic Alfa Romeos, a 2000 or a 2600 Sprint coupés aren't likely to be the first cars that come to mind.
Yet these gorgeous grand tourers have a pretty special place in automobile history, as they marked the beginning of Giorgetto Giugiaro's stellar career in automobile design, one that would include over 200 models and an estimated 50 million cars.
#AlfaRomeo #Giugiaro #CarDesign
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[@Siccher]

I soooooo much want to go to an Alfa Romeo museum

[@melorate]

Giugiaro is a living legend!❤️ His last Alfa - Brera/159 will skyrocket in value in near future.. Sadly a lot of them going to the junkyard for parts, however they're getting more valuable and rare.

[@gr182]

The Brera is the one to tuck away in your garage. I doubt the 159 will be highly collectable. The prototype was the most amazing vehicle with a carbon body, V8 engine and scissor doors. But it remained a dream, however the Brera in production captured the essence of this flight of fancy very well.

[@melorate]

@@gr182 Even nowadays 159 with 1,75tbi engine is starting to go up over 10 000 - 12000 euros, but yes Brera is more valuable in general.

[@johnphaceas7434]

Here in Australia, 159s have dropped to the same sort of prices that decent 156s are fetching (A$5-9k), while 156s have risen off the floor over the last 3 years. I recently sold my '99 V6 156 for $6k, which was almost double what I paid for it in 2016. The problem with the 159 is that its all show, no go. Stylistically looks good, but on every other measure, it is outperformed by the 156. Too heavy. But all cars seem to have a second time in the sun - no doubt the 159 will too. At least the 1750 TBi, and really rare variants like the Sportwagon 3.2 AWD versions.

[@melorate]

@@johnphaceas7434 I agree with you. As I said in my first comment the thing that will eventually add up some value is the GIUGIARO badge on the fender, not the car itself. He has the designer of the Century award, Star in hall of fame and many more.

[@johnphaceas7434]

@@melorate i'm fan of many Giugiaro designs - also have an Alfetta GTV at home. Except I'm not a fan of the Giugiaro "update" of the 156, which ruined the face of the original Walter da Silva design, and made the 156 look too generic.

[@graemelliott3942]

To me this car looks like the big brother of the GTV! Nice video Thank you from Los Angeles

[@studiocalder818]

Of course. It's the mother. Giuguaro drawed both the cars

[@Matteo_Licata]

They do look similar indeed, and that's by design: when Alfa asked Bertone to style the Giulia GT, it explicitly asked for a "family resemblance" between it and the existing 2600 coupè :)

[@graemelliott3942]

@@Matteo_Licata thank you for your wonderful videos. Ive had several Alfa, Mostly Spiders. I also had a '64 Guilia Sprint GT Veloce and a ' 67Guilia Super.

[@Matteo_Licata]

Thank you very much for watching, and congrats for all the cool cars you’ve owned, that’s great to hear! 👍

[@thomasthacker4939]

It just blows my mind, that all Mr Giugiaro put his pen to, has somehow been turned to iconic gold. All his work has this untouchable sense of gravity. Just simply beautiful, timeless design. Thank you for another great reflection of history. So many design companies should watch this channel to help in someway find a way back to the basics.

[@Matteo_Licata]

Wow, thank you very much for your kind words!

[@michaflak5174]

This Alfa has a special place in my heart. It's one of those automobiles which I could exchange with my currently own ones (and I do have a tendence to own cars for long periods of time because of the emotional connection). BTW- I know that my proposal exiges the scope of this channel, but maybe You could make a short video about Italian Fords (Taunus 20/23M OSI and Anglia Torino) or about Ford with italian names (Capri, Cortina).

[@Matteo_Licata]

Thank you! I do concentrate on Italian cars merely because they are my main area of expertise, but I'm not against covering Fords. I may do so in the future, if I stumble on a nice car to film or have enough material to tell a story.

[@michaflak5174]

@@Matteo_Licata maybe my car is too abused (it is my first car and I do still have a very heavy right foot for last 17 years) but I can (with great plesure) provide You with knowlege I have :)

[@legendus1159]

My favorite car of all time. In HS when I started siriously looking at cars.. I discoverd old Alfas specialy GT junior, but then this one captured me. Still my fav.

[@Matteo_Licata]

I imagine. It's a real beauty!

[@Nellis202]

21 years old and a design within 3 days. Just unbelievable. Where has that passion gone today !

