ALFA ROMEO GT: A SPORTY AND STYLISH ITALIAN CLASSIC
A small trip I took recently with a few friends of the “Biscioni Piacenza” gave me the opportunity to admire another pair of Alfas that are not that easily seen every day on our roads, especially so beautiful and keep well. Here they are in front of me these two Alfa GTs, joining the two 156 GTAs and a 147 GTA from the previous article. They have indeed many common points, as the Alfa GT incorporates the dashboard of the 147, and underneth the body it uses parts from both the 147 and the 156 . In fact, they were all built at the Pomigliano d'Arco factories, with the Alfa Romeo GT (acronym for Gran Turismo) assembled between 2003 and 2010 in just over 80,000 units. Although build by Alfa Romeo in its factories, the GT’s beautiful line, first seen in public at the 2003 Geneva Motor Show, is the result of Centro Stile Bertone’s work. And it shows: soon after its launch, the Alfa GT starts receiving awards: in 2004 “The Most Beautiful Car In The World” title was awarded at the Milan Triennale, again in 2004 in Paris the car won the "Trophée du Design" awarded to Wolfgang Egger (at the time head of the Alfa Romeo style center, a man also responsible for the 8C Competizione) in occasion of the 26th edition of the “Trophées de l'Automobile Magazine”. But Bertone also did a great job of mixing the beautiful with the profane: at the rear, a different solution, very innovative for a coupé is adopted: instead of the classic trunk we find a large tailgate which allows for a considerable, very practical trunk considering the category of the car, making it a viable alternative for the customers looking for a stylish alternative to the usual compact cars.
The range at its debut was divided into two petrol engines (the 2.0 JTS and 3.2-litre) also joined by the 1.9 JTDm diesel units, first with 150 and later on evvolved to 170 hp. Both examples we’re loooking at today are equipped with the the legendary V6 Busso engine, in my opinion the perfect engine for a true GT like this car. In fact, not only the last production Alfa designed by Bertone, but also the perfect example of what a great and practical sports car Alfa Romeo can come up with, a blend of a classical theme but with a modern twist, with its sleek design mixing sporty lines with the excellent performance, without sacrificing the ride comfort and a boot worthy of a family car.
