During the Golden Era of Trans-Am racing (1966-1972), AR752507 was one of the true stars.
In the late '60s, the Sports Car Club of America's professional road-racing series, the Trans-American Championship, was the hottest thing going. Except for race numbers and sponsor decals, Trans-Am race cars looked just like the Mustangs and Camaros that real people drove to work each day, but they sounded and handled like no street car ever had. Fans developed a powerful connection with these new "pony cars" and the race series they spawned. Manufacturers rushed to cash in on the series' popularity. Pontiac named their hottest Firebird model the 'Trans-Am.' BFGoodrich named their new performance tire the 'Radial T/A.' The Mustang model that raced in the Trans-Am series was christened 'Boss 302'—a reference to the maximum engine displacement permitted (in good old American cubic inches) for Over-2-Liter Trans-Am cars. Driven by guys like A.J. Foyt, Parnelli Jones, Dan Gurney and Mark Donohue, they captured the imagination of the American public like no other road-racing series before or since.
But not all Trans-Am cars were fire-belching, 5.0-liter, American muscle cars. The Under-2-Liter class was an integral and exciting part of SCCA's nascent professional racing series.
AR752507 (#25) is shown in red and white livery (which it wore prior to 1972) on this poster created by Alfa Romeo, Inc. in 1970.
The U2 class was comprised of smaller, lighter, more nimble sedans with a maximum engine displacement of 122 cubic inches. In fact, it was one of these U2 cars that shocked everybody by winning outright the very first Trans-Am race, at Sebring, on March 26, 1966. Finishing ahead of all the 5.0-liter American V8s was a 1.6-liter Alfa Romeo Giulia GTA—a sister car to AR752507, which finished 3rd in class and 4th overall that day. In the hands of drivers like Bert Everett and Gus Andrey, AR752507 would go on to capture a total of 14 podiums and 6 wins over the next few Trans-Am seasons.