[@Matteo_Licata]

Well, I'd say it has as much to do with Giugiaro's talent as it has with the historical period: the automobile industry was going through an intense period of growth and development in Italy at the time, which created such amazing opportunities for talented young designers to seize.

[@BanjoLuke1]

A gorgeous car I've never seen on the road. I hadn't realised it was a Giugiaro design.... Now that I know, it makes sense. There are some jewels out there and this is one. Nice video.

[@brunotulliani]

Beautifully said.

[@Matteo_Licata]

Glad you liked it! Thank you!

[@Pat_RickX]

That is THE GT of all GT. Gran Turismo in perfection. Thx Matteo, a fine AR video again.

[@Matteo_Licata]

Indeed it is! Thank you!!!

[@22copes]

Another informative and well produced video, keep them coming please.

[@Matteo_Licata]

Thanks, will do! :)

[@harrybosch4765]

The real beauty of the time was the 2000 102 Touring Spider

[@Matteo_Licata]

Hard to argue with that! :) I'll make a video about that soon too

[@harrybosch4765]

@@Matteo_Licata I would love it! I have a European 1960 since 2000

[@gr182]

Another great video! I also know that this car was missing from Mr Giugiaro's collection, but in more recent years this has been remedied. A friend of mine sold him the car. It is a very elegant vehicle, and the one in the museum, with its beautiful original leather interior is a real head turner.

[@Matteo_Licata]

So cool that your friend's car went to Giugiaro's collection! That's the best buyer one could desire :) The car in the Arese museum is indeed a stunner, very well preserved. The curator told me that it's a former experimental prototype, fitted with a mechanical fuel injection system Alfa was developing at the time. So it's not a runner, sadly.

[@cancracker]

The 6 cylinder version is really special and probably costs more than 2 Giuliettas nowadays

[@Matteo_Licata]

Your comment got me thinking, so I looked up at current book values of a 1962 Giulietta Ti and a 2600 Sprint of the same year. In Italy, a perfect Giulietta Ti is quoted at 22.500 Euros (earlier versions are worth more though), while a perfect 2600 Sprint is quoted at 54.000 Euros. So yes, it's worth more than 2 Giuliettas... But not by much! Naturally, asking prices on classifieds can be very different, but that's what Italy's most respected magazine quotes.

[@GreasyFingers]

Thanks for another awesome video, Matteo. What happened to this six cylinder? Why wasn’t it used in many more cars of the sixties and seventies?

[@Matteo_Licata]

Thank you very much! Regarding the 2.6 inline-six engine, it was abandoned mostly for packaging reasons, as its length was incompatible with the space available in the engine bays of the new cars Alfa was developing at the time, the Alfetta and the Alfa 6.

[@johnphaceas7434]

Such beautiful things - they get better looking as they age, and so rare compared with 105s. There is currently a superb '65 2600 genuine factory RHD (so super-super rare...) for sale here in Perth Australia for "just" A$135,000...

[@Matteo_Licata]

Wow, a factory RHD model really is a unicorn! Well worth the asking price, in my view, given the rarity and the type of car.

[@johnphaceas7434]

@@Matteo_Licata According to the seller, one of only 596 ever built (2600 Sprint GD). And it really is a unicorn - never restored, all original and still in pristine condition. Bit out of my price range though.

[@titanus49]

Maybe I am a little old fashioned. But the sedan version has that delightful Giulia sedan sense of style, in fact when I first saw one way back in the mid sixties, I thought it was a Giulia T.I that somehow had become much bigger. The similarities were striking.

[@Matteo_Licata]

The Alfa 2000 and 2600 four-doors saloons have few fans, but they nevertheless are a very cool piece of Alfa Romeo history, well worth preserving despite their relatively low commercial appeal. Would love to have one myself.

[@stevebarnes9694]

Good review. Helpful

[@Matteo_Licata]

@@stevebarnes9694 Thank you

[@briankay4713]

Beautiful cars ...but don't seem to get the appreciation of other 50s/60s Alfa Romeos ... And that gorgeous straight 6 engine ...bet they sound as good as they look.. Very informative as always Matteo 👏 👍

[@Matteo_Licata]

They do seem a bit forgotten, yes. But that may play to the buyer's advantage, as prices haven't risen as much as they have for other models... Thank you for your appreciation, by the way!

