Now a rather small automaker with no so many models on offer, Alfa Romeo was once one of the world's most important nameplates and the creator of several iconic cars. The Alfa Romeo Montreal is one of them and Italian designer Luca Serafini just created a modern version of the two-door sports car. Affectionately named the Montreal Vision GT, like the official Vision Gran Turismo concepts various automakers have created since 2013, this virtual car is a cool design that Alfa Romeo should consider, at least for a concept vehicle.

The Alfa Romeo Montreal GT Is One Mean Supercar

Serafini's rendering is a cool mix of classic and modern features. While it looks sleek and decidedly modern, the Vision GT retains many of the Montreal's iconic design cues. The designer replicated the grilles that hide the upper section of the Montreal's headlamps, the fog lamps mounted under the steel bumper, and the V-shaped intake on the front hood. Onto the sides, we can see more features reminiscent of the original Montreal. There are no quarter windows, there are horizontal strakes behind the doors, while the wheels feature a similar multi-spoke design.

The rear hood is shaped in a similar way, while the taillights retain the original placement, despite having a different design. The rear diffuser was also designed to mimic the shape of the Montreal's bumper. Overall, it's a cool and recognizable tribute to the original car.

But the Montreal Vision GT also stands out as a modern concept. The classic features up front are combined with a pointy nose that reminds me of Formula One cars, a muscular engine hood with a raised center section, and a race-spec lower bumper with a big carbon-fiber splitter. The profile is equally muscular thanks to heavily sculpted doors and front fenders, as well as carbon-fiber side skirts.

The rear hood was created with aerodynamics in mind, as the center section was lowered so that the air is guided toward the rear fascia and the diffuser. The taillights are thin LED bars that stretch to the Alfa Romeo badge in the center, while the diffuser looks just as mean as that of a race car. The Montreal Vision GT features four exhaust pipes, but they're distributed in an unusual setup. There's one at each corner of the diffuser and two more grouped together at the center.

The Alfa Romeo Montreal Vision GT is just a cool thought

This virtual supercar is nothing more than a rendering made by an Italian designer. It wasn't created by Alfa Romeo and as cool as it may look, it probably won't become a Vision Gran Turismo concept. Sadly, Alfa Romeo doesn't have plans to revive the Montreal. The Italian firm will probably reinstate the GTV name for a two-door coupe based on the Giulia, in which case the Montreal won't make sense in the lineup. Although the Montreal and the GTV were sold in parallel in the early 1970s, the modern market wouldn't allow a similar strategy with two similar coupes on the market.

The Alfa Romeo Montreal was an awesome V-8 sports car

Introduced in 1970, the Montreal was based on a concept car that Alfa Romeo showcased in 1967. Revealed in Montreal, Quebec without a name, it became known as the Montreal among enthusiasts. Alfa Romeo happily adopted the name for the production model. The 2+2 coupe debuted in production form at the 1970 Geneva Motor Show. While the coupe featured a 1.6-liter four-cylinder, Alfa Romeo went with a V-8 in production model. The 2.8-liter engine generated 200 horsepower and 173 pound-feet of torque through a five-speed manual transmission and a limited-slip differential.

The Montreal was quite a sporty car, as its engine was derived from the V-8 used in the 33 Stradale and Tipo 33, while the running gear came from the Giulia GTV. The coupe needed 7.4 seconds to hit 62 mph and had a top speed of around 137 mph. The Montreal was discontinued in 1977 after seven years on the market, but production ended earlier due to low demand. Because it was more expensive than the Jaguar E-Type or the Porsche 911, the Montreal wasn't very popular and Alfa Romeo struggled to sell remaining stock. Only around 3,900 examples were built.

Further reading

Read our full review on the 1967 - 1969 Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale.