Designed jointly with Bertone, the Alfa GT embodies original styling, lavish accoutrements and exciting performance, and a new conception of sportiness that embodies comfort and elegance, while it respects the brand’s tradition.
The Alfa GT packs the results of Alfa’s superlative engineering heritage into a shape inspired by a sense of style and flair that could only be Italian. The stylists were also able to call on a great Alfa Romeo tradition that has brought us models that remain benchmarks for the category: from the 1900 SS to the Giulietta Sprint, the Alfetta and the Giulia Sprint GT.
This latter car in particular, designed by Nuccio Bertone in 1963, shares with the new coupé the same sporting character, soft, tapered lines and great Italian elegance.
Design and Dimensions
\nWith a length of 4.48 metres, width of 1.76 metres and a height of 1.37 metres, the Alfa GT is aggressive and compact (its wheelbase is 2596 millimetres), with a shape marked by certain distinctive traits that define its strong personality and render it immediately recognisable as an Alfa. Hence the designers’ decision to go for smooth, clean motifs and shapes marked by an unmistakable sense of Italian flair. The result is a strong, spare front end dominated by an Alfa Romeo family resemblance encapsulated by the distinctive three-lobed motif bearing a shield that is slightly larger in size than at present. The entire car appears to grow from this point to combine a slight edge of styling aggression with outstanding elegance of form. This impression is reinforced by two side air intakes and light clusters that are objects of beauty in their own right.
Dashing and solid but also dynamic and sturdy. It took a clever balancing act to wed such disparate features. This contrast is evident in the Alfa GT’s profile where a side shelf conveys the idea of a car that is agile but also anchored to the ground. And there is more. The taut lines that meet at the rear and the small area of glass (compared to the sides) add elegance and a heightened sense of protection. The slightly raked and tapering tail design is also brand new and paired with large, integral bumpers. The rear window is drop-shaped, while the light clusters are embedded in the body to create an attractive wraparound look.
The Alfa GT is a sports car, but one that is unmistakably comfortable and elegant. The aim of the car is to offer all the driving satisfaction of a top-performing coupé, but combined with practicality and versatility. In fact, the luggage compartment offers a capacity of 320 dm3, one of the best for this segment, and it can be extended to 905 dm3 by exploiting the many different combinations of the split, completely reclining seats.
Like the exterior shape, the interior of the Alfa GT is as sporty as Alfa Romeos get, thanks to the ideal position of the steering wheel, pedals and gearbox (designed specifically for maximum vehicle control), the functional, easy to read instruments, and the multifunction display that gives access to several menus (each with their own submenus) with a wide range of functions, plus the trip computer. In addition to which, a built-in radio and all the controls for the elegant automatic dual zone climate control system are positioned at the centre of the facia. The radio, which incorporates a CD player/MP3 player, also offers an outstanding acoustic system, designed and calibrated to the passenger compartment, that consists of eight speakers and delivers a power output of 4×40 Watts. The Alfa GT adds a host of sophisticated devices and systems to this array of equipment, such as the Bose® Hi-Fi system and Cruise Control, that make it a new benchmark in its price segment.
Powerful and Smooth Engines
Behind fascinating styling and a strong personality, the Alfa GT hides a comprehensive range of excellent engines with cutting-edge technologies and generous performance. They are the best proof of the ‘cuore sportivo’ that has always been a feature of Alfa Romeo models, past and present. The Alfa GT is no exception. First of all, the sparkling 3.2 V6 24 valve which delivers 176 kW at 6200 rpm, with a torque curve of 300 Nm at 4800 rpm, thanks to which it guarantees exciting performance with a sporty driving style, but also during everyday use. The second Alfa GT engine is the 1.9 M-Jet 16v turbodiesel which delivers 110 kW, the first of the second generation of Common Rail engines. Both the 3.2 V6 24V and the 1.9 JTDm 16v are mated to a six-speed manual gearbox.
Sophisticated Safety Technology
Maximum protection for driver and passengers thanks to the adoption of the most sophisticated systems and devices on the market today. This is what the Alfa GT promises, and maintains. For example, where preventive safety is concerned, the new model boasts an integral diagonally split hydraulic braking system complete with the latest generation ABS and EBD brake effort distribution, VDC (Stability Control) with Brake Assist for total control of the car’s dynamic stability in all conditions, an ASR (Traction Control) function that prevents longitudinal wheel slip, and the MSR system that reduces torque to control slip. The standard passive safety outfit includes six airbags: two frontal, two front sidebags and two curtain-bags.
The Alfa GT adopts a high double-wishbone suspension at the front to ensure maximum lateral hold, and very efficient and precise response to the steering wheel, and excellent traction. All these characteristics combine with the capacity to absorb and dampen road roughness typical of the most comfortable cars in this segment. The high double wishbones achieve outstanding longitudinal flexibility on the side of the wheel with no negative influence on cornering efficiency and steering dynamics.
The car’s behaviour on the road is also the result of a rear axle that enhances stability in high-speed manoeuvres and guarantees the agility of a true sports car on mixed narrow roads. This is why the choice went to a MacPherson system at the rear, with asymmetrical struts and improved elastokinematic specifications. The rear suspension on the Alfa GT is connected to the chassis by a cross beam in vacuum cast aluminium. The advantages of the MacPherson system are its low weight, excellent comfort (guaranteed by the possibility of ample wheel shaking and longitudinal flexibility) and the many possibilities to adjust the trim control.
