RE: The Brave Pill | Alfa Romeo 156 GTA

RE: The Brave Pill | Alfa Romeo 156 GTA

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Discussion

Kinky

39,456 posts

268 months

Sunday 2nd June 2019
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MDMA . said:
S100HP said:
Wagons are so much nicer than the saloon. I reckon I might have still had mine if it had been a wagon.
Currently looking at them in Japan wink

Just need to work out the import costs.
There's a red '03 wagon Selespeed import on the PH classifieds at the moment, which is incorrectly categorised so easy to be missed!

https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...

ITP

1,996 posts

196 months

Sunday 2nd June 2019
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Mr Tidy said:
Why does it need to be a V6 though?

My 55 plate E90 330i has a straight 6 with 258 bhp, and the bonus of RWD - works for me! laugh
I had one of those for 5yrs. The N52 is a superb engine, one of BMW’s best i think. I had 3 or 4 other straight 6 BMW’s too over the years. I bought the car just because of the engine, not the car. The car was nice, a typical efficient all rounder, but rather boring as a car ultimately. The only exciting bit was the engine for me.

Thing is the busso is just nicer engine, sounds better and just has a feel and character to it that can’t be assessed by figures. It’s great all the time from as soon as you start it up, driving slow, driving fast. Of course it’s not good on fuel but they are solid in terms of reliability if not neglected. I ran a 164V6 with the 12v version to ver 150k and it was perfect. Currently have a 147 GTA (which is for sale on here sadly) which I would keep forever if I had the space.
In contrast to the E90, I feel the 156/147 GTA have more exciting/interesting things about them than the BMW did, and for me is a much more interesting ownership proposition, even though ‘on paper’ the E90 makes more sense.

alfabeat

1,103 posts

111 months

Sunday 2nd June 2019
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ITP said:
I had one of those for 5yrs. The N52 is a superb engine, one of BMW’s best i think. I had 3 or 4 other straight 6 BMW’s too over the years. I bought the car just because of the engine, not the car. The car was nice, a typical efficient all rounder, but rather boring as a car ultimately. The only exciting bit was the engine for me.

Thing is the busso is just nicer engine, sounds better and just has a feel and character to it that can’t be assessed by figures. It’s great all the time from as soon as you start it up, driving slow, driving fast. Of course it’s not good on fuel but they are solid in terms of reliability if not neglected. I ran a 164V6 with the 12v version to ver 150k and it was perfect. Currently have a 147 GTA (which is for sale on here sadly) which I would keep forever if I had the space.
In contrast to the E90, I feel the 156/147 GTA have more exciting/interesting things about them than the BMW did, and for me is a much more interesting ownership proposition, even though ‘on paper’ the E90 makes more sense.
I sold an E46 328 to buy the 156 GTA. There really is no comparison. The E46 was extremely competent, but very dull.

ZX10R NIN

27,495 posts

124 months

Sunday 2nd June 2019
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I don't see these as that brave a decision, they're lovely cars, although I'd take the 147 GTA.

Scalino

121 posts

88 months

Sunday 2nd June 2019
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I've used my saloon as a daily for a year now, it makes me smile evey day smile

MDMA .

8,849 posts

100 months

Sunday 2nd June 2019
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Dahod said:
I loved everything about my GTA, but especially the sound of that engine under hard revs - a noise once heard is never forgotten! Incidentally, EVO Mag voted the engine “Best ever V6”

Mine was the Sportwagon version, which, in my opinion, was even better looking than the saloon. Miss it!

Any more pics or a readers ride thread on this?

Zombie

1,587 posts

194 months

Monday 3rd June 2019
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MDMA . said:
Any more pics or a readers ride thread on this?
The 147 is essentially the same car. Here's mine;

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

Deefor62

473 posts

147 months

Monday 3rd June 2019
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I committed to buying my gta sportwagon without even driving it. It was hemmed in at the back of the forecourt at the local Alfa dealers. All I had to do was turn that key to start the engine, and I was signing on the dotted line
I was trading in a remapped 2.4 jtd sportwagon which I’d equipped with Eibach springs and Bilstein B6 dampers, and so had a pretty reasonable baseline as to how I expected the GTA to drive
Needles to say I was not disappointed. The handling was excellent, and it felt such a special place to be. The larger 330 brakes were excellent, and that engine was just intoxicating
The only things that worries me about it was that I was either going to lose my licence or kill myself in it, as it just urged you to go faster all the time.
In the end, I needed to trade it in for something more practical, as my son had taken up windsurfing, and I didn’t want to get the roof on the GTA scratched to bits from all the kit on the roof, or the interior full of sand.
That practical car was an old V70, which was the polar opposite to the GTA , and just as addictive but for totally different reasons
I’d love to get another GTA for weekend fun, but unfortunately lack the space (as well as funds right now) to get one.
The Busso engine is a mechanical masterpiece. My first Alfa was a GTV6 (the transaxle version) and if anything, the 2.5 engine in that sounded better than the GTA from memory. The GTA had a lower and more menacing tone than the GTV6 which made a wonderful howl at high revs.
I too have had a number of BMWs, and they have been far more troublesome than the Alfa’s, and in my view, lack that certain character and individualism that you get with the Alfa’s
If only they did the Giulia in a Sportwagon, I’d be driving around in one of those for the daily driver.

