Return of an Alfa Romeo legend

On June 24, Alfa Romeo will reach an important milestone in its remarkable history: 110 years in business. During that century-plus span, Alfa Romeo engineers and designers have relentlessly pursued innovation, while always remaining true to the Brand's DNA. Over the years, this DNA – the perfect combination of sportiness and elegance – has created not only some of the most iconic vehicles ever built, but also vehicles that are right at home both on the racetrack and in any beauty contest. To mark its 110th birthday, Alfa Romeo will amaze its fans and all motorists with a vehicle that fully represents a return to the brand's origins, while paying tribute to one of the most emblematic vehicles of Alfa Romeo: Giulia GTA.A set of initialsThe acronym GTA stands for “Gran Turismo Alleggerita” (alleggerita being the Italian term for “lightened”), and it originated in 1965 with the Giulia Sprint GTA, a specific version derived from the Sprint GT, designed as a sports car and presented at the Amsterdam Motor Show staged that same year. The body of the Giulia Sprint GT was replaced with an identical version in aluminum, for a total weight of 745 kg compared to the 950 kg of the road version. A second variation was with the 1570 cm3 twin cam engine which, in the road configuration, with dual ignition, reached an impressive output of 115 hp/86 kW. The technicians of Autodelta, the official Alfa Romeo racing team, chose it as the reference vehicle for the Touring category, and developed it to achieve a maximum output of 170 hp/127 kW. The model's success in competitions was then immediate: three consecutive “Challenge Europeo Marche”, tens of national championships and hundreds of individual races in every part of the world. And the way it ramped up the image of the entire range was impressive: Giulia Sprint GTA expressed the claim “A victory a day in your everyday car” to perfection. From then on, the GTA made a name for itself as the undisputed icon of Alfa Romeo sportiness and the acronym GTA became so successful that the public soon associated it with all the sporty Alfa Romeo vehicles in general.Tech solutionsFor the launch of the exceptional Giulia GTA, Alfa Romeo intends to break a few rules: it does not intend to talk about history, especially not its own, nor does it want any gifts for its birthday. Instead, it prefers to give a gift to Alfa enthusiasts by presenting a car that now represents a real return to the roots of Alfa Romeo, planted deep in the world of performance and grand touring.For the new Giulia GTA, Alfa Romeo engineers have striven to improve aerodynamics and handling but above all to reduce weight: the same guidelines followed for the 1965 Giulia GTA. The active aerodynamics were specifically studied to increase the downforce. These solutions contain technical expertise that comes directly from Formula 1, thanks to the synergy with Sauber Engineering and the use of the Sauber Aerokit. The same task is assigned to the side skirts, the specific rear spoiler and the active front splitter. The titanium Akrapovic central exhaust system integrated in the carbon fibre rear diffuser is also new, as are the 20-inch centre lock wheels, appearing for the first time on a sedan. The handling at high speeds has been improved by widening the front and rear wheel tracks by 50mm and developing a new set of springs, shock absorbers and bushings for the suspension systems. On GTAm, the aerodynamic front piece has been optimised to an extreme level, by adding a larger front splitter and a real carbon rear wing, which ensure a perfectly balanced load at high speeds. PerformanceIn terms of performance, the powerful 2.9 V6 Bi-Turbo, made entirely of aluminum and capable of unleashing no less than 510 hp/380 kW in the standard configuration, reaches a power output of 540 hp/403 kW on Giulia GTA, thanks to meticulous calibration work performed by the Alfa Romeo engineers. The same team has also succeeded in optimising the implementation of the new Akrapovic specific exhaust system, with its unmistakable sound.Moving inside the car, several new details stand out: the trim in 100% Alcantara® on the dashboard, door panels, glove compartment, side pillars and the central trim on the seats. Alcantara® is used even more extensively on the GTAm version, where the rear bench has been removed; leaving room for a fully upholstered “basin”, hosting specific moldings deigned to hold helmets and a fire extinguisher. The new matte carbon inserts endow the interior with a distinctive technical and aesthetic elegance. In the new GTAm, the interior is unique in that it features a roll bar, no door panels or rear seats and the door is opened with a belt in place of the handle, another touch that comes from the racing world.Excellent ratioHowever, power on its own is not enough to ensure extraordinary performance. The work done to reduce vehicle weight has been meticulous, and it has reaped particularly impressive results in the GTA. Here the total weight reduction amounts to 100 kg, thanks to the adoption of lightweight materials such as carbon fibre for the drive shaft, bonnet, roof, front bumper, front wheel arches, rear wheel arch inserts and the shell of the specific sporting seats with 6-point Sabelt safety belts. Further, lightweight aluminum is used in the engine, doors and suspension systems, and various other composite materials are used throughout. For instance, Lexan – a unique polycarbonate resin that comes straight from the world of motorsports – has been used in the side and rear window frames, further contributing to the weight reduction. The result is a weight set around 1 520 kg which, combined with the increase in power to 540 hp/403 kW, brings the weight/power ratio to an excellent level, 2.82 kg/hp, making the Giulia GTA capable of delivering extraordinary performance. Its acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h is lightning fast – thanks to the Launch Control system, the chronometer stops at just 3.6 seconds. The Giulia GTAm is the two-seater configuration approved for on-road use, with a front splitter and a larger visible rear wing in carbon, the ultimate expression of sportiness. In the GTA version, with the same power, Giulia offers four seats, no rear roll-bar; spoiler and splitter optimised for daily use on the road; the same door panels, seats and windows as those of the Giulia Quadrifoglio. The result is a veritable supercar for everyday use. - MotorPress

Return of an Alfa Romeo legend

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