The recent Pick of the Day on the Alfa Romeo Montreal got me thinking about the cars that it may have influenced. I’ve had it in my mind that 1971 Plymouth Satellite Coupes were inspired by the Montreal. The shapes are somewhat similar, and if you look at a Road Runner with the optional strobe stripes, it does look like John Herlitz and his team gleaned something from Bertone.
Of course, the symbiotic relationship between Italy and Detroit was not new—in fact, Donald Osborne wrote “Stile Transatlantico” (Transatlantic Style) specifically for the purpose of showing decades of backs and forths between designers on both sides of the Atlantic.
While writing the Pick of the Day, I learned that the Montreal’s C-pillar gills were copped from the Bertone/Giugiaro-designed Alfa Romeo Canguro. This Alfa Romeo TZ-based show car first appeared at the 1964 Paris Motor Show as part of a competition spurred by Alfa to see whether Bertone or Pininfarina could prepare a better design for a road-going version of the TZ. Notable were a stack of front fender vents to allow the engine to cool.
As you may have noticed, the Montreal (and the concept car that preceded it) adopted a similar motif, but along the C-pillar. It is said that this design was used to imply the vehicle was mid-engined even though the engine was mounted in the front. Upon seeing the Canguro, my mind immediately went to the 1972 Dodge Charger Rallye, which featured doors that mimicked this design.
So, it’s quite possible that the Canguro influenced the Alfa Romeo Montreal, 1971-72 Plymouth Road Runner, and 1972 Dodge Charger Rallye. I don’t have proof—just circumstantial evidence. What say you?
