|
One of the most famous names in motoring, the Alfa Romeo GTA, is once again available in Australia in the shape of the new 184 kW 250 kmh Alfa Romeo 156 GTA. The new GTA offers the same performance, race-track tuned handling and subtle performance orientated style that made its predecessor so famous.
The original Alfa Romeo GTA was developed to offer a unique combination of every day usability and, at the same time, the ability to win at weekends on the race track. And win it did, taking the honours around the world, including in Australia where it was a regular winner in the late 1960s.
The new Alfa Romeo 156 GTA takes the same formula, with a new high performance version of Alfa Romeo's legendary V6 engine pumping out 184 kW and 300 Nm of torque from 3.2 litres, enough to send the 156 GTA to 100 kmh in just 6.3 seconds and on, where law permits, to a top speed of 250 kmh. And, like its predecessor, the new GTA is already winning on the race track; with victories already in its debut European Touring Car season.
But the Alfa Romeo 156 GTA is considerably more than just straight line performance. From the racetrack quick steering - just 1.7 turns from lock to lock - to the fully re-designed suspension and the unique to the GTA Brembo brake system and Michelin tyres designed specifically for the GTA, this is a car that has been honed for performance driving.
Changes to the already stylish and acclaimed 156 interior have been kept to a minimum. The seats are clad in fine Italian leather, but it is the horizontal bar style that has spelt performance Italian cars for generations. And the seats themselves are designed to be comfortable for day to day driving, yet provide sufficient lateral positioning so that the 156 GTA may be used on the race track. The other obvious change to the interior are the drilled aluminium pedals, another feature that has meant racetrack developed from the birth of motorsport.
"The Alfa Romeo 156 GTA is much more than a new performance flagship for Alfa Romeo," says Kevin Wall, General Manager for Alfa Romeo in Australia. "It provides Australian enthusiasts with a car that offers a staggering breadth of ability."
"It has the performance, handling and roadholding to take the battle to out and out stripped 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, at the same time, it does so with a unique Alfa Romeo spirit, that is clear in the why the GTA looks, the way it performances and even, with the glorious throaty burble of the new engine, the way it sounds," says Mr Wall.
Sports cars need much more than excellent engines. For this reason, Alfa Romeo's engineers have made more deep-seated changes to the already excellent base offered by the thoroughbred Alfa 156 saloon. Changes were made to all the parts that affect the car's dynamics, with the suspension first on the list. The lower beam of the high double-wishbone configuration front suspension adopted on the previous version has been reinforced. The specially designed wheel strut features a different steering link fastening position and the suspension also offers lower ride, new shock absorber spring settings and a bigger diameter anti-roll bar.
The rear is fitted with a MacPherson strut system with particularly advanced geometry and construction details, different body attachment points, bigger diameter anti-roll bar and a special spring, shock absorber and bush settings.
A more sporting feeling has been assured by a more direct steering ratio that provides the driver with better control of the car and lets them do everything with pinpoint precision at the slightest turn of the wheel. Two particularly effective gearboxes, a six speed manual and - arriving in Australian 2003 - Selespeed; brakes that are powerful and effective even under the harshest conditions (305 x 28 mm ventilated front discs with twin-plunger Brembo calipers and 276x10 mm rear discs; an ABS with electronic brakeforce distributor (EBD); Anti Slip Regulation (ASR) system and everything was in place.
|
