14 years ago, Alfa Romeo went overboard. The 8C Competizione started in 2007. At that time the first over-Alfa in what felt like decades, also because of its Maserati eight-cylinder engine built by Ferrari – hence 8C, for «otto cilindri». Everything packed in a gorgeous rounded two-seater body at a price of around CHF 237,000. Collectors cried when they didn’t get any of the only 500 copies that were delivered to their doorstep by the Alfa dealer.
And now? Alfa is building a mid-range sedan suitable for child seats with a load volume of 480 liters that can do everything better than the super sports car of yore. If the previous 510 hp Giulia Quadrifoglio Verde (QV) is not enough, you can now order the Giulia GTA. Or the racetrack version called GTAm. And with it, probably all series Alfas ever built will run into the ground.
Bolide instead of family car
Preferably on a closed slope like the Stellantis test center in Balocco, Italy. An erratic route that somehow strings together straights, chicanes and tight 180-degree bends. After the first round you have it pretty much on it – and then the madness begins. Because the Giulia GTAm feels so foolproof that you always think: There is more. With 540 hp it takes us to 100 km / h in 3.8 seconds and on and on – but you have seen it faster. And you never get to the 300 km / h top speed even here on the slopes. So everything under control.
But one only thinks. Until you fly too fast towards the curve, step on the brakes fully and then the rear starts to prance without a trace. The line between genius and madness is thin at GTAm, and in the uninhibited race mode you don’t want to imagine typical middle-class sedan buyers behind the wheel. What a crazy transformation.
It is important to omit
The art lies in omitting. First of all, the back seat flew out of the GTAm. Advantage: That way, nobody in the back will feel bad anymore. Out with door handles, the newly introduced assistance systems and out with a few more kilograms of sheet metal and glass – plastic tailgate and windows do it too. Compared to the Giulia QV, it was lightened by a total of 115 kilos. Six-point belts were then re-fitted, as in motorsport, and 20-inch wheels with central locking, which can be released by motor, as in motorsport «ritsch-ritsch». In addition, a carbon front and add-on parts, which were honed by Sauber’s Formula 1 team in the wind tunnel, wider track and active air intakes. And so that you definitely stand out, a mechanically adjustable rear spoiler protrudes from the trunk lid.
With GTA and GTAm, a new oil cooler, more speed for the turbocharger and an extra-nasty-sounding titanium exhaust get 30 more horsepower out of the 2.9 liter V6 developed by Ferrari. And so that you can ever come to a standstill, carbon ceramic discs are now used to brake. Finally, the Alfa-Sauber works drivers Kimi Räikkönen and Antonio Giovinazzi had to adjust the chassis – that’s it.
Drive: 2.9 l V6 turbo gasoline engine, 540 PS (397 kW), 600 Nm @ 2500 rpm, 8-speed automatic transmission, rear-wheel drive
Driving performance: 0-100 km / h 3.6 s, top 300 km / h
Dimensions: Length / width / height 4.67 / 1.92 / 1.45 m, weight 1580 kg, trunk 480 l
Consumption: Factory 10.8 l / 100 km = 244 g / km CO2, energy G
Prices: from 193,000 CHF, basic version GTA from 188,000 CHF
With the same performance, the Giulia GTA feels tamer with a back seat and less martial appearance. But even with her, everything that has to do with the connection between man and machine is perfect: The seating position in the minimally adjustable sports seats, steering, overview, the extra-long aluminum shift paddles on the steering wheel, which you can’t miss. Springs and dampers feel softer than those of the Giulia QV, even in sport mode – and so much smoother. All of this then hides the fact that the materials could be of a slightly higher quality, the rear-view camera sharper, and the radio reception more motivated. And even the only bought-in sat nav is not the last word in wisdom.
Cheap is different
So – who needs these mega Giulias? Certainly not the young family man who could no longer accommodate the offspring in the Ferrari. These Giulias are for those Alfisti who have the change to treat themselves to an Alfa that reminds of glorious times. Change? The GTA costs a whopping 188,000 francs and thus around 90,000 more than the 30 hp weaker Giulia QV. And another 5,000 francs more for the GTAm, although it lacks so much. And that is almost the wrong thing about these Alfas.
But it’s like the 8C Competizione back then: again only 500 will be built, and again the collectors will strike. And the family fathers continue to drive normal Giulias.