[@betaorionis2164]

What I don't understand is what happened with the in-line six. AFAIK, it was only used in the 2600 (Coupé, Spider and Berlina) for five-six years and then ditched. According to Wikipedia, only 11,000 of these cars were made, all bodies confounded. Alfa Romeo wouldn't have another 6 cylinder engine until the Busso V6 c. 1980. Why didn't they use the in-line 2600 engine in the late sixties and seventies? Why not a 2600 above the 2000 berlina? A similar story happens with the V8 of the Montreal, its engine was only used in this car. Less that 4000 were produced. One engine for 11,000 cars, another one for 4,000 cars. Little wonder that Alfa Romeo was broke by the eighties.

[@TheInstructor66]

Great and informative, as always Matteo. 👌🏻 I always seen this car as my 105 coupe’s mother. Do you know of some of the glass is interchangable on this and the 105?

[@Matteo_Licata]

Thank you very much! Unfortunately for 2600 owners, no glass is interchangeable with the smaller 105 GTs, so finding replacement glass is a near impossibility.

[@lorenzofabbri9433]

... I have a little model metal-car of Alfa Romeo 2600 Sprint, color green police version of yers '60.......... ALFISTA DOC 72

[@kelemenkaban2505]

What I miss is the simplicity of these old times. It was much easier to come up with a nice design, which was not watered down during the time it got to production...

[@des9655]

As an Alfa Guy, I only saw one once when I bought my first one, a 1978 Alfetta Gt, but was marketed as a Sprint Veloce, I went to the USA Alfa national convention in Maryland Hts, MO.. my car was a rust bucket but still went to the concourse and I saw some beautiful Alfa's.. but always thought the 2000 and 2600 were beautiful.. I'll just enjoy my 1986 Spider Veloce.. 🕷😎when I got my top down!

[@andynixon2820]

There's some great footage of 2600 police cars in the 60s films Roma come Chicago and banditti a Milano . The former film also includes the black Rome police 250 GTE ferrari . Its a beautiful car .

[@Matteo_Licata]

Indeed. Banditi a Milano is a great classic. Have you seen this video of mine, that's right on topic? kzbin.info/www/bejne/onvKg4Cfitl0bq8

[@nrs6956]

When looking at the Alfas featured I realize how much we have lost in current times. Thank you. Viva Alfa Romeo.

[@Matteo_Licata]

Well, we lost and gained a lot at the same time. The past wasn't perfect, just as today isn't, albeit for different reasons :)

[@gearhead9828]

Wonderful car and great story. Is the 2600 engine a stretched version of the 4 cylinder bialbero? Looks very similar. Thanks for this interesting video, ciao 🙋‍♂️

[@stephanvelines7006]

Yes technically very similar

[@torresalex]

These look good, even by today's standards!

[@mitkaengebretsen4188]

Ahh the 2600 it's on my list! Still relatively affordable like the Fiat 2300 coupe and Flaminia PF coupe. Sometimes I wonder if the Aurelia must go in favour of the 2600... Lovely video.

[@Matteo_Licata]

Yes, the 2600s haven't seen the increase in value Giulia-based cars have, so it's a relative bargain by comparison. Would I sell an Aurelia to get one though? Mmmh... I don't know. The Aurelia is such a magnificent piece of engineering that's hard to replace with anything else.

[@studiocalder818]

Dear passionate friend, I'm a true Alfista but I think the correct classification could be this: 1st Aurelia (a masterpiece) 2nd Fiat 2300 (Ghia's masterpiece) 3rd Alfa 2000/2600: beautiful first work that found its perfect maturity in the following GT (absolute c a p o l a v o r o) 4th Flaminia "stock" coupé (the masterpieces are those of the coachbuilders). in the anthology of cars that I would buy besides my ones, in pole position there would be a gold-colored FIAT 2300 coupe 😋

[@mitkaengebretsen4188]

@@studiocalder818 I personally think the PF coupe is the nicest of the Flaminia designs and the best built one maybe why I own one;) I also have a 2300S currently being restored and an Aurelia, the idea of lining up the Flaminia coupe, 2300 coupe and the 2600 coupe would be amazing:D

[@palandi]

@@mitkaengebretsen4188 congratulations for having my dream car (Flaminia PF coupé)! I would love to own two of them - one stock and a saved one which I would restomod with the 8.32 Ferrari engine and amenities...

[@TheRealThomasPaine1776]

I had a beautiful later model Spider, but i always get a massive hard on when I see the 2600 Bedtime Coupe! As much as I love convertibles I just love that car to death!

