So, the Alfa Romeo GTA is making a comeback, and quite brilliant it all sounds as well. Okay so the new Giulia-based hoodlum is twice the price of a standard car - but it's hard to countenance objectivity while imagining it doing big skids. Which, obviously, a regular Quadrifoglio will do. It just won't look as good as this one while doing it. Or go quite as fast.
That's perhaps the most important aspect of the GTA; besides the heritage, the lightweighting and the proven ability of the base product, it's simply an enormously exciting proposition. Just imagine the noise from the Akrapovic pipes or it rolling into a pit lane paddock. Hopeless romantic nostalgia it may be - everything would suggest not in the case of the Giulia - but 'Alfa Romeo' and 'GTA' possess a lure that precious few other badges can lay claim to.
So when they appeared, back in 2009, on the rear of a MiTo, a similar level of fervour resulted. Even allowing for the fact that the 147 and 156 GTA were - to be polite - not the best cars in their class, the optimism wasn't to be dented. Not one little bit.
"Aye looks like Alfa have a winner there"; "This could be the perfect antidote to ballooning size and weight in the hot hatch sector'; "That's stacking up to be quite a weapon..." read the initial PH comments 11 years ago, even if one or two were a little less positive. Point was that, despite years away - and despite very little hot hatch provenance - an Alfa GTA was getting enthusiasts revved up again. And, most importantly, revved up and eager about a little car that hadn't exactly set the world alight; the GTA seemed to be the ideal solution to sprinkle a little flagship fairy dust on the range.
More importantly, it sounded like a proper job, too, far more than some fancy wheels and a pretty show girl to grab your attention. From the February 2009 press release: "In line with the famous GTA signature, the MiTo GTA Concept prioritises weight reduction, and the achievement of an optimum power-to-weight ratio.
"Considerable work has gone into lowering the vehicle's centre of gravity; thus certain components such as the tailgate spoiler, roof and mirror fairings are in carbon-fibre; while aluminium is used extensively in the braking system, suspension, and some parts of the chassis." It's hard to think, offhand, of any car not improved by a lower centre of gravity, reduced mass and an increased power-to-weight ratio. The cynical might have noted that the MiTo needed more improvement than that sort of work could bestow. But let's leave that judgement until the end...
Encouragingly, the GTA would have been brisk. Back in 2009 the turbo onslaught hadn't yet began: there wasn't a Fiesta ST, the 207 GTI had just 175hp (and was crap), and you'd need a special Mini to get beyond 200hp. The GTA swaggered in with 240hp, courtesy of the 1.75-litre TBI that would go on to power the 4C, and had impressed in the 159 already. A gearbox wasn't announced at the time of the Concept.
Bring together the power, the reduced weight, the pugnacious stance and the suspension work - including a 20mm lower ride height, new geometry, a rebushed rear axle and Skyhook dampers - and all the right ingredients were there, surely, for a great hot hatch. And, perhaps even more importantly, a great Alfa GTA. There was even talk of the MiTo undercutting the Mini JCW on price.
Then it all went quiet. Actually, that's kind; Alfa ghosted us like the cruellest of love interests, showing the car at Geneva like it was going somewhere - only to pull the plug as commitment loomed. The GTA was never to be heard of again, not even when the actual MiTo hot hatch emerged as a Quadrifoglio Verde.
Given the impression left by the QV, it's probably for the best that our rose-tinted GTA fantasies remain just that. Any latent promise hinted at by the 2009 concept was quashed by the 2014 production reality; that the engine was down to the 1.4-litre MultiAir and a dual-clutch gearbox was standard wasn't the problem, because there have been great fast cars with less than 200hp. The problem was in the bland, stodgy way in which the QV drove; imperfection in Alfas can be forgiven, but being forgettable (bar a daft asking price) is a cardinal sin.
If nothing else, the GTA promised to leave an indelible impression. Why it never saw the light of day is a question we're unable to answer; perhaps the cost of equipping a MiTo with all that carbon and aluminium was simply too prohibitive to justify in a world very much in the midst of a financial crisis. Think how the Audi A1 quattro was received in 2012, previewing a series production S1 with a £40k limited run; despite the thorough re-engineering job, all discussion was dominated by the price. Even taking into account Alfa's zealous enthusiast following, it's difficult to imagine it being pardoned from the inevitable public cynicism that small cars run into when they receive large price tags.
Or maybe it just wasn't actually that good, the MiTo GTA, the car beyond saving even with a swathe of modifications. And, let's be honest, there hadn't been a great Alfa Romeo for a good while by 2010 - the last thing that the reputation needed was an expensive, unruly, imperfect cherry on top. That still looked a bit weird at the front.
Truth told, even the most optimistic of Alfisti would have to concede that the Giulia Quadrifoglio is a more encouraging base for a GTA than the MiTo could have ever been. Yet the temptation to speculate lingers; a good GTA might have laid the foundation for a great 4C GTA - heaven knows that car could have done with it. Or a memorable fast Giulietta - because the QV of that was another damp squib - and perhaps even a racy 159, which might've carried off the designation. Then there might have been a real 21st century legacy for the new GTA to build on - rather than Alfa having to explain the badge to a layman. Luckily for it, the Giulia has so transcended all expectations, that its own foundations are granite-strong. Once again - we can't wait.
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