Victory in an everyday car

By ALASTAIR SLOANE Motoring editor

The new Alfa Romeo GTA won't necessarily turn heads when it arrives in New Zealand later next month.

There is nothing glaringly obvious to show it's the quickest 156 model going - no airscoop in the bonnet, no outrageous sideskirts, no whopping wing on the tail.

Nothing apart from the GTA handle to indicate it's the spiritual successor to the original GTA, the lightweight Giulia Sprint of 1965.

The changes to the 156, one of the most celebrated Alfa models, are minimal and based around the new high-performance requirements of the body.

The car looks slightly more aggressive from front on, now that the foglights have been moved to the outer edges of the lower bumper, to allow the lower air inlets to be increased in size for better engine cooling.

The wider and even lower front spoiler adds to the effect, too. It's there to boost high speed stability.

It's the same with the lower suspension geometry, flared wheel arches and side skirts and 17-inch wheels with 225-45 tyres.

Same, too, at the rear, where the new bumper incorporates an air-splitter to help to generate downforce at high speed. That's pretty much it visually, apart from a new-look, double-barrelled exhaust pipe.

All the go-fast stuff is under the bonnet in the form of a 3.2-litre V6, the most powerful engine in the Alfa Romeo stable.

It is derived from the 3-litre unit found in the 166 and GTV but has been reworked to produce 184kW at 6200rpm and 300Nm of torque at 4800rpm, enough oomph to send the GTA to 100km/h in 6.3 seconds and on to a top speed of 250km/h.

Power goes to the front wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox. A sequential-like Selespeed transmission will be available next year. Brakes are by Brembo and tyres by Michelin.

The original road-going version of the Giulia Sprint GTA - "grand turismo alleggerita or grand touring lightweight" - was built to offer race-like performance in a sporty family car. Indeed it was advertised with the slogan "A victory a day in your everyday car."

The Giulia Sprint GTA became one of the most successful racing Alfa Romeos of all time, winning three European Touring Car Championships in 1966, '67 and '68, among others.

The new GTA is already winning on the race track in its debut European Touring Car season.

Alfa says it honed the road car for performance. The steering wheel ratio has been tightened to 1.7 turns lock to lock to provide more steering precision.

The suspension has been heavily revised. There are new shock absorbers, spring settings and a bigger diameter roll bar. Same with the rear, where the MacPherson strut system gets different body attachments.

The 156 GTA comes with electric windows, mirrors and remote control locks, a Blaupunkt stereo system, cruise control, and leather upholstery.

Safety features include airbags, anti-lock brakes, and electronic traction and stability controls.

"The Alfa Romeo 156 GTA is much more than a new performance flagship for Alfa Romeo," says Lawrie Malatios, general manager for Alfa Romeo in New Zealand.

"It provides New Zealand enthusiasts with a car that offers a staggering breadth of ability.

"It has the performance, handling and roadholding to take the battle to other performance cars, yet at the same time it has refinement, sophistication and style to also provide a strong new competitor at the luxury end of the scale.

"And it does so with a unique Alfa Romeo spirit - in the way it looks, performs, and sounds."

The 156 GTA is priced at $96,995.