[@amirfarahbakhsh2960]

Oh God my heart

[@joseantonioarandagarcia9966]

Very interesting Video, asl always! A true master piece this Alfa Romeo!

[@Matteo_Licata]

Indeed! Thank you!!!

[@Suprahampton]

The 2600 is always one of my all time favourite classic Alfas & in that Ivory it's truly stunning

[@iaidagger8278]

+1!!!..😊😊

[@rabit818]

This beautiful Alfa a rush from a 21 year old designer? Wow

[@Matteo_Licata]

It goes to show just how much of a talent Giugiaro was. No wonder he then had such an immensely successful career.

[@sotirisbakaimis3276]

Before the V6 Busso motore! Alfa produced a straight 6 in line motore!!!

[@MicrobyteAlan]

Fascinating stories about beautiful cars. thanks

[@gordonkachuk5457]

June 6, 1964 I was to attend The Beatles in concert in The Netherlands. The father of a girlfriend of mine picked me up in his 1962 Alfa Romeo 2000 Sprint. Needless to say this was turning out to be the best day (age 13) of my life. The Beatles disbanded in 1969 but Alfa Romeo lived on to become the love of my life. In 1973 I was able to buy my 1st new car, an Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV (another Giugiaro design), only to be followed by many other Alfa's and later Lancia's ( the last of which was an 8-32).

[@studiocalder818]

Great story 😊

[@Matteo_Licata]

Wow, that's a fantastic story, thank you very much for sharing it with me!!!

[@drcarltonbrand749]

Great vid.

[@Matteo_Licata]

Thank you!!!

[@artsmithdrums]

Beautiful design, I love these short little videos of my favourite cars!

[@Matteo_Licata]

Glad you like them! Thank you!!!

[@iaidagger8278]

My two favorite Alfa Romeos of all time are this 2600,the Giulietta TI berlina 4 doors and floor shift and the Alfa Romeo Giulia TI 1600 and Junior 1300!!😊😊😊 Thank you for sharing history of this 5:19 Great Car ,the 2600 sprint!! Salute a tuta la squadra Alfa Romeo !!desde Argentina!!😊😊❤❤

[@Matteo_Licata]

Thank you!!! Cheers from Italy!

[@hankwilliams5622]

it's "tutta", not "tuta"...

[@iaidagger8278]

@@hankwilliams5622 good corrección,thank you!!!

[@Pietervdv]

I'm seriously thinking of getting myself a 2600 Sprint. It's such an elegant GT from, I think, the best era in car design and unlike the 105 GTV's, they aren't overpriced (yet).

[@Matteo_Licata]

It is indeed a lovely car, and compared to the 105 GTV it's a comparative bargain, you're right

[@roby72s]

It is rather beautiful.

[@raufsahin334]

Rare and Beautiful ..

[@richardw64]

A stunning young lady.

[@Specrotors]

Wish they had used the clapper wiper setup on these too...beautiful car all the same...great vid as usual

[@dortkommendieclowns1474]

What a stunning design, absolutely beautiful car. 😍 Designed by a 21 year old 🤘🏼

[@mikeyerke3920]

Eccellente! Another great presentation! Regards, from the US!

[@Matteo_Licata]

Thank you! Cheers from Turin, Italy!

[@tarikwildman]

no mention of the delicious 2600 SZ !

[@Matteo_Licata]

And that's precisely why I haven't titled this "the complete story of the 2000/2600 Sprint." It's not and I didn't mean it to be. The 2600 SZ will get its own video, sometime in the future. Watch this space ;)

[@des9655]

That's for another episode! I saw a 2600 couple back in the early 90s in the USA Alfa owners club.. and I was driving a 1978 Alfetta GT 4 cylinder..

[@igorcapeta8801]

Thank you for your videos!

[@Matteo_Licata]

Glad you like them, thank you!

[@bcaviews]

It’s a wonderful car and I grew up looking at it in pictures. The first one I saw a few years ago was in dire need of a major restoration so I picked it up and restored it and have thoroughly it enjoyed ever since!

[@Matteo_Licata]

Wow, that must have been a lot of work. Did you do it yourself or did you leave it to a professional?

[@reneblanche3573]

Another great video!

[@Matteo_Licata]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@brunotulliani]

Excellent as always!

