Description
After piloting GTAs to Trans-Am constructor’s championship titles for Alfa Romeo in 1966 and 1970, Horst Kwech and his AUSCA shop helped the manufacturer establish an early lead in the rebranded 1971 Two Five Challenge. This GTV debuted that August and contested the season’s final three races for Herb Wetanson’s Wetson Racing team. After disqualification nullified the car’s season-ending victory, Kwech brought it back for the 1972 series with updates including Pepsi-backed blue livery.
The steel body and…
After piloting GTAs to Trans-Am constructor’s championship titles for Alfa Romeo in 1966 and 1970, Horst Kwech and his AUSCA shop helped the manufacturer establish an early lead in the rebranded 1971 Two Five Challenge. This GTV debuted that August and contested the season’s final three races for Herb Wetanson’s Wetson Racing team. After disqualification nullified the car’s season-ending victory, Kwech brought it back for the 1972 series with updates including Pepsi-backed blue livery.
The steel body and aluminum doors were repainted in the car’s 1971 orange livery during the 1990s refurbishment, which also included various welding repairs that are pictured in the gallery below. Features include flared fenders, a front chin spoiler, orange headlight blanks, a plexiglass rear window, an external fuel filler, and driver-side motifs reflecting Horst Kwech’s Australian heritage.
Silver 15″ Minilite alloy wheels are wrapped in Hoosier tires measuring 205/50 up front and 225/50 at the rear. Stopping power is provided by four-wheel ventilated disc brakes with adjustable proportioning valves in the cockpit and underneath the car.
The cockpit houses a black Racemark molded fiberglass seat that is equipped with a Crow five-point harness showing a June 2025 expiration date. Additional equipment includes a roll cage, hanging pedals with drilled pads, a wooden shift knob, center-tunnel-mounted switchgear, a fire-suppression system, and an electrical cutoff switch.
The leather-wrapped BWA steering wheel features an orange AUSCA-logo hub and sits ahead of a Jones-Motrola 10k-rpm tachometer with a tell-tale redline needle and an oil pressure gauge. The orange crinkle-finish dash fascia also houses Stewart-Warner gauges monitoring coolant temperature, oil temperature, and fuel level. Affixed to the dash are plaques recognizing the car’s participation in the 1971 Watkins Glen 500 as well as its inclusion in the Historic Trans American Sedan Registry. The dash wears signatures from Horst Kwech and Lee Dykstra.
The 2.0-liter inline-four carries engine block stamping AR01629*900892* and was overhauled by Rebello Racing in 2016. Work including machining the block, porting and polishing the cylinder head, and installing a billet crankshaft, forged Wiseco pistons, welded camshafts, stainless-steel valves, and titanium valve retainers. Induction is through a pair of Weber 45 DCOE9 carburetors and a ported and polished intake manifold. An invoice from the overhaul is included in the gallery below, and the car is said to have participated in one race weekend since.
Power is sent to the rear wheels via a modified five-speed manual transmission with a Tilton clutch linked to a solid rear end outfitted with a finned cooling sump and a sliding-block locating assembly. Independent front suspension incorporates double-adjustable Koni shock absorbers, coil springs, and an anti-roll bar with rose-joint end links.
A collection of spare engine components includes block number AR0548*81143*, which exhibits damage to its crankcase that is shown up close in the gallery below. A specialized cylinder head is included in the parts collection and is outfitted with an intake manifold that is noted and pictured in period literature shown in the gallery below, which describes it as having been custom built by AUSCA for the car. Additional parts include a spare crankshaft, cylinder liners, pistons, camshafts, exhaust manifolds, and more, as pictured in the gallery below.
The car is shown above ahead of John Morton’s BRE Datsun 510 at the 1971 Two Five Challenge season finale at Laguna Seca. Horst Kwech and the No. 3 GTV crossed the finish line first, but were disqualified after SCCA officials determined that the car’s fuel tank was oversized. Various photos and articles from the car’s racing career are included in the gallery below, including coverage of a 1972 victory at Donnybrooke Speedway and a 1980 article in Alfa Owner written by the car’s second owner. Footage of the car from 1971 and 1972 can be viewed in two videos included in the video gallery below. Also included in the sale are handwritten notes from the second owner outlining the car’s results and copies of an SCCA logbook covering races from 1977 to 1984. A logbook covering historic races beginning in 1996 also accompanies the car.
The car was displayed at the 2022 Velocity Invitational alongside the ex-John Morton Datsun 510, which joined it on track in pacing the race field and recreating their 1971 placement on the corkscrew with Morton at the wheel of the Datsun. The car also participated in the 2017 HMSA Spring Club races and appeared at the 2010 Monterey Motorsports Reunion, where it was photographed on track with Herb Wetanson, Pete Brock, John Morton, and the Datsun 510.
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