Alfa Romeo 147 GTA
Brutal V6 engine is a real highlight. It revs hard, pulls well from low revs and sounds great into the bargain. Proof that Alfa Romeo still has “it”.
Six-speed manual gearbox suits the car brilliantly. Shift action isn’t perfect but it’s close enough.
Retro looks are charming and make the car instantly identifiable from the pack.
Interior is another gorgeous mix of retro and Latin cool. There’s both drama and passion here.
Front sports seats are wonderfully supportive, holding you firmly in place during the most spirited of cornering.
Bad
Selespeed gearbox is a turkey. Shifts are rough and even in fully automatic mode, progress is stilted and painful.
Front-drive platform allows for some untidiness in lower gears when accelerating hard.
Steering can be almost too direct and turning circle is big, making parking more of a chore than it should be.
Alfa Romeo’s offerings since the brand’s relaunch in Australia in the 1990s have all been interesting cars.
The original 156 was a breath of fresh air in the medium prestige market and, more recently, the sporty Brera has been wowing them with its stunning looks.
The reborn Spider also served notice that Alfa still knew how to build a ripping V6 engine, even if the more basic four-cylinder cars weren’t as exciting to drive.
The Alfa Twin Spark four-cylinder was a good engine with great levels of smoothness and involvement, it just wasn’t all that powerful.
In the smaller, lighter 147, that didn’t matter so much, but even then the relatively meek four-cylinder performance only made even bigger news of what was to come next.
It seems like a simple enough concept when you say it aloud, but dropping the Alfa GTV’s 3.2-litre V6 into the little 147 was something of a master stroke.
OK, so there’s nothing terribly sophisticated or cerebral about dropping an awfully big engine into a small hatchback, but it never fails to deliver an exciting car. And the 147 GTA was no exception.
All of a sudden, the 147 went from a pretty, retro-looking little hatchback with some real design flair to a muscular, high-performance hatch that was capable of stomping on some big reputations along the way.
The V6 engine really was the highlight of the car and compared with (or even in isolation) the 2.0-litre 147’s 110 kW and 181 Nm, the GTA’s 184 kW and 300 Nm were serious stuff.
The lusty power delivery gave the GTA a real hot-rod feel and with good torque pretty much anywhere in the rev range, the Alfa felt like it was game for anything, any time.
The best gearbox option is the standard six-speed manual. The shift action is good and the ratios spot-on for either highway cruising or fanging around a race track.
Alfa also offered its clutchless manual Selespeed, again with six gears, but it’s an awful transmission with no subtlety in the way it shifts and a tendency to make progress stilted and uncomfortable. Add the fact that it cost $4000 extra when the 147 GTA was launched in 2003 and it’s difficult to see why anybody bothered. We still wouldn’t have chosen the Selespeed if it had been $4000 cheaper.
Being a front-wheel-drive package with a lot of horsepower, the GTA can feel a bit wilful when taking off.
Some torque steer or tugging at the steering wheel can be felt, but it’s something most people become accustomed to.
In any case, Alfa Romeo fitted the GTA with stiffer springs and dampers, a lower ride height and bigger brakes to give it the chassis the engine deserved.
The unruly behaviour of the front wheels was partly tamed by stability control and bigger, fatter wheels and tyres.
The GTA also got bigger brakes front and rear with anti-lock and electronic brake-force distribution.
While such measures sometimes simply produce a car that’s uncomfortable to ride in, in the GTA’s case it all worked beautifully.
The car had great levels of mid-corner grip along with a wonderful chuckable feeling to it. Yes, the suspension is tied down rather well and bumps find their way inside the cabin, but the payoff is a wonderfully connected feeling for the driver with sharp steering and stopping power.
Safety gear was of a good standard and you will get front, side and window airbags as well as the sophisticated braking and traction control systems.
Convenience items weren’t forgotten, either. There’s remote entry, leather upholstery, climate-control air-conditioning, cruise control and full electrics.
The GTA kit added a more comprehensive dashboard, brilliant front seats and even nice touches such as the drilled aluminium pedals.
While the GTA was available only as a three-door hatchback, there was still a surprisingly good amount of room inside. At least there was in the front, but the rear seat is too narrow for three-abreast seating and there’s not a huge amount of space for luggage, either.
But that’s hardly going to worry most would-be buyers, and the car’s undeniable charms including its sharp, distinctive looks, powerhouse engine and entertaining handling all stamp the 147 GTA as something very special indeed.
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Need to know
Those big wheels and tyres seem particularly prone to kerb rash. Their condition will give you a good idea of the care taken by the previous owner.
Build quality issues weren’t unknown at Alfa at this time. Make sure all the electricals work and the interior trim items are all intact.
Cars such as this were made to be driven hard, and that’s exactly what some owners did. Watch out for crash damage and cars that have obviously done track days.
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What to pay
Model Year New Now
147 GTA 2003 $59,990 $35,700
147 GTA 2004 $59,990 $39,600
147 GTA 2005 $59,990 $43,700
147 GTA 2006 $59,990 $47,900
147 GTA 2007 $59,990 $51,100
Nuts & Bolts
Engine Size/Type
3.2-litre V6
Transmission/Driven Wheels
Six-speed manual/six-speed clutchless manual
Safety Rating
3 stars (howsafeisyourcar.com.au)
| Full Specifications |
Prices and details correct at publication.