[@Matteo_Licata]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@hagerty1952]

You mention at the end that the 2600 was replaced by the smaller Giulia GT Veloce, but didn't point out that it was essentially the same body design also done by Giugiaro. He just scrunched it up a bit. 😉

[@Matteo_Licata]

Yes, the Giulia GT was designed by Giugiaro too, and it looks very similar because Alfa Romeo itself asked Bertone to do so. They wanted a sort of "family look" between the two cars. Although the Giulia GT was never meant to actually replace the 2600, it just happened that way. As the GT became the Veloce, and later the 1750 GTV, it occupied the place of the 2600 at the top of Alfa's range.

[@hagerty1952]

@@Matteo_Licata - Grazie Signore, from me and my GTV (due litri) with over 1.000.000 km on it!

[@Matteo_Licata]

Wow, a million km??? You don’t often hear about Alfas with such a high mileage, that’s fascinating. Is it still on its original engine or did you have to replace it at some point?

[@hagerty1952]

@@Matteo_Licata - The car was my college graduation present to myself in 1975. It had 22 miles (35 km) on it when I bought it. It's been my daily driver for 47 years and I still do an 82 mile (130 km) daily commute in it. I rebuilt the engine at 165K miles (266K km) mostly because the oil rings weren't working any more. I used American (Hastings) rings on the rebuild and the engine lasted until just a year ago when I rebuilt it again at 624K miles (1.000.010 km). I should mention that I still maintenance it by the book which includes 7 quarts (8 liters) of new oil every 3,000 miles (5.000 km). When people ask me what my secret is to keep it running I say, "Keep the fluids and filters clean, replace parts when they wear out (not after they fail), and drive it. A lot.

[@studiocalder818]

@@hagerty1952 B R A V O !!! (I still own the GtJ '69 I bought as a student in 1983, actually under restoration) What a beauty model, what a joy to drive. It's unbearable when I read about unreliable mechanics, when the only recipe is to do proper maintenance!

[@martinclapton2724]

Beautiful touring motor GT. When I was in the Alfa Romeo Owners club (uk) in the early 1990 s , a local member from Worcester had a red example which I believe is still going today. Was there a problem with tuning the Solex carburettors years ago, I can’t remember exactly , but either way a very elegant motor car . particularly like the wonderful back window. Sheer class.

[@Matteo_Licata]

Very cool! Solex carbs get a bad rap nowadays among Alfisti, largely because it's tricky to find parts for them, but they work as well as the Webers and Dell'Ortos, if set up properly... Which isn't a skill very widespread nowadays.

[@downesy68]

A beautiful, simple design by Giugiaro. I’ve only ever seen a couple of 2600 Sprints in the metal and they are a stylish car that has started pulling some real money now. I’m a very happy owner of what I believe is the Sprint’s successor, the GT V6.

[@Matteo_Licata]

The GTV6 is the closest to a 2600 replacement Alfa ever did, yes, we can say that. One of my favorite Alfas, by the way!

[@thomasalbrecht5914]

Very nice spotlight on a car that is not very prominent in Alfa history usually, and the Giugiaro reference makes it indeed much more interesting! Edit. I know that being a design expert you are probably not very enthusiastic about the proposal, but there’s a car that probably in terms of rarity of surviving cars beats the 2000 Sprint: the 2000 berlina tipo 102. It’s so un-Alfa that it’s interesting right because of that. What would you say about a little story on this one? There’s a series of short films on KZbin of a specimen that seems to have made it to the US... but no background story like you do them so well.

[@thomasthacker4939]

Ohhh.. I so agree with you! The 102s are just magic. The Berlina is fantastic, dare I say the Coupe is superb! But I won't mention a '59 spider ! This heart can't handle it! ;)

[@Matteo_Licata]

It is an excellent video idea, and I'm keen to tell the story of the 102-series berlina, as soon as I'll manage to film one. Very true that few have survived, as hardly anyone bothered to preserve them during the 70s and 80s, when they were worth peanuts.

[@portnaluinge]

If only all job interview tests had a legacy as lasting and beautiful as this.

[@Matteo_Licata]

Indeed. :)

[@amirfarahbakhsh2960]

i see these automobiles and fall in love instantly, when in todays cars i have to try to find something close to this elegance to even like really. it's all about performance numbers and techs nowadays.

[@Matteo_Licata]

Although there still are a few pretty cars today, I agree that elegance and restraint seem to be in short supply. Fingers crossed that we'll get over this phase of "visual noise" we're living in.