Alfa Romeo has confirmed that it has taken its final order for the new Giulia GTA super-saloon, with all 500 units now spoken for.
"To all intents and purposes, the Giulia GTA is now a collector’s car", the brand said, although it added that it will keep the reservations list open in case of any cancelled orders.
The Giulia GTA is the most powerful road car Alfa Romeo has built, and - with a starting price of €176,500 (£153,300) for the standard car and €181,500 (£157,700) for the stripped-out GTAm variant - the most expensive, too. The limited-run 8C Competizione supercar, production of which finished in 2010, carried a £112,000 price.
Alfa Romeo's Centro Stile design studio took inspiration from the original GTA's best-known motorsport victories for a range of available liveries, including a yellow-and-red paint scheme that harks back to the 1971 European Touring Car Championship-winning car. Standard colours, including Trophy White, Montreal Green and GTA Red, are also available.
The historic GTA nameplate – which stands for Gran Turismo Alleggerita, or lightened grand tourer – has been revived to indicate the new car’s lightweight construction and performance potential. Alfa referred to the car’s unveiling as “a momentous comeback”, signifying a return to performance car construction.
The GTA takes its power from the same twin-turbocharged 2.9-litre V6 engine as the Quadrifoglio, but calibration tweaks and the addition of a titanium Akrapovic exhaust help to boost its output from 503bhp to 533bhp, bringing the 0-62mph sprint time down from 3.9secs to 3.6secs and boosting top speed to 191mph. They’re also claimed to give the car a unique soundtrack.
In addition to the power hike, the GTA benefits from a 100kg weight loss, courtesy of a bonnet, a roof panel, a front bumper, front wheel arches, rear arch inserts and a driveshaft made from carbonfibre. Aluminium and composite materials feature elsewhere on the car in order to further reduce kerb weight.
The GTA is also claimed to perform better in corners than the Quadrifoglio, thanks to a bespoke suspension set-up and a 50mm-wider track at both the front and rear.
Visual differences from the Quadrifoglio include a Formula 1-inspired active aero package comprising a larger front splitter, a carbonfibre rear diffuser and a rear wing. There are also 20in centre-lock wheels and Alcantara-trimmed interior panels.
Like the similarly conceived Jaguar XE SV Project 8, the GTA is also available in hardcore track-focused guise, with the rear seats making way for a roll bar. Called the GTAm, it remains road-legal but swaps its front seats for race items with carbonfibre bases and six-point harnesses, gains a much larger spoiler and can crack the 0-62mph sprint in just 3.6sec.
The GTA badge first appeared on a racing version of the 1965 Giulia Sprint, which used an all-aluminium bodyshell to weigh just 745kg, giving it an edge in motorsport and becoming one of the world’s most revered sports saloons.
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