MDMA .

8,849 posts

100 months

Monday 3rd June 2019
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Zombie said:
MDMA . said:
Any more pics or a readers ride thread on this?
The 147 is essentially the same car. Here's mine;

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Had a good read of that and commented on it previously. The personally prefer the looks of the 156 GTA.

Greg the Fish

1,410 posts

65 months

Monday 3rd June 2019
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Absolutely LOVED mine.

My kids used to call it 'the bumpy car'


Tankrizzo

7,247 posts

192 months

Monday 3rd June 2019
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Just go in with your eyes open financially. They are epic but need to be maintained like an Italian sports car.

velocemitch

3,795 posts

219 months

Monday 3rd June 2019
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S100HP said:
carinaman said:
I'll be disappointed if the bogey doesn't make an appearance in this thread.
I assume you mean this one?



https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

God I miss that car. Biggest motoring regret selling that. 4 fantastic years using it daily.
I miss my Sportwagon Bogey too, sold it 11 years ago, but used to get yearly updates from its new owner. Sadly they stopped two years back and I lost contact. Borial Green was the rarest colour on a Car which was rare to begin with. I do hope its not extinct.....
Have to say though I've finally found a Car which feels just as special to me....... Giulia Veloce!

courty

401 posts

76 months

Monday 3rd June 2019
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just sold my GTA...too many cars, so something had to give...shame to see it go...great car!

it went very quickly...so must have been priced to sell...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/173916358533


jaisharma

982 posts

182 months

Monday 3rd June 2019
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Greg the Fish said:
Absolutely LOVED mine.

My kids used to call it 'the bumpy car'

Me too! (but then I did buy it from you, and subsequently sold to a colleague).
Fantastic car, seriously thought of buying another.

Greg the Fish

1,410 posts

65 months

Tuesday 4th June 2019
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jaisharma said:
Me too! (but then I did buy it from you, and subsequently sold to a colleague).
Fantastic car, seriously thought of buying another.
Awesome!

fred bloggs

1,300 posts

199 months

Tuesday 4th June 2019
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PokiGTA said:
The GTA is, in my opinion, one of the greatest cars ever produced.
You sure about that buddy?

Engelberger

509 posts

66 months

Tuesday 4th June 2019
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When the GTA was launched I was eager to take a test drive. I wanted a Alfa as all petrolheads must own one according to TG at the time.

Gear change was sublime, not exactly perfect handling but close and being an Alfa it looked great. 3.2ltr engine? Yes please.

But then the dealer was a bit crap. I started thinking about depreciation and the servicing costs so I bought a 330 instead. Sigh.

If I needed something like a 156 now I would buy it. If I ever sell the golf I will likely buy a 159 Ti.

velocemitch

3,795 posts

219 months

Wednesday 5th June 2019
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woody33 said:
fred bloggs said:
You sure about that buddy?
Yep, totally mad statement. The GTA had a great engine but everything else was pretty horrible. Road tests at the time completely slated it. Diff and suspension upgrades improve it significantly but it's still average at best. The 147 is by far the better variant. It's major draw is that it's cheap. People buy them cheap and then try to reinvent them as some sort of supercar with some sort of self esteem boost as a result. There are better Alfa's out there...
There are better Alfa's out there, but I think your statement is too extreme. The 156GTA had its faults, the worst aspect was the damping (which was sorted by better after market ones), but all Alfa's of that era had the same issue, including the 147. In my view the 147 had all the bad traits of the 156, but didn't have the extra 'class' the the 156 seemed to have.
How in any way is a 156GTA cheap?, what are you comparing it too?, as has been mentioned in the thread they are commanding better prices now than their contemporaries and they will continue to rise.
The 156 and in particularly the GTA's have all the hallmarks of a true classic, they look and sound sublime, can be improved by their owners tinkering if they know what to do, they are rare and have a lust factor. Classics don't have to be perfect, in fact they rarely are.