Classic Sports Cars

1969 Alfa Romeo Iguana

The Alfa Romeo Iguana is a concept car produced by Alfa Romeo in 1969. It was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro at Italdesign.

The car was previewed at the Sport Car Show in Monza and presented officially at the Turin Auto Show in 1969. It was the first Alfa Romeo model designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro as head of his own carrozzeria, and was based on the Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale road-going version of the Tipo 33/2. Although it did not go into production, the Iguana is reflected in Giugiaro’s later work. The body of the Iguana was painted a metal-flake grey, while the roof frame and cabin pillars were finished in brushed metal, a treatment Giugiaro later applied to the DMC DeLorean.

Iguana was powered by a 2.0L DOHC V8 mated to a 6-speed manual. The fibreglass body was painted in a metal flake grey paint with roof frame and cabin pillers finished in brushed metal.

The initial design saw the car with a metal flake gray body and brushed metal (stainless steel, specifically) roof frame and cabin pillars. The result was a stylish, futuristic look when combined with the pointed front and rear end and aerodynamic lines of the body of the Iguana.

The Iguana is able to boast being the first of many history-making designs to come from Guigiaro while he worked under the studio ItalDesign, which was just beginning to come to light during that time. Despite entrance by the Stradale into competition in 1967, and the car winning its first race and several to follow, it was never a popular car.

After several photo shoots and many showings, the car evolved away from the concept model and was used as the base model for several other production cars.