May 24

May 24 Guide: Alfa Romeo 156 GTA

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Background

To replace the mid-range 155 (Type 167), Alfa Romeo launched the all new 156 (Type 932) at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 1997.

The 156 was the latest in a long line of highly rated Alfa Romeos built for the compact executive market. It was initially offered with choice of inline four cylinder 16 valve single overhead camshaft twin spark engines of between 1.6 and 2-litres. There was also an entry-level 8 valve 1.9-litre inline four, an inline five cylinder 8 valve diesel motor and the range-topping 2.5-litre dual overhead camshaft 24 valve ‘Busso’ V6.

Unlike its predecessors, the 156 used a front-wheel drive layout, something not universally welcomed by dedicated Alfisti who regarded rear-wheel drive as sacred.

Nevertheless, thanks to its handsome styling, impressive performance and a high level of build quality, the 156 was generally very well received and went on to win the 1998 European Car of the Year award.

Alfa Romeo offered the 156 in two body styles: a four-door Saloon and five-door Station Wagon (Sportwagon).

Cars were produced at the Fiat Group factory in Pomigliano d’Arco, Naples.

Four years after the 156 debuted, Alfa Romeo made a surprise addition to the line up when they unveiled a new flagship variant at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2001.

The 156 GTA was an Italian rival to BMW’s M3 and the AMG Mercedes-Benz C-class. Each car was hand-built on a dedicated production line and incorporated a wide range of performance enhancements. Most notably, the suspension, brakes, steering and wheels were all uprated, a trick engine was hooked up to a beefier transmission and an array of sporty body parts were installed.

The GTA moniker stood for Gran Turismo Allegerita. Alfa Romeo had first used the GTA tag back in 1965 for an Autodelta-designed Giulia Sprint-based homologation special created for the Group 2 Touring Car category.

The original GTA went on to secure a hat-trick of European Touring Car Championship titles between 1966 and 1968. The subsequent GTAm won again in 1970 and 1971.

More recently, Abarth (the Fiat Group’s in-house competition department) had created a one-off 155 GTA to homologate a racing version for the mid 1990s Super Touring formula. These cars went on to win the British, Italian and Spanish Touring Car Championships.

Although a customer 155 GTA was never produced, that changed with the 156.

The 156 GTA went on to serve as the basis for Alfa Romeo’s European Touring Car Championship campaign from 2002. In the hands of Fabrizio Giovanardi and Gabriele Tarquini, the GTA Super 2000 won the 2002 and 2003 ETCC titles. Prior to this, Giovanardi had secured the 2001 ETCC crown in a 156 D2 (the same model he used to win the ‘98 and ‘99 Italian titles and the 2000 European Super Touring Car Cup).

A GTA version of Alfa Romeo’s entry-level 147 was sold alongside the 156 variant from 2002.

Chassis

The 156 GTA was based on a galvanised steel monocoque with a 2595mm wheelbase.

As per the rest of the 156 range, it ran a double wishbone suspension layout up front while the back end used a MacPherson strut, coaxial spring, two transverse links and a longitudinal strut.

However, the GTA was significantly improved thanks to its many weight-saving aluminium components and repositioned rear suspension attachment points. In addition, the ride height was lowered, the springs and dampers were stiffened and thicker anti-roll bars were installed.

The struts and steering links were also uprated and the front lower wishbone beams were reinforced.

A quicker, more responsive power-assisted steering rack used a 1.7 ratio compared to the normal 2.1.

The GTA’s brake system incorporated high performance discs and four-piston calipers from Brembo. The ventilated front discs had a 305mm diameter (compared to 284mm for the standard 2.5 V6) while the solid rears had a 276mm diameter (compared to 251mm).

ABS and Electronic Brakeforce Distribution were fitted as standard.

New 17 x 7.5-inch alloy wheels were used all round and originally came shod with Pirelli tyres.

A 63-litre fuel tank from the standard 156 was located over the rear axle.

Engine / Gearbox

In the engine bay was a front transversely-mounted normally aspirated all-alloy 60° V6 with dual overhead camshafts, four valves per cylinder and wet-sump lubrication. It was the largest iteration of the fabled Giuseppe Busso V6 yet seen.

GTA engines were built by hand at the Maserati Research Centre in Modena and then trucked down to Naples for installation.

Displacement was increased from 2492cc to 3179cc (a gain of 687cc) by enlarging the cylinders bores and extending the stroke. The former went from 88mm to 93mm while the latter went from 68.3mm to 78mm.

The compression ratio was increased from 10.3:1 to 10.5:1 and Bosch Motronic ME7.3.1 replaced the original ME 3.1 system.

The GTA additionally came with a new drive-by-wire throttle.

The power output leapt from 189bhp at 6300rpm to 247bhp at 6200rpm.

There was also considerably more torque on offer with 221lb-ft at 4800rpm compared to 161lb-ft at 5000rpm.

Alfa Romeo offered a choice of two reinforced six-speed transmissions: a traditional manual (standard) or a semi-automatic Selespeed paddle-shit gearbox (optional).

ASR traction control was standard, but a limited-slip differential was extra.

Bodywork

Among the myriad awards bestowed upon the 156 were a number for its styling; in 1997 the Italian press thought it the most beautiful car in the world.

The 156 was originally designed by Walter de Silva at Alfa Centro Stile. It featured an array of details typical of the marque to include curvaceous fenders, elegantly contoured flanks and a trademark delta-shaped shield.

Classically-styled chrome door handles were fitted at the front while those at the rear were concealed to give a Coupe-like effect.

While the GTA shared its roof, doors, trunk lid and hood with the standard 156, the other panels were brand new.

They included sporty bumpers with deeper, more aggressively-styled aprons.

All four fenders were subtly flared to accommodate the GTA’s bigger wheels.

Down each flank, deep side skirts were vented behind the leading edge of the front door.

Aside from plastic composite bumpers and skirts, the rest of the GTA’s panels were fashioned from steel.

Interior

Like the exterior, the 156 cockpit was a mix of traditional elegance and handsome modern design.

The GTA shared the same interior architecture as the rest of the 156 range, but Alfa Romeo added a host of special parts that set their flagship performance variant apart.

To save weight, the dash assembly and front seat frames were fabricated in magnesium.

Drilled alloy pedals and heavily bolstered Sports gave a more performance-oriented feel. The storage tray ahead of the custom gear lever was also given a drilled finish.

The two individually cowled instruments directly behind the steering wheel (a rev counter and speedometer) came with alloy bezels. Between them was a digital read out for the onboard computer.

The GTA’s centre console was the same as the rest of the 156 range. Located at the top of the alloy fascia was a fuel gauge, clock and water temperature read out. Underneath was the audio system, the air-conditioning controls and a row of circular switches.

Standard equipment included front and side airbags, air-conditioning, leather upholstery, heated seats, cruise control, electric windows, electric mirrors and a Bose stereo.

Options

Customers could choose to equip their car with a range of optional extras to include dual zone climate control, contrast seat centres and door inserts, multi-spoke alloy wheels and the aforementioned Q2 limited-slip differential.

There was also the Selespeed transmission which offered a fully automatic mode or manual shifting via steering wheel-mounted buttons.

Weight / Performance

The GTA Saloon weighed 1410kg and the Sportwagen was 1460kg.

Top speed was electronically limited to 155mph.

The manual gearbox variant had a 0-62mph time of 6.3 seconds. This dropped to 7 seconds for cars equipped with the Selespeed transmission.

Production Changes

The only production change came in November 2003 when the front discs were enlarged from 305mm to 330mm. New radially-mounted calipers were fitted at the same time.