As a pre-emptive apology for the fact that you are about to be exposed to the mutual-masturbation fest that is the Geneva Motor Show (yes, I’m there), I would like to show you
this.
Alfa V6 looks as good as it sounds
It is hard to suggest that the 156 GTA is any better today that it was new, 10 years ago and summarily losing group tests weekly. Or maybe it is?
If ever a car was less than the sum of its parts, the GTA was it. That famous 3.2-litre V6, this time with 250hp and 221lb ft, in a car that weighed just 1,500kg, with a front-drive chassis that, in lesser models, was proving the BMW didn’t own the driver-centric exec saloon class.
It should have been so wonderful, but it wasn’t. The question ‘how much horsepower can the 156 chassis handle?’ was concisely answered by the GTA: not 250. The car was damned by the tragic pincer-movement of over-firm spings and under-supportive dampers, leaving it both uncomfortable and badly controlled.
Suitably charismatic and exotic inside too
It wasn’t that fast either. It made a magnificent noise and the throttle response was savage. Almost too savage. But not as savage as the steering rack, which remains one of the quickest fitted to a production car.
So why on earth does a leggy 156 GTA look so appealing now?
Search me – but it does. In red, with bubbling arches and a sultry black leather cabin you can almost smell from the pictures. I think it’s a mixture of two things: the great proportions of the 156 (excepting the bodykit) and the knowledge that Alfa is no longer the purveyor of bat-shit-crazy stuff like the GTA. Its new sports car stands every chance of actually being good, albeit expensive, and I grew up in a world where Alfa’s were never justifiable with straightforward competence. They required the owner to concoct some waffle about character and individuality.
Sub-£5K GTA wagon caught Harris's eye
Me? I’d just say it looks fab, is under £5k and sounds uncannily like an Aston DB5.
Whetted your appetite for used Alfa Romeo 156s? Check out the PH Classifieds for more used Alfas.
Price: £4,950
Why you should: It's an Alfa Romeo with a V6 engine
Why you shouldn't: See above