GTA PROVIDES UNLIMITED THRILLS

Alfa Romeo has tacked the letters GTA on the rear of its Giulia sports sedan… and the results are actually quite fantastic

ALFA Romeo’s legendary GTA badge is back with an AMG-crushing vengeance, with the Italian brand having just unleashed its most powerful production car ever – the Giulia GTA.

As the GTA acronym promises (it stands for Gran Turismo Alleggerita, the latter translating to “lightened”) the new super saloon is 100kg lighter than the Giulia Quadrifoglio that it’s based on, and it uses a more powerful version of its 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 engine.

TRACK ATTACK MODEL

Alfa Romeo will also be selling a racing version called the Giulia GTAm, which is still street legal, but equipped with two racing seats with six-point safety harnesses as well as a roll bar in place of the back seats.

But let’s get to the heart of the matter Alfa Romeo’s glorious twin-turbo V6. It has been beefed up to the tune of 403kW, up from the QV’s 380kW, and to ensure a soundtrack that’s nothing less than spine-tingling, the GTA gets a customed designed Akrapovic exhaust system.

IT’S FERRARI FAST

The extra urge, combined with the lower kerb weight of 1 520kg, makes the GTA three tenths of a second quicker from 0-100km/h if we go according to factory figures, with Alfa Romeo quoting a sprint time of 3.6 seconds.

100kg is a huge weight saving… how did engineers pull it off?

The extensive weight-saving programme employed for the GTA involved the use of carbon fibre for components like the drive shaft, roof, bonnet, front bumper, wheel arches and front seat shells, as well as aluminium in the doors and suspension, while various other composite materials are used throughout the car.

BUILT FOR CORNERS

Aerodynamic measures improve downforce and road holding is improved through model-specific springs, shocks and bushings. The front and rear tracks have been widened by 50mm too.

Oh, and this car is not going to be a common sight on the roads as Alfa Romeo says it will be building just 500 GTA and GTAm models, all numbered, certified and ready to become collector’s items in the not-too-distant future when the car industry has been totally “Gretafied”.

The company is also promising a “particularly exclusive and dedicated customer experience”.

VISIT www.drive360.co.za to buy an ALFA ROMEO.